Valentines is a season for giving and showing other people how much we
love them. The usual gifts are cards, flowers, chocolates, candlelight
dinners, and tender expressions of love. Even though romance is the
theme of the day, the original heart of St. Valentine, for whom it is
named, was based on a strong commitment to God and honoring Him with the
ways we express our love. Unconditional love for God and those who sought to please Him is what kept Valentine strong through years of persecution, imprisonment, and his execution in 269 AD. He was beaten, stoned, and then beheaded.
Tradition tells us his final words were recorded in a note to a young girl, which he signed, "From your Valentine." She was the blind daughter of Asterius, who became a believer after God healed her through Valentine's prayers. And that is why we sign our cards this way today.
This Valentine's Day if you would like to give a gift of love that lasts longer than a box of chocolates and benefits body and soul, I would like to recommend my book iLove. It's a devotional, Bible study, and companion piece to Rob Baker's iLove CD. Buy it for someone else and one for yourself, and increase your love for the One who loves you more than anyone else ever could.
The following excerpt is from song five in the iLove devotion "Linda Loves Jesus":
Despite the seeming contradiction, when we give Jesus all our love it actually strengthens our marriage relationship. God created us to need a relationship with Him first, with all other relationships second. When we live according to His design, it works. That’s why Rob can sing that he wants his wife to love Jesus more than him, and that he loves Jesus first as well. They know the secret to a happy marriage is to love Jesus more than any-one or any-thing.
When I sing along with “Linda Loves Jesus,” I put my husband’s name in place of hers. That’s what I desire for my marriage as well. If you’re married, I hope you do too. If you’re single, this song can guide you in:
every dating relationship
every job you consider
every ministry opportunity you embark on
every possession you own
If you'd like to order or read more about this book, click on the image above or the following link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/iLove-Devotions-Beth-Vice/dp/1503248968/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423270523&sr=8-1&keywords=ilove%2C+Vice
You can also listen to and download songs from Rob Baker's iLove CD at: http://www.amazon.com/Ilove-Rob-Baker/dp/B004IOP2BQ
Happy Valentines Day!
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