137/365: Are You Loan-Sharking Your Love?

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ~ Jesus Christ (Luke 6:32-36)

Penetrating words from our teacher, our savior, our Lord. The standard of excellence is not set on what we can gain, but what we can give.

Are you operating like a "loan shark" with your love, your mercy, and your forigveness? Do you make others pay the price or earn your trust and mercy? This isn't the way of Christ.

Stop revisiting the same old scenes to collect your "relationship debts". Forgive those loans and move on.

GO DEEPER: Psalm 103:10-14

NEXT STEP: Today, pull out your balance sheet of who owes you... pray over it... tear it up... throw it away. Just as God has done with your debts. This wil give you freedom.

Izzy R.

on 05/18/2023 at 08:37 PM

Thank you all so much I’m so grateful to know I’m not alone thank you guys

Cam Carter

on 05/18/2023 at 07:35 PM

Praying for you Izzy.

Robert McFaddin

on 05/18/2023 at 06:35 PM

Prayed for you Izzy.

Chris C

on 05/18/2023 at 06:01 PM

Ethan Rogers

on 05/18/2023 at 05:56 PM

Izzy, you can stop. There is hope, there is a solution. It is harder to stop than it is to stay stopped, but it is something you can do. Praying for you. Quitting sucks but it is worth it! God can do great things for you, surrender for me, is what it took. 9 month sober. Thanks to God.

Probelms With The App

on 05/18/2023 at 03:26 PM

Keep On Keeping On Guys! Daily Routines have been upheld by this app. Let's uphold the App by continuing the Routines. Thanks Mr Arnold for the work youy do! Thanks Lord for Mr Arnold.

James

on 05/17/2023 at 10:27 PM

God bless you, Izzy. I'm praying for you and your wife.

on 05/17/2023 at 09:54 PM

I need prayer to overcome my alcoholism it’s tearing me and my wife apart when I’m drinking when I’m sober were the best we’re so connected, but I need prayer for healing. In my marriage for being a selfish drunk and healing from this addiction. I’m desperate. God bless you all. Thank you.

Kevin Miller

on 05/17/2023 at 07:26 PM

Forgiveness has been a hard one for me. I know I’ve been forgiven much and should forgive others. I’m working on it

Omar A.

on 05/17/2023 at 05:26 PM

Great insights brothers. Especially yours Ashley. Wow, very practical examples. Thanks for pointing out some simple circumstances that apply to this message. Have a blessed day brothers!

on 05/17/2023 at 05:06 PM

I've been holding some things against a couple people that I should not be. It's like resentment, I'm taking the poison myself and hoping they will die. God graciously forgave my trespasses, and commands me to. God's way is the way. period. I trust Jesus in all He says.

Brandon Pembleton

on 05/17/2023 at 04:47 PM

I’ve been chewing on this one a bit this morning. Letting it marinate and resonate with things going on with my daughter and her behavior and choices. Yes forgive the debt but quick giving debt. My close friend revealed this to me as if God was speaking through him directly to me this morning while we were working out. Set up boundaries so debts cannot keep incurring then let the old debts go is the message I’m hearing today. And that message is a very actionable freeing and forgiving one. It ends the entanglement and stops future entanglements. Thank you God for using my trusted friend to speak through this morning. I love you God amen 🙏

Delray Sheen

on 05/17/2023 at 04:27 PM

This speaks right to a prayer I said last night, "Lord I want to love you to new depths". This agape love is so very important. To be able to love with absolutely no requirement. To forgive with no requirement. This is the kind of love Jesus called us to. "I tried", "it's hard", "you don't understand", throw all excuses away. Remember Jesus said, "whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them....is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock". What measure you use will be measured against you.

Ashley Jarvis

on 05/17/2023 at 02:21 PM

The Lord’s Prayer I grew up saying states “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors…” There’s far too much history regarding the term “debt” to go into here, but I think this devotional hit on it very well! Debt isn’t just financial, it also includes giving to others with expectations attached. Favors, kind words, even holding the door for someone and being upset when they don’t say thank you… Did you hold it open to help them, or to get a thank you? If they don’t thank you, is that between the two of you, or between them and God? When you go on a mission trip, or help at the food bank, do you take selfies and post all over social media, tell all your friends? Did you go to help them, or to receive accolades? When you seek to make an amends to another, and they do not apologize in return, does that double down your resentment toward them? Why? Did you make an amends to clean your side of the street, or theirs? Is that your problem, or between them and God? We must stop placing expectations on others, including loaning money, so that we have far less boobietraps we’ve set all around us. Others will always fall short of our expectations , except for Christ. We must extend Grace. And never loan money you can’t afford to give twice over, or you can’t afford to give it. And never loan money, only gift it. God, help me to forgive my debtors today, for it’s my own fault if there’s any outstanding debts to me, amen 🙏🏻

Boyce Moses

on 05/17/2023 at 02:04 PM

Helping and giving to others knowing they can’t ever repay you is the true sign, to me, that you understand what Jesus wants us to do. Love God, love others. Love you Jesus! 🧡💛🤎💙

Elliott

on 05/17/2023 at 01:20 PM

Good morning brothers, I have been struggling with this for 15 days short of one year. there was two gentlemen that for years (years) that were very close friends of mine. I have met those gentleman in recovery so I thought that the love for each other was true. but when me and my ex-wife was in the process of getting a divorce they called me they had no reason to call me because they only knew one side of the story and what they told me 110% hurt my faith in anyone or anything. It caused me to do things that I never even thought about before this happened. I lost 98% of my friends because of my actions. This was so hard for me and I still keep replaying these thoughts in my head because my EGO was hurt. Forgiving them I told myself that would never happen. In the lords prayer we ask God to forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. I'm still working on that today. I am being more active in church I'm going to an encounters this weekend. I didn't have the money for the weekend and a fellow member of the church asked if I was going to the encounter and I said no cuz I could not afford it. they told me that they want to sponsor me so I can go to the encounter. tonight we have men's small group and we were asked to bring one person to the meeting tonight. I asked a total of five guys to go with me to the men's small group tonight. I pray that they will show up because two of them haven't been to church for a long time. No God no peace,know God know peace

Jeff McKinney

on 05/17/2023 at 12:30 PM

“The standard of excellence is not set on what we can gain but what we can give”. How many times I have “looked but not looked” at the peddler asking for money. They have a story of how they got there. Not mine to judge. This is what the Lord is telling me this morning.

on 05/17/2023 at 12:22 PM

It’s hard. I’ve held grudges before. One guy in particular who was on my high school football team. We graduated together. He treated me horribly. God recently brought him to my mind to really forgive him. I’m trying to.

Tommy Williamson

on 05/17/2023 at 11:05 AM

I have never made people pay for my love. If any thing I always felt that if I wanted love I should pay them for their love because I generally felt that I was in worthy of being loved. A large part of that comes from two brothers that molested and abused me since they were always telling me have unworthy I was. The only one I always felt loved me with out any conditions was Jesus.

137/365: Are You Loan-Sharking Your Love?

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