Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Matthew 22:37-39 (NKJV)

Jesus revealed three directions that love must flow in. We are to love upward toward God; we are to love outward toward others; and we are to love inward toward ourselves. And it’s our responsibility to keep love flowing freely through our lives. Love isn’t hard when we keep things like pride and offense from creating blockages in our heart. It’s hard work keeping our hearts free from the things that hinder love. Everything begins in the heart. A hard heart, an offended heart and a hurting heart cannot love freely. Someone once said, “To love the whole world for me is no chore. My only real problem is loving my neighbor next door.”  Check your heart.

[Today’s reading was taken from our devotional, Change Your Story. Purchase a Copy]

Daily Bible Reading (Two reading plans are provided below. The “Entire Bible” plan will take you through the entire Bible this year. The “New Testament” plan will take you through just the New Testament this year.)

• Entire Bible: Contemplation (Use today to catch up on previous chapters, or to read a favorite passage over again.)
• New Testament: Contemplation (Use today to catch up on previous chapters, or to read a favorite passage over again.)