Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 117:1-2
Ps 117:1-2
1 Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. 2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
The love of God! Even the agnostic likes to talk about the love of God and how we should love each other. But the love of God is not some mussy feeling that comes over us and then overlooks all of our sin. The love of God is the motivation that caused him to give his special Son to come to earth where he lived as one of us and then was put to death by cruel men. But even more than this, it was his love that allowed Jesus to take our sin upon himself and then die as the one who was guilty of that sin. He did this so we can be considered righteous in him.
John tells us that when we allow this love to change us and when we accept it in humble obedience, we are free from sin. This love drives out fear from our lives so that we can live with confidence. Fear involves punishment but our sins have been forgiven so there is no more punishment for us. We are not of those who shrink back in fear but we are those who live each day with the assurance that we are in the hands of God who will accept us and take care of us in every way.
This love and this confidence makes us thankful. We thank God for his mercy and his compassion on us. We thank God that he extended his grace to us. We thank God that we can live without fear in our lives. What can separate us from the love of God? Can the Corona Virus? Can the national elections? Can the civil unrest? Can the other diseases that plague mankind? Is there anything on earth that is stronger than the love of God? No! In Jesus Christ we are more than conquerors and none of these things can separate us from the love of God in him.
Heavenly Father I am filled with thanksgiving and praise because of your love for me and the many ways you have shown it to me. Even when I sit and ponder your great love, I know I can only scratch the surface of where it has been shown. Fill me with your love so that it will overflow to all around me and they will see Jesus living in me and will want your love in them. Give me wisdom to know how to best serve you and strength to carry it out in my life. Thank you for the peace that fills my heart, even in a troubled world. I pray in the name of Jesus my Lord.
Robert
