Skip to main content

Love Out Loud: 365 Devotions for Loving God, Loving Yourself, and Loving Others

Review

Love Out Loud: 365 Devotions for Loving God, Loving Yourself, and Loving Others

The word “love” seems to be way overused today, doesn’t it? We love pizza, we love a specific song on the radio, we love sports, television shows, and warm, sunny weather. We know the first commandment requires us to love God, and we know the Bible teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. We’ve read 1 Corinthians 13, the famous biblical “love” chapter. We may have even memorized all 13 verses. Then there’s the quote about love that we’ve probably all heard a time or 20: “love is an action, not a feeling.” We know this, but do we really understand and believe it? Do we know what love “looks like” or what it “does”? Most importantly, do we love the way God created us to love?

"LOVE OUT LOUD is the perfect little daily devotional for those on the go. Meyer’s writing style is real, easy-to-understand and practical."

Joyce Meyer, one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers and author of 80 books, brings us yet another devotional, this time focusing on loving God’s way. Each one of these 365 devotions teaches us how to love…out loud. In other words, Meyer shows us how to love on purpose. Even when we don’t feel like it. Especially when we don’t feel like it.

But this book is not just about loving God and others. It’s also about loving ourselves in a healthy, balanced way. Loving ourselves and who God made us to be enables us to love others the way He does.

LOVE OUT LOUD is a small, gift-sized book that offers brief daily devotions. Each one takes five minutes or less to read, yet provides a thought-provoking message for us to chew on throughout the day. Each devotion is dated, beginning with January 1st, perfect for those starting a new devotional in the new year, but it really doesn’t matter when you begin. A Bible verse heads every page, followed by the message, and ending with a suggestion or tip on how to love others, yourself, or God that ties in with the daily reflection.

Here are examples of the topics, scriptures and final “love instructions” you’ll find on every page:

Title: We Can’t Do Anything without Him
Scripture: John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him bears much fruit. However, apart from me, you can do nothing.”
Love God Today: I encourage you to lean on God and ask Him to help you with all kinds of things, little things as well as big things.

Title: Fight for Others
Scripture: Amos 5:24 “But let justice run down like waters and righteousness like a mighty and ever-flowing stream.”
Love Others Today: Be a person whose convictions are based on God’s Word, and do what God calls you to do to act on them.

Title: Is it Okay to Have More than Enough?
Scripture: Luke 9:23 “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’”
Love Yourself Today: Make a decision to be more generous than you have ever been before and to also enjoy what you have fully.

LOVE OUT LOUD is the perfect little daily devotional for those on the go. Meyer’s writing style is real, easy-to-understand and practical. As always, her wisdom and passion for the truth of God’s Word shines through, making it clear why she is such a sought-after teacher.

We may always “love” ice cream, our new car, or Facebook, and we’ll probably never stop overusing the word. But if you want to do everything you can to learn about loving God’s way, LOVE OUT LOUD is a great place to start.

Reviewed by Lynda Lee Schab on December 14, 2011

Love Out Loud: 365 Devotions for Loving God, Loving Yourself, and Loving Others
by Joyce Meyer