Devotional Day 1 - Love God

Hey North Church friends,
 
I want to remind you how profoundly loved you are: 

• You are the beloved of the Father, he loves you so much he did not spare his own Son but gave him up for you all (Rom 8:32) 
• You are beloved by Jesus who, though he was God, did not count equality with God as something we could grasp but emptied himself and came to serve us all, ultimately giving his life up for us willingly so we could be restored to a right relationship with our Creator (Phil 2:6-8) 
• You are beloved by the Holy Spirit who does not fear the contagion of our sin, but enters our hearts to purify us from all of our uncleanliness (Heb 9:14)

It is out of the abounding, steadfast, never-changing, and powerful love of the triune God that I wish to encourage you through this personal devotional to love in a few different ways over the coming days.
 
Verse: The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—whom should I dread? – Psalm 27:1 (CSB)

Love God: Loving something often looks like putting our trust in it (e.g. I love my wife so I trust her not to put poison in my eggs). If we love, we trust. Trust is a very tangible way we can love God as his people. The outbreak of the Coronavirus is not a surprise to him, and even though viruses that lead to death are a result of the Fall, God will use this for good and for the saving of many lives (Gen 50:20).

I love the writing of Joni Erickson Tada. In her books, again and again, she says: “Sometimes God allows what he hates, to accomplish what he loves.” That’s what he does -- that’s what he has always done.

A practical way to love God by trusting him might look like pressing into your time with the Lord. I encourage you to read the Psalms over the coming weeks. I have been increasingly drawn to Psalm 27 and today’s devotional verse.
 
Love God and meditate on his love for you by trusting him.

Questions:

1. What does loving God by trusting him look like practically for you right now?
2. How might God be using this current situation to save souls?
3. What do your practices of spending time with God to know him better look like? What do you need to do to adapt to in this current time?