Your HQ Fam is Still Here, and We Love You!
What's Going On?
Hey HQ Youth! Things are a bit crazy all over the country and the world right now with this Coronavirus stuff, and hopefully someone caught you in time to let you know that HQ Youth would not be meeting this week. We are trying to be careful and do what is best for everyone by not meeting together in a large group, but we DO NOT want to cancel and just say, "See you when we see you!" Instead, myself and other leaders will be posting on here several times throughout each week during this social-distancing period while everything is shut down, that way we can keep offering you encouragement and opportunities for spiritual growth!
So What Now?
As you probably noticed from the title of this page and the image above, today will be Day 1 of HQ's Digi-Devotionals! We will be putting up short passages, videos, and other posts about our previously planned weekly topics as often as we can (it might be every day, it might be every other day, we'll keep you posted on Facebook and Instagram, so make sure you follow one or the other). We had just started our series on the Fruit of the Spirit last week, so today I'm here to give you a short message on the first one we're working with--Love.
March 18, 2020 - Love
First, I want to suggest that you spend the 3 minutes and 50 seconds it will take you to listen to and maybe even read along with that lyric video. Praising God and deepening your relationship with Him through music is a huge part of living for Christ! I chose to link this song for you guys today because, as the title implies, it is about how you and I and all of us are made to love. That might sound like a Christian cliche, but that's the reality of the what Bible teaches us. Our purpose as human beings is to love God and love His creation, which is something that we don't always remember to do! It isn't just about emotions or boyfriends and girlfriends, it is about dedicating our time, attention, and energy to doing things that strengthen one another and build a healthier and happier world that God can be proud of.
I want you to take a look at 1 John 4:19-21, which starts with, "We love because he first loved us," and ends with a command to love our brothers and sisters (in other words, all other people!). Think about that! We are commanded to love others, it is literally our job given directly to us by God. Why? Well, because God loves us, and what better reason could there be? Before any of us ever existed, God loved us so much that he created the world for us. For you. God loves us so much that he constantly forgives us for our sins, all because we are willing, as Christians, to put our faith in Christ. What an awesome amount of love! Our only response should be to love everyone we come across as much as we can muster, to honor the love that God has given us so freely and abundantly.
Do you realize how big a deal it is that God loves you? Are you loving others as much as you can be? How can we love people even more?!
Those are the thoughts hat I want to leave you with for the first day of our look at the Fruit of the Spirit we call Love.
Let's Pray for One Another, in Love!
Post your prayer requests or praises in the comments, and let other people know if you're praying for them. We can't let social distance become emotional and spiritual distance from one another!