Five First Steps to Building a Life of Love

[Five First Steps to Building a Life of Love]( Current Teaching Series [40 Days of Love]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Five First Steps to Building a Life of Love]( By Rick Warren — 10/16/2023 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= “Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” Ephesians 5:2 (MSG) I’ve been on this earth for a while now, and I’m still convicted by God about how little I really know about love. The fact is, we all have a lot of growing to do as we continue maturing in God’s love. So how do you build a life of real, deep love? You’ll spend the rest of your life trying to live out the answer. But I can give you some steps to get you out of the starting block—five things you can do this week that will help you get on the road to becoming a person of great love. Learn how mature love acts and responds. Personal change always begins with a change in perspective. You need to get God’s perspective on what love is really like, because the world knows nothing about real, deep love. You gain that perspective by getting into God’s Word. Start your day with a daily reminder to love. The first 10 minutes of the day set your mood for the rest of the day. Resolve to get up in the morning and say, “God, help me to remember that the most important thing is loving you and loving other people. If I don’t get anything else done today besides loving you and the people that you put around me, then this has not been a wasted day.” Memorize what God says about love. God’s Word is filled with truths and principles on how to become a loving person. The problem is, when you’re in a situation where you’re tempted to be unloving, your Bible is usually at home on a shelf. That’s why you need to memorize Scripture, so that God can bring verses to mind when you need them the most. Practice acting in unselfish, loving ways. Love is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it develops. If you want to become a truly loving person, then you have to intentionally do some things that may seem awkward at first. But the more you practice, the more love becomes second nature, and you become a genuinely loving person. Get support from other loving people. If you’re just sitting in your room and reading a book, then you’re not going to get very far in learning how to love. You only learn love in connection to others, in the context of community. That’s one of the reasons why a small group is so important! It puts you in situations where you can grow, as you see godly love modeled for you and as you practice serving others in unselfish, loving ways. You’ll never learn to love by just sitting in solitude. You’ll learn love in relationship with God and with other people. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - What can you change about your schedule so you can give God the best part of your day and start your day in his Word? - Think of the ways you learned best in school. How can you apply some of those same principles to the way you memorize Scripture? - What people in your life have modeled a life of love? In what specific ways do they love God and others well? Where will you spend eternity? Your sins separate you from God. And it is only God’s grace that allows you back into a right relationship with him. The Bible says, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV). If you’re ready to make peace with your Creator, then pray this prayer: “Dear Jesus, I don’t want my sin to separate me from you any longer. You have promised that if I believe in you, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day. “I confess my sin, and I believe you are my Savior. You have promised that if I confess my sin and trust you, I will be saved. I believe you when you say salvation comes by grace, through faith, and not by anything I do. I receive you into my life as my Lord. Today, I’m turning over every part of my life to your management. “I want to live the way you created me to live and use the rest of my life to serve you instead of serving myself. I commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.” If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus. The post [Five First Steps to Building a Life of Love]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get the 40 Days of Love Scripture Cards when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( Keep God’s Word close to your heart so his truth can guide you every day with your set of Pastor Rick’s 40 Days of Love Scripture cards. This set of 52 artfully designed Scripture cards from Pastor Rick’s 40 Days of Love teaching series encourages you to live every single day empowered by the love of Jesus! And it’s our thanks for your gift to help share the love of Christ with more people through Daily Hope. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 6 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series 40 Days of Love. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: It's All About Love Message 2: Love Matters Most Message 3: Loving Like Jesus Loves Me Message 4: Love Lets It Go Message 5: Love is Not Easily Angered Message 6: The Secrets of Lasting Love [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( Rick Warren is the founding pastor of [Saddleback Church]( one of America’s largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller [The Purpose Driven Life](. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. Pastor Rick created [The PEACE Plan]( to address the five global giants—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. His Daily Hope broadcast and daily devotionals are offered around the world. You can listen to the broadcast or sign up for the free devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2023 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, PO Box 80448, Rancho Santa Margarita, California 92688, United States