Author: Lori Casto

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith 1. goodness; and to goodness, 2. knowledge; and to knowledge, 3. self-control; and to self-control, 4. perseverance; and to perseverance, 5. godliness; and to godliness, 6. mutual affection; (Phileo love) and to mutual affection, 7. love. (Agape love)

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 2 Peter 1:5-9

• Phileo Love– A warm, sincere affection & devotion, attachment, and the affectionate ties that hold believers together. Unlike superficial ties or mere sentiments, phileo love is marked by authenticity, closeness, and genuine care for another’s well-being.

• Agape Love- conveyed a sense of love characterized by goodwill, benevolence, and a focus on the well-being of others. The New Testament writers took this notion further, emphasizing that agape is not merely a fleeting emotion but a deliberate and selfless act of the will. (Jesus gave His life)

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Again Peter is talking about the importance of loving others beyond the surface. We are to love deeply. I think to love deeply, we must invest in the lives of others. We must be willing to get in the pit with them. Sometimes, it’s the only way they’ll make it out. It may seem like a huge investment to “love each other deeply.” Afterall, love takes time. We are so busy, it’s hard to invest our time.

I’ve heard it said by people who have experienced deep hurt that they won’t allow anyone to hurt them the way someone in their life already deeply hurt them. This declaration causes them to put up barriers. This goes against what God is saying through Peter:

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

In fact, as I’m reading this repeatedly, It seems as if the deeper we love someone, the easier it is to forgive? Wow! That doesn’t seem possible. This scripture indicates that when our love runs deep, we are able to forgive as often as needed:

     love covers over a multitude of sins.

People are human after all. We all fall short.  I would certainly hope people would be willing to forgive me, so shouldn’t I be just as willing to forgive them…even when it means forgiving over and over and over again?

Will you join me as I continue to work on my “love walk?”

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

How will you Devote2day?

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:22-25

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Matthew 24:10-13

While continuing to read in Peter, I can’t help but be drawn once again to the subject of love. We are called not only to love, but to “love one another deeply, from the heart.” Peter is all about being genuine and authentic. He uses the word “sincere” when he talks about loving one another.

• Sincere- marked by genuineness: true, pure, heartfelt

The sincere love we are to have for each other, reminded me of Matthew 24, when Jesus is talking about the end times and describes the love of many as growing cold. I’ve read the passage often and those words stand out in my mind every time. Love is so important. It’s so important, Jesus mentions the absence of it as one of the end times indicators.

The genuine, authentic love we show for one another is valuable. We can only show love if we possess love. We can’t be stingy with whom we show our love. No matter how someone treats us, we must show love. How we demonstrate love can mean the difference in someone’s eternity.

How we demonstrate love can be the difference in someone’s eternity.

Today’s challenge: Show love to the one you’d rather avoid

How will you devote2day?

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 1 Peter 1:22

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9

Gold is a great investment, especially in times of economic uncertainty. You may even hear people trying to sell the idea of investing in gold. Gold has been sought after since its discovery. It’s never a mistake to invest in gold.

In this passage, Peter is comparing our faith to gold. He isn’t just saying our faith is worth more than gold, He is saying the genuineness of your faith is more valuable than gold.

Genuine– sincerely and honestly felt or experienced; free from hypocrisy or pretense. Authentic, true, real.

We live in a world that can be very surface. It’s a conditioning in our culture brought on by the internet and cell phone technology. We only see what people wish us to see. Texting and social media can give us a beautiful picture of the lives of those around us that might not actually be genuine.  It lacks authenticity. Often, it’s not real.

Maybe today would be a good day to really consider the authenticity of our faith. May we give praise, honor, and glory as we consider our Savior’s death, burial, and resurrection. May today be a day we are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy. I pray our faith runs deep- not just surface.  Let’s make it real and keep it real, like everything else in our lives depends on it. After all, Peter says our genuine faith is more valuable than gold.

How will you devote2day?

Recently I completed a scripture study about joy, or at least I thought it was complete. You can refer to “Until Morning Comes”, a devotional from March 29^th.

The Holy Spirit then led me to study the subject of love. I’ve been reading in 1^st, 2^nd,  and 3^rd John as well as other areas in the Gospel of John and of course, I  took a look at the love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13.  You can see most of the scriptures in past blogs or devotionals, but I will try to post all of the scripture references below.

I’ve been challenged to dig deeper. Every time I’ve searched, read, and studied as much I can without my eyes glazing over in exhaustion, The Lord wakes me up the next day to dig even deeper. It’s been exciting and exhausting at the same time.

Are you walking in the fullness of Joy God has for you? I believe it’s God’s will we walk in joy. The bible is full of references that end in… “so that your joy may be made full.” Our strength comes from The Joy of the Lord.  Joy is ours. I want to walk in it, don’t you? There are so many things that come our way attempting to steal the joy of The Lord in our lives. My studies brought me to this conclusion as referenced in an earlier devotional post:

Hope + Praise + Morning = Joy

I think if we want to experience joy, we must do a self-exam. I think we need to be willing to ask God to search our hearts.

What keeps you from experiencing God’s joy? What keeps me from experiencing full joy?  Over the past several days as I’ve been reading about love, God is showing me that another key component to experiencing joy, is to be walking in love. I’ll say it again. If I want to walk in joy, I must be walk in love.

If I want to walk in joy, I must walk in love.

Hope + Praise + Morning + Love = Joy

Joy is a fruit of the spirit – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25)

• Joy is a constant, deep happiness that comes from confidence exercised and dependent on God and not dependent on the circumstances or situations we may find ourselves facing. (my definition after looking at many)

A Crushed Spirit = Crushed Joy

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

What circumstances attempt to crush the spirit?

Hurt, anger, death, grief, sickness, exhaustion

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse (Mean, contradictory, bad, difficult) tongue crushes the spirit. Proverbs 15:4

How can we replace a crushed spirit with joy?

1. Hope brings joy

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

The hope of the righteous brings joy, Proverbs 10:28

2. Praise brings joy

    * Praise always, not just when we feel like it (Choose a priority of praise)

       Rejoice always, 1 Thessalonians 5:16

   Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Philippians 4:4

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6

The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart

Leaps for joy and with my song I praise Him.  Psalm 28:7

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25

KEEP PRAISING UNTIL MORNING COMES

3. Love brings joy

 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. ¹⁰ If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

4. Morning brings Joy

For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for          the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness Psalm 30:11

So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. John 16:22

Hope + Praise + Love = Morning, which brings joy

Self-reliance is not God reliance. We must “live & walk in The Spirit” to possess joy.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:7-11

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. 1 John 2:3-5

 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.1 John 2:15

 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10

 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18

 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 1 John 4:16

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:7-11

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

When I think about the attributes of love described in 1 Corinthians 13, considering 1 John 4:7-11, I am challenged. Stay with me as I attempt the study & these 2 Bible passages.