FIRST LOVE
It is the month of love and all things relationships. February is a time when there is always
a focus on romantic relationships; in every grocery store you see the color red and balloon
hearts, all in celebration of Love Day - February 14. While I am a big lover of “love” and all
the romantic vibes, as I was preparing to write this devotional, something else caught my
attention. That is “our love for God.” As we countdown to Valentine's Day, let’s also be
focused on our first Love. Over the next 14 days, I hope that through this devotional you
will be reminded of your love for Him and you will choose to keep the passion in your
relationship with God burning. Enjoy :)
DAY 1
HEART…..SOUL….MIGHT
Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
might.
Welcome to Day 1, I am so glad you are here. I was recently on a prayer call when someone
mentioned something that struck me. As she opened up the prayer and encouraged us the
participants to say prayers of thanksgiving, she said “Can you just tell God how much you
love Him?” This is something I have heard before and also said myself but it was her next
statement that particularly struck me, she said “We are so used to talking about how much
God loves us and died for us but how often do we tell God we love Him?”
It was like something shifted inside of me. Yes, we often thank God, and praise Him but do
we tell Him daily that we love Him the way we tell a significant other daily? Are we
intentional to daily pour and express our love for Him to Him?
We see early on in the Bible as far back as the start of the Old Testament that God has
called us not just to love others but to love Him first. What I particularly find interesting is
the emphasis on the heart, soul, and might. God loves us and He desires fellowship, He
desires a real relationship with us and that comes with us loving Him with everything we
have. As you go about your month I want to challenge you to express your love to God. Be
intentional this month about telling God you love Him daily like you would a significant
other or a family member. Be intentional about your relationship with God.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 2
TO KNOW IS TO LOVE
2nd Corinthians 13:14 ESV
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be
with you all.
Welcome to Day 2! Yesterday I talked about the fact that God wants us to love Him with our
entire being. If you have read any of my past devotionals you will know that I love to
reference the first few chapters in Genesis because it gives us a glimpse of God’s original
intent for us as humans. We see that there was a fellowship God had with Adam and Eve,
there was a language inferred of the regularity of God’s visit to them in the garden after
they ate the fruit, and it seemed as though it was not odd for Him to be there. The message
version of Genesis 3 says God was strolling through the garden, but what made that
encounter different was that Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit.
Where am I going with this? God wants to fellowship with us. The word fellowship simply
means to be in association with or close communion with. God wants more than just you
accepting Him as Lord and Savior; He wants fellowship.
In a recent sermon, Pastor Wale referenced this Scripture of the “sweet fellowship of the
Holy Spirit.” Though it is a verse we say often it hit me differently when he said it; he was
talking about the importance of us wanting close communion with the Spirit of God. The
beauty of what we have in the New Testament dispensation is that we don’t simply have
visitations of the Spirit, but God’s Spirit lives inside of us. So there is no excuse for why we
should not have the level of closeness that God desires for us to have with Him.
As you go about this day, month, and year, I want this verse to always remain in your mind
that there is a “sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit.” There is a communion and regular
engagement that you and I can have with God through His Spirit that helps us to love Him
more and more as we get to know Him more and more.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 3
IT’S COMPELLING
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV
14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and
therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for
themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Has someone ever done something for you that makes you so grateful that you want to do
something for them or please them in return? Not because you feel obligated to, but
because the best response to their display of love is to love them more. This is what I think
of when I see this Scripture: “Christ’s love compels us.” The word compels there is like a
driver; an irresistible force that because of the way He loves, our only response is to love
Him back.
The Bible also talks about giving in 2nd Corinthians 9:6-7 and how when we give it should
not be done out of compulsion but it should be done cheerfully. This verse is often used
concerning money but it has other applications. Our love for God should not be done out
of fear or compulsion. The Bible also says “There is no fear in love” so love should be given
cheerfully and freely.
I want to encourage you this year to love God freely, not out of obligation but let His words
in 2nd Corinthians 5 be true, that we love Him because His Love compels us and drives us
naturally to respond to Him in love.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 4
QUALITY TIME
James 4:8 ESV
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you…….”
Anyone who knows me well knows I love a good romantic movie, some of my favorites I
watch at 2-4 times a year. There is something about love that gives me that good feeling on
the inside. One thing I have come to learn about love in any type of relationship is that it
doesn’t grow if you are not intentional about it. Love can fade over time if you are not
intentional about nurturing it and putting in quality time.
If you love your parents or sibling(s) but never call them or spend quality time with them,
because of the lack of intentionality your relationship will lack depth. It doesn’t change the
fact that you love them or that they love you; but there is a level of intimacy that will be
missing. Think about a significant other: if you never spent time with your spouse and you
just rely on the fact that you love each other, over time it will feel like you are living with a
roommate and not someone you love deeply.
One of the ways we show God our love for Him is by prioritizing quality time with Him.
When you care deeply about a person, you make time to engage them, talk with them, and
check on their wellbeing. The same should go for our relationship with God; let us make
spending time with Him a priority. This could be through the reading of the Bible, writing to
Him, or talking to Him throughout the day. Let us not just love with our words but let us
show in our actions and choices that we love Him, value Him, and prioritize Him. Spend
quality time with the lover of your soul; He is eagerly waiting.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 5
LOVE IN ACTION
John 14:15 ESV
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
I ended yesterday highlighting that expressing God’s love is one thing but living it out is
another. I always love it when I see the words of Jesus in the Bible; He lived a short life and
was so particular about the words He spoke so when I see Jesus’s words I pay close
attention. In this passage today we see the words of Jesus where He spoke on what it
means to love Him.
Think back on your relationships (a significant other or parent or friend). There are times
we go out of our way to show others love in the way we think they need it and the person
still says they don’t feel loved by us. Has that ever happened to you? If yes, you are not
alone. Simply put, you are not loving them based on their love language; the way they want
to be loved.
When we see Jesus say “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments,” it is a way of
Him saying one of the ways you express or profess your love for Me is to be obedient to
Me. Sometimes showing God our love for Him is as simple as obedience. What is that area
of your life that you know you need to be obedient to God in? Today I am inviting you to
obey not because it makes sense to you but because the One who made you says to. In
turn, you will be professing your love for Him by your ability to obey.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 6
AN ADDENDUM
Luke 10:27 ESV
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
Over the next few days, we will continue to unpack how our love for God is professed
beyond our words. Today we will be focusing on the passage we started with from
Deturnomy 6:5. The passage here in Luke 10:27 is similar to that which was in the Old
Testament. However, there is a bit of a twist added here in the New Testament, “love your
neighbor as yourself.”
One of the ways we show God we love Him is how we treat the people around us. Through
His word, God is letting us know that one of the ways we express and profess our love to
Him is by loving those around us.
As we all strive and work towards pouring our love on God this year, I want to remind you
that how you treat your fellow humans (despite our differences) matters to God.
Remember in every interaction to show the love of Christ that has been poured to you and
as you do that, know that it is in turn expressing to God your love for Him.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 7
SHOW YOUR LOVE
1 John 4:7 ESV / 770 helpful votes
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of
God and knows God.
Let me start with this: there is nothing you can do that will make God love you any more
than He does. Let that be settled in your heart, God loves you! I think this is important to
underscore because we should never feel anything we do for God makes Him love us
more. The things we do should be because we love Him and not to gain His love, because
we already have it. Romans 5:8 tells us “God shows His love for us in that while we were still
sinners Christ died for us.”
The verse for today ends with “Whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” In
our human relationships love is something that usually takes time; for some people. We
find that the more we know of a person, the more we spend time with them, and the more
we understand them, the easier it is to fall in love with them. The same goes for our
relationship with God.
This passage speaks of knowing God and the truth is, God is multifaceted. Each day there is
a new level of discovery of His heart and character and just the person of who He is. So the
more we spend time in His word and in prayer, we get to know Him more intimately which
makes it possible for us to Love Him freely and completely.
I encourage you this year to make the determination that you want to know new sides of
God. Express your love for Him by knowing Him more. Spend quality time with your Father.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 8
DO YOU LOVE ME?
John 21:15-17 ESV
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do
you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He
said to him, “Feed my lambs.”16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you
love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my
sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was
grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord,
you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”
Questions have a way of revealing the heart of a matter to us. This passage has always
intrigued me because of how Jesus repeatedly asked the question “Do you love me?” As I
mentioned in one of the earlier days of the devotional, the words of Jesus are words to pay
close attention to because there is sometimes a lot implied that is not explicitly said. There
was a reason Jesus was asking this question over and over again. It was like He was
pointing to the fact that to Him this is what shows Him that we love Him: when we care for
the lost as He does. After all, Jesus came for the lost. If we look at Luke 15, it is filled with
three Parables about lost things. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20 also
underlines this point of what Jesus was saying to Peter in the verses above. This is how we
show we love Him.
Through this devotional the emphasis has been on us loving God and showing the love to
Him that He has poured out to us. In this passage, we see Jesus say to Peter to feed His
lambs, tend to His sheep, and feed His Sheep. To Jesus, He is essentially saying “This is how
you show you love me” when you do these things. I encourage you to do a study on this
verse and meditate on it.
What does it mean to feed His lambs, tend to His sheep, and feed His Sheep? What is the
distinction between the lamb and the sheep, what is the distinction between feeding them
and tending to them? I want you to sit with this Scripture and compare Scripture with
Scripture, find commentary, and break this down to gain an understanding of what Jesus
means here. It is very important to do this because Jesus is saying this is how we show we
love Him; prayerfully seek God for understanding on these verses and He will reveal more
to you as you do so.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 9
A COVERING
1 Peter 4:8 ESV / 601 helpful votes
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins.
It is Day 9, I hope you have been staying engaged on this devotional. Beyond reading the
words I have shared, I truly hope you are meditating on the Scriptures and praying through
them. I love how the Bible allows us to compare Scripture with Scripture and how we get to
see the same thing in different ways. Here the message of loving others is still resounding
but a key factor here which will be our focus today is the ability that love has to cover sins.
When meditating on this Scripture I was reminded that it is the love Christ has for us that
caused Him to die for us as stated in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave
His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” In other
words, God’s love for us is part of what causes Him to forgive our sins. In turn, this also
means that as we love others (which is a way to show we love God) we also tap into our
heavenly ability to forgive people.
Have you ever had an acquaintance do something to you that deeply hurt you to the point
of not wanting to forgive or not wanting to let it go? Have you ever had a close friend you
love deeply do the same thing and find you're not struggling as much to forgive your
friend? This is why the Bible encourages us to love one another earnestly; God knows that
offense will come and forgiving will not be a hard ask when there is love at the foundation.
As you go through this year, remember that loving others is not only a reflection of our love
for God but also serves as a covering and gift from God to make it easy to embrace
forgiveness (something that would naturally not have been hard to do). Tap into that grace
today, forgiving others is one of the ways we express our love to Him.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 10
BOAST IN HIS LOVE
Jeremiah 31:3 ESV
The LORD appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
The Bible is such a poetic book. I was once in a group where I was asked if the Bible is a
book of laws or a love letter. Some people saw it as a book of laws and others saw it as a
love letter and some people said it is fifty-fifty. What I have come to learn in my adult life is
that even the parts of the Old Testament we see and interpret as laws and gloom are still
the love of God and His faithfulness to His people.
The Bible uses poetic words a lot to describe God’s love for us. If a significant other wrote
these words to you “I love you with an everlasting love,” it would surely make your heart
melt. These are the words of God to us; God was never shy about professing His love for us
and also displaying it. My encouragement to you today is to boast in the love of God. Write
Him a love letter and profess your love in flowery language, get poetic with it, and love on
your God as an act of intimacy.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 11
A HIGHER CALLING
1 John 4:20 ESV
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his
brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
The choice to love God is something that comes with a responsibility. To love God is a
calling to live higher, act differently, think differently, and engage differently. This passage
today further challenges our idea of what it means to say we “love God.” In one of the
previous days, there was a similar Scripture that spoke of loving others as a way we show
we love God. This time it emphasizes the word “Hate.” God is saying to us that hate is not
something that we as Christians should entertain because if we hate another person then
in turn we are saying we don’t love Him. This is not a conditional statement, it is one of fact.
We can not hate someone else and love God.
Phewwww this can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes, especially when people have
wronged you and you have every right to hate them by the world's standards. However
God is calling us higher; He is reminding us that hatred and love can not coexist, what does
light have to do with darkness? To love is also to sacrifice, this is what Christ modeled.
So let us submit today to God our past hurts and rid ourselves, by the power of God, of the
hatred we feel towards others so we can fully love God. Then our love for God will not only
be in words but also action.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 12
EXPRESSION IN SERVICE
1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV
Let all that you do be done in love.
One of the great blessings of my life has been the opportunity to serve in a local church. It
is something that has been such a blessing to me in different ways and allowed me to grow
in more ways than I could have imagined, most of all in loving the people I serve with. Our
love for God should be expressed in how we serve Him. The Bible says whatever we do we
should do it unto the Lord, not man. The way we serve in various areas of our lives is also a
way we express our love to Him.
Our service to God is not limited to ministry; the way you do the work at your job should be
as unto God, not man. Colossians 2:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your
heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” This means at your job, and anywhere you
find yourself whether in ministry, the corporate world, or as an entrepreneur, work well as
it is unto God.
If you are not serving at a local church, I encourage you to take the step to do so and plug
in to serve. Remember you are not serving God to get something from Him or move His
hand. You are to serve because you see it as an expression of your love. If you are already
serving, I encourage you to assess the way you serve. Are you serving from a place where
love is your driving force or out of compulsion? Ask God for grace, and He will help you to
let all that you do be done in love.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 13
WORDS MATTER
Psalm 63:3 ESV / 448 helpful votes
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
I remember listening to a message that talked about the way kings are praised in parts of
the world. I am reminded of growing up and going to my hometown and seeing how much
pomp and circumstance is placed on praising the king. When I watch some movies that
have royalty there is a way that people praise and honor kings and queens that is so
peculiar. Those praises bring joy to the king and most times are repetitive and exalting
them to their rightful place.
Let’s make it a habit this year to shower God, the King of kings, with praises. It is an
expression of our love for Him. Make plans to do this regularly daily. It can be structured or
fluid; just have intentional moments when you verbally express your praise with your lips.
Praise Him for who He is, for what He has done, for what He is yet to do; just praise Him.
You can even break out in a dance, put on one of your favorite praise songs, and dance
before your Maker. David danced as his expression of love (disregarding his status and
kingship) before God. This month of love, show love to the lover of your soul and bring joy
to the heart of your Father. Praise Him with your lips.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?
DAY 14
NOTHING
1st John 4:7-19 ESV
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born
of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is
love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into
the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God
but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved if God
so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love
one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we
abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and
testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses
that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to
know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love
abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may
have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. Fear has to do with punishment,
and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
Happy Valentine's Day. I knew there was no better Scripture than this for us to close out
the “First Love” devotional. God is love! His love for you is patient, His love for you is Kind,
His love for you is enduring, His love for you has no end. The message here, He loved us
first, chose us, and called us. All of these things He did first because of His love. This love
has now been poured out on us and that love enables us, compels us, and drives us to not
only love others but also Him.
Our response to this consistent display of His love is to love Him back. Not only with our
words but through our actions. Love Him not because of what we think we can get from
Him but love Him for who He is. As we go through today, there may be a heightened sense
of expressing love through words, gifts, dinner dates, and heart shapes. Let us take a
moment to love on and acknowledge the greatest Lover and love story of them all.
The wonderful thing about our relationship with God is that it is not only celebrated on a
single day like Valentine's Day, Easter, or even Christmas. It is a living, breathing, ongoing
relationship. Love on God all the days of your life; my prayer for you is that as you know
Him more, you will love Him more. You will be intentional about expressing your love to
Him in words and action, and you will rest in His unconditional love for you.
Read out loud and meditate on the verse above and write down the following:
1. What is God saying to me?
2. What am I saying to God?