“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” — 1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬

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Another great morning from the OATH desk, y’all. I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that loving thy neighbor means loving those folks that I know. I love doing for others, but those others are usually those that are in my immediate circle : an OATH hero. A family member. A friend at the deer lease. But loving thy neighbor goes so much deeper than the first degree. It could be the friend of a friend. It could be a grocery bagger at HEB. It could be the order taker at Chick-fil-A. It could be a total stranger. Today, go out of your way to love somebody out of the ordinary. Love somebody that you don’t know. Love somebody that can’t repay you. Love the less fortunate and the underprivileged. Love Love Love. I’ve found that there’s no better feeling than loving somebody that you don’t know and that can never repay you. Love from a total stranger is both enlightening and encouraging. I absolutely love when a friend or family member shows me love, but when a total stranger goes out of their way to show love, it makes me see that there is still good and honest people in the world, we just have to look for them and be them. It’s as simple as that, yall‼️

Have a great day today, folks. Love yourself and love each other. Thank the Lord for His love for us. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Thank Him for His grace. And don’t forget to thank Him for allowing us to see another of His beautiful days‼️

With love and grace,

Gary Bartels

Founder, Executive Director and the first disciple of OATH

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Father, somebody out there needs love today. Somebody that I don’t even know. Show them to me. I don’t know how I can help or how I can love, but show me the person and then give me the wisdom to make something positive happen. Yours is a love worthy of replication, so give me the tools to make it happen! In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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#gbdevotional