Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 11:19-23
Prov 11:19-23
Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die. Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight. Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered. Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion. The desire of the righteous ends only in good; the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
Luke 6:35-36
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. The desire of the righteous ends only in good. But love your enemies and do good. When you were a kid, did you ever have one of your parents tell you to be good? What does it mean to be good? It is said that Jesus went about doing good. The idea of good is relative, depending on the circumstances at the time. I see this every day when someone asks me how I am doing, and I tell them I am doing good. This does not mean the same thing as it did fifty years ago!
Being a Christian means that we are followers and imitators of Christ. So, being good means that we get out of our comfort zone at times. Jesus touched a leper and he talked to a Samaritan woman! Either of these would ban him from entering a synagogue in the eyes of the Jewish leaders. He healed on the Sabbath. This violated their rules, big time! But he said doing good is always good.
Good in the sight of God is being righteous, being like Jesus. It means having a love for him and a good attitude toward those around us. It means being nice, being kind, being thoughtful, being compassionate, being helpful. To be good means to smile at a homeless person and even talk with them. It means that we help someone who is struggling, even if they broke the rules to get into our country. It means that we love our enemies (and that includes those that some consider as religious enemies, or political enemies, or social enemies).
My heavenly Father and my God, help me be like Jesus in my attitude, in my desire to do good, and in my actions toward others. Help me to love others as Jesus loves me, which will make me be kind, compassionate, caring, merciful, even to the point of suffering for them. Forgive me when I fail. Use me to do your will in my life by serving others and in turn, serving you. I thank you for answering prayers as my wife’s surgery went well, and now I ask you to make her cancer free. Thank you for being with others who have battled cancer. I pray in Jesus’ name.
Robert
