Worthy of Our Love

Authentic Christians are so in love with God that things in this world lose their appeal. As we contemplate His goodness, the memories warm our heart. We burst out in joyful songs because of His righteous treatment of us. He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in loving kindness. He is good to us all and all of His works are full of His tender mercy (Psalm 145:7-9).

God is the Lord of hosts of angels and His magnificence fills our hearts with respect and awe (Isaiah 8:13). As we read about His work through the ages, we realize that His thoughts and methods are much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Sometimes they do not make sense to our finite, human mind; however, hindsight always gives us a glimpse of His wisdom.

We trust in God’s loyal love and rejoice in the salvation that Christ's redemption provides for us. We sing of the benevolent and bountiful ways in which He deals with us (Psalm 13:5-6). He hears our prayers and is our shield from danger and our strength to deal with life's unpleasant experiences. Our heart trusts in His goodness, because of the ways He always works out everything for our good (Psalm 28:6 Romans 8:28).

We cannot help but to rejoice in God's bountiful provision and give Him continual thanks night and day for all that He does for us (Psalm 28:7). God is high and lofty above the earth and lives in a high and holy place with our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father inhabits eternity, yet cares enough to revive the spirit of the depressed and to forgive the heart of the contrite (Isaiah 57:15).

Prayer:

Father God, heaven is Your throne and our earth is Your footstool. You made all of these things by Your wisdom, understanding and power, or they would never have come into existence (Jeremiah 10:12, 51:15; Isaiah 66:1-2). You are the one and only, true living god, our eternal King. The earth and nations tremble at Your righteous anger, and many come to You in repentance (Jeremiah 10:10).

Thought for the Day:

God is always nearby and never far from any one of us, even though He fills both the heaven and the earth. - Jeremiah 23:23-24

My Soul's Portion

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never end; they are fresh every morning. His faithfulness is great and never ending. My soul received the Lord as my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him. The Lord provides every good and perfect gift for those who wait on Him, to the soul that seeks Him. Salvation is not something we must grasp at or steal away. It is a free gift that comes to those who patiently wait on the Lord (Lamentations 3:22-26).

My soul waits for the Lord more eagerly than a night watchman waits for the morning light to dawn (Psalm 130:6). I plant my hope in His Word, because He is my help and my shield (Psalm 28:7). He brings joy to my soul because He showers me with His unfailing love. Both riches and honor come from Him, and in His hand is all the power and might we need to live fulfilling and spiritually vibrant lives (2 Chronicles 20:6).

The Lord longs to be gracious and rises to show compassion on the whole earth. I will never finish singing His praises. I will never stop testifying to anyone who will listen about what He does for me, and what He longs to do for them. I will always give thanks to the Lord, and never fail to call upon His name in any time of distress. I will constantly sing praises to Him, and tell of all His wonderful acts (1 Chronicles 16:8-9).

He does not treat us as our sins warrant, nor does He repay us according to the punishment our sins deserve (Psalm 103:10). He restrains His anger over our sin, time and time again. He is so merciful, because He repeatedly forgives our sins (Psalm 78:38). He who promises salvation to us is faithful; therefore we can cling to our hope in Him (Hebrews 10:23). His eyes are always on those who honor and respect Him, and who hope in His unfailing love (Psalm 33:18).

Even the heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they are a testimony to His goodness, and night after night they prove His existence (Psalm 19:1-2; Romans 1:20). I trust in God’s loyal love. My heart rejoices in His salvation. He blesses me bountifully, which makes my soul break forth into singing and rejoicing (Psalm 13:5-6).

During times of deprivation and abandonment, we can cling to the fact that God has big plans for His children. He brings us prosperous blessings and protects us even in times of trouble and trial. He is our future and our hope (Jeremiah 29:11). We can take courage from Him and from His Word. We have no need to be afraid, no matter what life throws at us. The Lord Jesus is with us - no matter who we are, where we live or what we do for a living on this earth.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, let Your unfailing love rain down upon us, even as we put our hope in You. Bring us to a place of surrendering everything to You, so that we may live according to Your will. You have only our best at heart; so help us to trust in Your mercy and grace forevermore. We praise You for Your great love and compassion, which never fail us.

Thought for the Day:

God is love; and His love demands justice for the wages of our sins. Yet, in His love, He gave His only Son to die to pay for us the penalty of our sin.

Life Changing Experience

Read: Proverbs 3:5-6

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

The gospel in a nutshell contains only a few words, but they are powerful and life changing. Through them, we see our sin, repent and surrender our life to Christ. We simply ask in faith for Jesus to justify us as our Savior. It is so effortless; yet, so profound. This uncomplicated act opens the door for God’s welcoming grace to flood our soul, and to begin the sanctifying process of holiness.

There is no penance to perform, no searching journey to take around the world and no monumental feat to accomplish. Salvation is not accomplished by works, which we can do, it is a free gift for us from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). When we ask Him to save us, Jesus instantaneously breathes His Spirit into our dead spirit (John 3:6) and we are "born again" (John 3:7). He makes us a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Old things pass away and everything about us gradually is made new. Then He calls us to diligently seek Him with all of our heart, so He can teach us all things (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

So often, we mistakenly think that once our salvation is secure, we must start to impress God with our goodness. We work to deserve His love. We take copious notes on Biblical imperatives and we use them to create a set of rules to live by. Paul watched the Galatians do this very same thing, and he called them foolish (Galatians 3:1-3). All God wants is our praise. We trust Him with our life and we do not rely on our own devices (Proverbs 3:5-6). As we abide in His presence, and as we allow His Holy Spirit to direct our steps, we will bear much fruit and further God’s Kingdom in the earth (John 15:5).

Paul exhorted his spiritual son Timothy to trust in the grace of Christ (2 Timothy 2:1). Grace saves us and keeps us in its grasp (Colossians 2:6) as the Holy Spirit equips us with everything we need to live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). Grace is unmerited favor from God that makes us victorious over every temptation and strengthens us through every trial. With this grace operating in our life, we learn contentment sitting at Jesus’ feet (Philippians 4:12).

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help us to live in Your grace with a life of wisdom, honor, holiness and victory. Our soul hungers and thirsts for more of You (Psalm 42:2, 63:1, 84:2, 143:6). Keep us ever faithful to You, and remind us to show our gratitude for everything You do in us, through us and for us. You are gracious to us, Lord God Almighty, and we are eternally grateful.

Thought for the Day:

We did not earn our salvation, and we do not need to earn God’s love.

My Soul Waits for the Lord

Read: Psalm 18:1-3

"I trust in Your loyal love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for He has dealt bountifully with me." - Psalm 13:5-6

My soul waits for the Lord more eagerly than a night watchman waits for the morning light to dawn. I plant my hope in His Word, because He is my help and my shield. He brings joy to my soul because He showers me with His unfailing love. Both riches and honor come from Him, and in His hand is all the power and might we need to live fulfilling and strong lives.

God has big plans for His children, which bring us prosperous blessings and protect us from all harm. He is our future and our hope (Jeremiah 29:11). We can take courage and not be afraid no matter what life throws at us, because the Lord Jesus is with us - no matter where we live, what we do for a living, nor for how long we live on this earth.

The Lord longs to be gracious and rises to show compassion on the whole earth. I could never finish singing His praises. I will testify to others what He has done for me, and what He longs to do for them. I will give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, and make known to others what He has done for me. I will sing praises to Him, and tell of all His wonderful acts (1 Chronicles 16:8-9). Even the heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they are a testimony to His goodness, and night after night they prove His existence (Psalm 19:1-2).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, let Your unfailing love rain down on us, even as we put our hope in You.

Thought for the Day:

We have the privilege and the responsibility to offer others the gift of faith in Christ.