Posts with the tag “love”

Loving Others: The Ideal vs What's Real
February 15th, 2023
We have all heard 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Likely, we’ve heard it in sermons, or quoted by a friend, or read on a coffee mug your grandma has from Cracker Barrel. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does ...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Gracious and Kind Abba
November 15th, 2021
Gracious and kind Abba. Psalm 116 is a really beautiful Psalm, and a picture of the relationship God the Father wants to have with us. I would encourage you to read the entire Psalm, but Verses 5-7 re...  Read More
by Devon Radford
More than Forgiveness
October 26th, 2021
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” - Matthew 5:7 If I’m being honest, I don’t know how many times I’ve read the beatitudes over and over again without even stopping to think abou...  Read More
by Devon Radford
There is a Friend who Sticks Closer than a Brother
October 4th, 2021
This past weekend I attended my best friend’s wedding, and although I am not normally an emotional guy, I spent much of the ceremony crying my eyes out! I cried because of how much I love Jonathan and...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Confidence in the Covenant
September 22nd, 2021
“‘Just as I swore in the time of Noah that I would never again let a flood cover the Earth, so now I swear that I will never again be angry and punish you. For the mountains may move and the hills dis...  Read More
by Devon Radford
An Active, Living, and Loving God
September 7th, 2021
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in ...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Feeling WITH God
September 7th, 2021
"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." - 1 John 4:16 NIV“And so we know and rely on the lo...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Shalom
August 31st, 2021
“Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” – Isaiah 44:22About this time last year, I became friends with the sweetest couple from Bangladesh. Now fast forward to this past weekend. I was hanging out wi...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Conviction with Love and Grace
August 25th, 2021
“If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “H...  Read More
by Devon Radford
What is Love?
March 30th, 2021
What is love? Is it a feeling? Words? Actions? Does it vary from person to person or is there a universal definition of how to love? These are some things that are love to me, this list is by no means...  Read More
by Devon Radford
A Loving Voice
March 20th, 2021
I don’t doubt that God speaks. I don’t doubt that God speaks to me. I doubt that He speaks kindly. Ultimately, I doubt that He speaks in love. As a practice, I want to go through 1 Corinthians 13:4-7....  Read More
by Devon Radford
Open Hearts, Open Hands
February 19th, 2021
My Papa died from heart failure this time last year. His death was painful, leaving an empty void in our lives: the absence of a husband for Grammy, a father for my mom, and a spiritual role model for...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Reframing Perfection
February 15th, 2021
I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear Jesus described as “perfect,” I feel some kind of yucky feelings arise in me. It makes my failure feel closer. It makes me want to quit trying and it makes ...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Investing in Others
February 1st, 2021
One of the most groundbreaking talks that I heard at Wesley happened during my third year as a student. I listened to Blake Wiggins give a talk on honor. When I tell you this talk wrecked me, it destr...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Generous and Undeserved Love
November 20th, 2020
“This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it; ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”Matthew 22:38-40 Have you ever...  Read More
by Devon Radford
The Law Hangs on Love
November 18th, 2020
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All th...  Read More
by Devon Radford
His Pursuit of You Begins with Love
November 16th, 2020
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and fir...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Jesus, My Love
November 9th, 2020
I can remember the conversation almost like it happened yesterday.  “God is our Father, right?” “Yes,” my youth pastor answered after a Sunday morning service, a little hurried. “He’s also our Friend,...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Father of Compassion
September 23rd, 2020
The bite in the air this past week filled me with dread. My favorite season is coming to a close, and fall has officially made its arrival.I realize I am not in good company in my displeasure about th...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Love is Returning
September 21st, 2020
Every Tuesday morning, Wesley’s staff gathers to pray over what we feel like God is doing in the ministry, the campus, and the world at large. At our first 7:30 Prayer in August, the first one we’d ha...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Come Into His Presence
September 18th, 2020
This week, we are harkening back to our past. The blogs this week have been written by past directors who are a part of Wesley’s rich history partnering with God.  Even now, we have opportunity to ste...  Read More
by Devon Radford
I Choose Peace
September 2nd, 2020
I have been really into World War II documentaries recently. I think I find some comfort in the perspective it brings. What is war but pure division on display? What pain are people capable of endurin...  Read More
by Devon Radford
He is Knocking
August 17th, 2020
Fear has gripped the lives of many. It destroys, it quenches, it blames, it persecutes. It causes panic that is unholy. It casts dreams, cares, desires, and holy hopes to the grave. The dead remain th...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Beauty in Transparency
July 27th, 2020
You know that deep feeling of being seen and loved when a friend knows exactly what is wrong before you even have to explain anything to them? It's like they can read your mind and know exactly what y...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Known and Loved
July 20th, 2020
What is family?Family looks different for each of us. Some of us are blessed with wonderful, close-knit families, while others cannot depend on a shared bloodline to make a relationship. There is a wo...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Prone to Wander
June 25th, 2020
When quarantine started in March, I was determined that I would be more in love with Jesus at the end of quarantine than I was at the beginning. Each morning, I would decide ways to spend my time that...  Read More
by Devon Radford
To Be Undone
June 17th, 2020
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." - Proverbs 9:10To even touch on an understanding of the nature of God is to fall at his feet completel...  Read More
by Devon Radford
A Humble Spirit
June 12th, 2020
“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” - Proverbs 12:1  ESV  “To learn the truth you must long to be teachable, or you can despise correction and remain ignora...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Loving Yourself
June 2nd, 2020
"Lord, you know everything there is to know about me.You perceive every movement of my heart and soul,and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of ...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Loving Others
May 28th, 2020
“If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing,” -1 Corinthians 13:3One of my good friends brought up this verse j...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Loving God
May 27th, 2020
Learning to love God is simultaneously the easiest and hardest journey that we choose to embark on when we begin following with God. Loving God is easy, because he first loved us. We see his love mark...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Relationship Renewals
May 20th, 2020
You know how they say marriage is like a magnifying glass for our selfishness and sin issues? Well, step aside holy matrimony, quarantine may have just taken your place. Many of us have never experien...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Restored in Love
April 8th, 2020
Working in ministry, I hear this word weekly, if not daily. It’s a word filled with big dreams and a lot of hope, but do we understand the implications of what we ask for when we ask the Lord for rest...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Identify as the One Jesus Loves
April 2nd, 2020
“Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. The...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Come and See
April 1st, 2020
“The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” - Ma...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Called to Friendship
March 27th, 2020
Before spring break, the thing God was teaching me the most was about friendship, both with Jesus and the people around me. Not sending me out to make more friends or build more community, but really ...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Beyond What Our Eyes Can See
March 18th, 2020
“Help me let you go; Help me give up control of the God I’ve made you when my fear has contained you*” Fear is a tricky thing. It can consume you. Shake you. It can keep you from good things and send ...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Operating Out of Abundance
March 17th, 2020
There is a book that I have been reading called The Supernatural Ways of Royalty by Kris Vallotton and Bill Johnson. As I was praying about which direction to take this blog in, I thought this next bi...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Closer than We Know
February 23rd, 2020
Sin can feel like a strong word. It is weighty, for sure. However, I think sometimes I misinterpret the actual meaning of sin and what it does to the simplicity of us getting to love the spirit of God...  Read More
by Devon Radford
Loved Through it All
February 23rd, 2020
Shame is not of God.This post is all about shame—what it is, where it’s from, and what we do with it. But I want to start off with that huge fact. Shame is not, nor will it ever be, from God.Now that ...  Read More
by Devon Radford