He First Loved Us
Do you ever wonder how deeply we're called to love those around us? In today's episode of My Morning Devotional, guest Lauren Alessi invite…
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Feb. 21, 2025
He First Loved Us
Do you ever wonder how deeply we're called to love those around us?
In today's episode of My Morning Devotional, guest Lauren Alessi invites us to explore this profound question through the lens of First John, Chapter 4. Lauren discusses the humbling truth that we only love because He first loved us. Delving into personal anecdotes, she shares the enduring wisdom of her grandmother, who said, "You have to love everybody. You do not have to like everybody." This episode challenges us to love authentically and unconditionally, even when it's difficult, as a reflection of our love for God.
Join Lauren for this heartfelt devotional as she prays for the strength to embody God's perfect love towards everyone we encounter, drawing from the unwavering love that God has shown us first.
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Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:03.911
You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1210.
00:00:04.016 --> 00:00:07.780
Today's Devo is called He First Loved Us.
00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:26.981
Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven.
00:00:27.135 --> 00:01:10.829
This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Happy Friday, everybody. My name is Lauren Alessi. I have been your host for this week, talking about true love showed to us by God. I hope you've had an amazing week. I hope it has gone by fast. And why? Because I love you guys and I hope that you are just enjoying this Friday. I hope where you live, it's a somewhat warm Friday. I wish that for you all. Maybe you live in someplace and you're laughing at me as you listen to this, but how about this? I pray the sun's out where you are. Maybe, maybe not. Okay, I actually, funny enough, I thought of a jingle for our podcast and it goes like this, My Morning Devotional.
00:01:12.129 --> 00:01:35.007
And if you live in South Florida, I did copy it from the Miami Seaquarium jingle. So if you are from South Florida, you're like. That sounds familiar. Yes, I copied it, but yes. Welcome to the My Morning Devotional podcast. Okay, anyways, I'm sorry for that ADD moment. Let's jump into the word of God.
00:01:35.183 --> 00:02:18.906
It's been a week, so I hope you liked that little jingle. Let's jump into God's perfect love. First John, chapter 4, verses 19 through 21. It says this. We love because he first loved us. Us. Let us just be reminded that we do not have an extra love bone in our body. We do not have an extra, extra empathy bone in our body. We are not more loving than others. We only love because God first loved us. So let us be humbled by that. Verse 20. Whoever claims to love God, yet hates a brother or a sister is a liar. That convicts me right there.
00:02:18.978 --> 00:02:33.834
For whoever does not love their brother and sister. This time it says, for whoever does not love their brother and sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. So this is challenging us to say, hold on.
00:02:34.002 --> 00:02:51.460
You claim to love God who you can't see, but you can't get on the same page with your brother and your sister, who you commune with every day. How do you love a God that you can't see? And then verse 21, and he has given us this command.
00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:55.240
Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
00:02:56.139 --> 00:03:10.175
So in essence, this is a very simple, straight to the point verse. We love because he first loved us. And you're a liar if you say that you love God, but you don't love your brother and sister. So guess what?
00:03:10.268 --> 00:04:38.980
This is your command. Love God and love your brothers and your sisters. Love the people around you. Love the people you commune with. Love your co workers. And I just want to say this because when I was growing up, the concept of God's love and loving people really confused me because I was like, but people are really difficult. And my grandma said something one time to me that set me free. She goes, sweetie, you have to love everybody. You have to show them God's love. You do not have to like everybody. And that makes me laugh every time I think about it. But that is true. You have to love every. You don't have to get along with everybody. But. And that doesn't give you an excuse to write people off and be rude to them. You have to show God's love to everybody. But I get it. Some personalities are difficult. You don't have to like everybody, you don't have to be best friends with everybody. But you cannot claim to love a God that you haven't seen. We cannot claim to love a God and truly have a deep love for him if we don't have a love for the people around us that we commune with every single day of our lives. I want this to encompass what I mean by sometimes we look to the world for a false representation of love. And then sometimes even some Christians just fixate on a few love verses of the Bible and act like that is God's love.
00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:50.228
When there are very challenging and convicting commands in the Bible on love that sometimes we leave out. And look, I get it. Even this podcast, we do one verse of the day, I.
00:04:50.283 --> 00:06:00.990
I understand it, but I think when we are talking about God's love, something that is so perfect it's confusing, something that is such a deep well, something that is so powerful, we have to follow the commands. And one of those commands is this. Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. So let us all, me, myself included, let us follow that command. Let's love the people around us with God's perfect love. And. And let us just be encouraged by that as we continue up this month, continue out this year, continue out this week even, and go into this weekend. And let's pray. Dear God, we thank you for your word because it really does sharpen us. And it's not easy to love everybody. It's not easy to like everybody. But Lord, we can't be genuine about loving you if we're not genuine about loving others around us. And Lord, if that's something we lack, then Lord, help us. Help us to show your love to others around us. Help us be less difficult to the people around us. God, show us how to love people around us. Your Word gives us commands on how to do that. So show us those pages, God. Show us those words in your Word.
00:06:01.149 --> 00:06:23.141
We thank you and we pray that everybody has a wonderful weekend. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now.
00:06:23.245 --> 00:06:27.829
Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.
00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:03.911
You're listening to the My Morning Devotional podcast, episode 1210.
00:00:04.016 --> 00:00:07.780
Today's Devo is called He First Loved Us.
00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:26.981
Hey there. We're the Alessies, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy and to do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why we've partnered with our friend Allison to produce a five minute daily dose of heaven.
00:00:27.135 --> 00:01:10.829
This is the My Morning Devotional podcast. Happy Friday, everybody. My name is Lauren Alessi. I have been your host for this week, talking about true love showed to us by God. I hope you've had an amazing week. I hope it has gone by fast. And why? Because I love you guys and I hope that you are just enjoying this Friday. I hope where you live, it's a somewhat warm Friday. I wish that for you all. Maybe you live in someplace and you're laughing at me as you listen to this, but how about this? I pray the sun's out where you are. Maybe, maybe not. Okay, I actually, funny enough, I thought of a jingle for our podcast and it goes like this, My Morning Devotional.
00:01:12.129 --> 00:01:35.007
And if you live in South Florida, I did copy it from the Miami Seaquarium jingle. So if you are from South Florida, you're like. That sounds familiar. Yes, I copied it, but yes. Welcome to the My Morning Devotional podcast. Okay, anyways, I'm sorry for that ADD moment. Let's jump into the word of God.
00:01:35.183 --> 00:02:18.906
It's been a week, so I hope you liked that little jingle. Let's jump into God's perfect love. First John, chapter 4, verses 19 through 21. It says this. We love because he first loved us. Us. Let us just be reminded that we do not have an extra love bone in our body. We do not have an extra, extra empathy bone in our body. We are not more loving than others. We only love because God first loved us. So let us be humbled by that. Verse 20. Whoever claims to love God, yet hates a brother or a sister is a liar. That convicts me right there.
00:02:18.978 --> 00:02:33.834
For whoever does not love their brother and sister. This time it says, for whoever does not love their brother and sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. So this is challenging us to say, hold on.
00:02:34.002 --> 00:02:51.460
You claim to love God who you can't see, but you can't get on the same page with your brother and your sister, who you commune with every day. How do you love a God that you can't see? And then verse 21, and he has given us this command.
00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:55.240
Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
00:02:56.139 --> 00:03:10.175
So in essence, this is a very simple, straight to the point verse. We love because he first loved us. And you're a liar if you say that you love God, but you don't love your brother and sister. So guess what?
00:03:10.268 --> 00:04:38.980
This is your command. Love God and love your brothers and your sisters. Love the people around you. Love the people you commune with. Love your co workers. And I just want to say this because when I was growing up, the concept of God's love and loving people really confused me because I was like, but people are really difficult. And my grandma said something one time to me that set me free. She goes, sweetie, you have to love everybody. You have to show them God's love. You do not have to like everybody. And that makes me laugh every time I think about it. But that is true. You have to love every. You don't have to get along with everybody. But. And that doesn't give you an excuse to write people off and be rude to them. You have to show God's love to everybody. But I get it. Some personalities are difficult. You don't have to like everybody, you don't have to be best friends with everybody. But you cannot claim to love a God that you haven't seen. We cannot claim to love a God and truly have a deep love for him if we don't have a love for the people around us that we commune with every single day of our lives. I want this to encompass what I mean by sometimes we look to the world for a false representation of love. And then sometimes even some Christians just fixate on a few love verses of the Bible and act like that is God's love.
00:04:39.100 --> 00:04:50.228
When there are very challenging and convicting commands in the Bible on love that sometimes we leave out. And look, I get it. Even this podcast, we do one verse of the day, I.
00:04:50.283 --> 00:06:00.990
I understand it, but I think when we are talking about God's love, something that is so perfect it's confusing, something that is such a deep well, something that is so powerful, we have to follow the commands. And one of those commands is this. Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. So let us all, me, myself included, let us follow that command. Let's love the people around us with God's perfect love. And. And let us just be encouraged by that as we continue up this month, continue out this year, continue out this week even, and go into this weekend. And let's pray. Dear God, we thank you for your word because it really does sharpen us. And it's not easy to love everybody. It's not easy to like everybody. But Lord, we can't be genuine about loving you if we're not genuine about loving others around us. And Lord, if that's something we lack, then Lord, help us. Help us to show your love to others around us. Help us be less difficult to the people around us. God, show us how to love people around us. Your Word gives us commands on how to do that. So show us those pages, God. Show us those words in your Word.
00:06:01.149 --> 00:06:23.141
We thank you and we pray that everybody has a wonderful weekend. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So there you have it. Your 5 minute daily dose of heaven. Thank you so much for tuning in today. We pray these devotionals empower you to take on your day. If you found value in this devotional, share it with a friend, leave a comment or review for us on the app you're using right now.
00:06:23.245 --> 00:06:27.829
Until tomorrow. We pray that your latte is strong, but your love for Jesus is stronger.