February 2026 - He Loved Us First
With Valentine's Day right in the middle of February, it’s no surprise that it is often considered the “love month.” We give/exchange cards, candy kisses, love notes, real kisses. Sometimes it’s heartfelt, or without real emotion, even forced. And sometimes we just can’t. That is, we can’t love that person. And in today’s volatile atmosphere, we might be saying, “There’s no way I can love those people.”
Yet our God has given us this challenging assignment: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” (John 13:34)
Gratefully He hasn’t left us to do that by ourselves. He gives us this wonderful promise:
“We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.” (1 John 4:19, The Message)
What a gift—we have supernatural love flowing through us! The capacity to love family, friends, neighbors, and even those we don’t like.
Five Words that Have Impacted My Life
As you may know, I love words. Since God gave me that love, He seems to also use words to bring transformation to my life. This week I am beginning a five-week devotional study with my Cru Women’s Resource team. I’ve studied these 5 words, tried to respond when God impresses them on me, and hopefully increasingly live them out as a way of life.
One of the words we will look at is “mercy.” Perhaps someone you have loved well has not responded well, or loved in return, or has truly broken your heart. God experienced that broken heart as the children of Israel repeatedly rebelled. Here is how God responded:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends.
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”
The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord. (Lamentations 3:22-27)
You can read more about Mercy in this post I wrote several years ago:
YouGo! Life Coaching Course
This wonderful new resource to help students go from where they are to where they want to be is now available!
YouGo! addresses the top felt needs of this generation: loneliness, anxiety, lack of purpose & meaning in life. It is designed to reach high school and college students/Gen Z, by combining practical life skills with the Gospel in a life coaching environment. YouGo! is an 8 week interactive evangelistic resource. It is a great way for campus ministries, church youth groups, families and neighborhoods to help equip students with life skills and interact on the relevance of Jesus to their lives. YouGo! answers these key life questions:
WHO AM I? WHY AM I HERE?
WHERE AM I GOING? HOW DO I GET THERE?
This current global generation of high school and college students are the most responsive to the Gospel since the 1960’s—don’t miss this opportunity to respond to their openness.
For adults see the corresponding life coaching resources Man of Impact and The Significant Woman (discipleship resources) or SOARING and QUEST (evangelistic resources ). See thesignificanceproject.org
Boot Camp
A young woman in my extended family is in Army Boot Camp. Wow! I knew it was hard, but now I am learning what hard is. Here are a few of the exercises she is enduring: The first day they rappelled down a 40-foot embankment. Then some of these: three rep max deadlift, standing power throw, hand-release push-ups, sprint-drag-carry, plank, two-mile run. And they have to run everywhere. They look forward to a weekly 10-minute phone call, and perhaps attending chapel. And that’s just a few of the demands—getting prepared to defend our country, while hoping it never comes to that.
Followers of Jesus are also in preparation for the ongoing battle with the enemy of our souls. Sometimes the training is exhilarating; other times it is exhausting, daunting, seemingly never ending. But we can be assured that our Savior always provides all we need and never abandons us. He will lead us to victory.
Here’s an article to give you hope in battle:
When Your Daughter Visits
Debbie has a son in college in Indiana. He is on the lacrosse team, whose season starts soon. To begin getting in shape and working well together, they decided to play a team in Central Florida. Debbie recognized a great opportunity: watch her son’s team play, and spend time with her mom. What a delight!
Each night, when practicing was done, Debbie and I had dinner with my grandson, and on the last day watched their amazing game. The team they were playing had beaten them the year before by 15 points. It looked like a repeat in the first quarter, but our boy’s team came alive. Tied in regulation, they went to double overtime—and won 14-13. Then they invited their opponents to pray with them.
And Debbie and I had a sweet time together. She made me go on long walks and I made her do some of the great decluttering I need to do.
Such joy!
May the love of God surround you, fill you, flow through you to the people in your life,
Judy Douglass