Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 149:1-5
Ps 149:1-5
Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation. Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.
James 4:4-6
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
“Don’t just say that you love me, show me.” Have you ever said this, or had it said to you? Most of us have at one time or the other. We don’t want to just hear the words; we want to see love in action and feel it is sincere. Nothing is much worse than feigned or pretended love. It is betrayal and hypocrisy in its worst form.
How does God feel about us and our love for him? Is it real? Is it from the heart or is it just pretended? Do we say one thing and then live another? Jesus said that the most important command is to love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. Then he added that the second is much like the first; love your neighbor as yourself. All of our “heart, soul, and mind” is a lot!
John says that the way we can know that we love God is because we keep his commands. Loving God means that we accept his love in Jesus as our Savior. It means that we love each other because it is inconsistent to say that we love God whom we have never seen but we don’t have love for our fellow person whom we have seen. John describes love as actually helping someone in need and not just saying: “good luck” or “I hope things work out for you” or “call me if you need me”. Loving someone means that we are there to listen to them and then we keep what is said in our hearts and not repeat it to others. We truly have their interests at heart, and we are willing to put their needs ahead of our own.
O Lord God, increase my faith so I can know your love more fully and I can love you in return. Just as you love me and have forgiven me, help me love others enough to forgive them, even when I think they are my enemy. Help me love others in a way that will keep me from slandering or gossiping about them. Give me love that will keep me from being judgmental toward those around me. Use me to encourage others to live for you. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
