LOVING OTHERS

 LOVING OTHERS

Ps. 48:9 O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple. NLT

What is a temple? A temple is wherever God dwells. The temple of God can be either the building in which we worship or it can be us. Either way, do we think about God and His love for us as we worship Him? Paul says in Romans 12 that our living is an act of worship. As you live, do you ponder the love of God for you? Do you think about the love of God for those around you? God never fails to love us, even the most unlovable of us.

The next time you encounter someone who makes life miserable for others, or makes you uncomfortable being around him, remember that God loves him as much as He does you. God does not discriminate against those whom He loves. He loves everybody, regardless whether or not they love Him back. He loves unconditionally and sacrificially, and so should we.

How do you treat those whom God loves? What do you think God thinks about the way you treat those whom you find hard to like, let alone love? Do you shun anyone whom God loves? What if God had shunned you when you needed someone to love you? If you love someone, it shows in how you treat them. Just remember, God loves us whether we love Him back or not. If we really have the love of God in us, we will do the same.

Lord, help! You have shown us what loving others really is like. You have not only shown us, but you have commanded us to be vessels of your love. Lord, we fail so miserably at times. It is easy to love those who are easy to love and love us back, but Lord, it is so hard to love those who make it very hard for us to love. Help us, Lord, to be more like you. Help us to be examples and vessels of love to all, no matter how hard it may be. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

BE SILENT, AND KNOW GOD

 BE SILENT, AND KNOW GOD

Ps. 46:10 "Be silent, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the whole world." NLT

Can we know the Lord if we are not silent? We tend to do all the talking. We know what we need and want and we tell the Lord about them with little thought given to being still long enough to listen. When was the last time you really set aside time to just focus on who our God is? God wants to make himself known to us on a deep level. He wants us to grasp just how sufficient He is to meet all of our needs. He wants us to linger in His love and holiness. He wants us to know that He alone is God and beside Him, there is no other.

Being still and silent before the Lord is important because it stops us from interjecting our opinions and imposing our wills on the Lord. We learn best from Him when we simply wait on Him in silence and hear what He has to say. Silence enables us to observe the display of God in creation, life, and our lives. It enables us to experience the awe of who God is.

We cannot be silent unless we are still and we cannot be still until we stop and get off the cycle of life's busyness. Being silent requires us to come before Him with no agenda but to listen to Him. It is a deliberate setting aside of everything that would distract us. It is a deliberate immersing ourselves in the presence of God. It is waiting. It is lingering until we indeed hear from God.

God declares His sovereignty over the world. He makes it very clear that He is God. Even though the world does not recognize or acknowledge Him today, there is coming a day in which every knee shall bow before Him and honor Him as God. Today, the world is too busy running away from God and fulfilling its evil pleasures to acknowledge and honor Him. Those days are numbered. God will not be mocked. He is Lord over all the nations of the world and all will honor Him someday as Lord. Is He your Lord today?

A THIRST FOR GOD

 A THIRST FOR GOD

Ps. 42:1-2 As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. NLT

When do deer pant for water? It could be when they are running away from trouble and know they can't safely stop for a drink. It could be when all of the water resources around them are dried up. It could be when they wander away from familiar territory and don't know where to find water. Deer pant for water out of need. They instinctively know that they must have it or they will be in serious trouble.

We need to capture the same urgency for God as the deer deprived of water have. We need to recognize the seriousness of life without the Lord. We need to know that we will never have the stamina to continue to flee from Satan or resist him without the Lord's help. We must understand that it is only the Living Water that can quench our thirst. There may be other types of water supply available to us, but none are safe or satisfying but the Living Water. We must understand that we dare not wander away from where the Living Water is found. Otherwise, we may not be able to find our way back to the only water that can help and sustain us.

It is good for the soul to have a constant thirst for God. We must never let ourselves be satisfied by anything but God in our lives. We must stay away from everything that would entice us to drink from resources other than God. We must always stay close to God. We must desire Him more than anything else in life.

The only way we can maintain a thirst for God is to let the disciplines of faith govern our lives. We must be disciplined to read and meditate on the Word consistently. We must be disciplined to spend time alone with God in prayer. We must discipline ourselves to participate in the fellowship of other believers. We must be disciplined in being witnesses for the Lord whenever we can. We must be disciplined to think Biblically about life. The more disciplined we are in the faith, the more we will thirst for the Lord.

JOY IN THE LORD

 JOY IN THE LORD

Ps. 40:8 I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your law is written on my heart. NLT

Do you take joy in doing God's will for your life? Do you see what God has given you to do as a blessing or a curse? Does living in Christ thrill your soul like it used to? Are you enjoying your journey of faith? Do you really enjoy serving others?

The Lord wants us to enjoy our life in Him. He wants us to look forward to each new day of life and what it holds for us. He wants us to know the delight of living in close fellowship with Him. He wants us to live in Him out of love and not out of duty.

The only way we will ever be joyful in our walk with the Lord is to stay in His Word. We need to know the Word well. We need to let the Spirit brand deeply on our hearts God's Word. The better we know the Word, the more we know of God's love and faithfulness. We discover just how great our God is and how He is able to help us in our journey of life. God's Word hidden in our hearts reminds us that whatever we may be experiencing in life, there is a home in heaven that awaits us. It reminds us of God's plan of redemption, not only for us, but for the whole world. It reminds us that we are never alone, that God is always with us to enable us to live with confidence life in Christ.

Having the Word in our hearts enables us to not sin against God. It gives us the authority of heaven to resist Satan when we are tempted. It gives us purpose and direction for life. It gives us understanding of why we need Jesus as we live in this world.

If the joy has gone out of your faith walk, get back into the Word. Let it saturate your soul. Hide it in your heart and soon you will once again delight yourself in the Lord.

TURN FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD

 TURN FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD

Ps. 37:27-28a Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever. For the LORD loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. NLT

Want to know the secret to a long life? Here it is. Turn away from sin and do what is good in God's eyes. The promise is that if we do this, we will live forever. But here is the catch; in order for us to do this, we must confess our sins to Christ and turn them over to Him. We sin against Christ so we must ask Him to forgive us. Turning from sin also means we change our attitude towards sin. We purposely try not to sin and purposely try to do what is good in God's eyes. If we don't turn from evil and do good, evil will consume us and God will not be with us.

Doing what is good in God's eyes is what He desires and demands of His children. God declares those who do are just in His eyes. It is the counterpart of evil. It is bringing into the darkness of the world the light of righteousness. The Lord loves it when righteousness prevails. It is His desire that all would be made right with Him.

The promise of God is that He will never abandon the godly. Never means never. God is always with the godly. He is with them in the good and in the bad times of life. He is with them when they are on the go and when they stay put. He is with them all day and all night. God never lets His children fend for themselves. He is always with them to help them in whatever they may need.

God is with His children always, which also means that He knows what we are doing and what we say at all times. There are no hidden secrets with God. He cannot be fooled by who we appear to be. He even knows the thoughts behind our words. Let us live like we know that He is with us at all times and knows what we say, do, and think.

GOD'S DELIGHT

 GOD'S DELIGHT

Ps. 37:23 The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. NLT

The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. The Lord does not watch over those who are not His own. They do not escape His notice, but they are not taken care of by the Lord. God lets His children know the way they should go. He helps them to stay on course. He is there with them to protect them. He is there to lead them to where they need to go. The Lord goes with His children and teaches them how to travel through life. The godly can relax and enjoy the journey because God is in control. He is always with His children and never abandons them, no matter how confusing or difficult life may be.

The Lord delights in every detail of the life of the godly. It gives God great pleasure when His children live godly lives. He delights in them because He knows that godliness is the only thing that will give His children joy and peace. He knows that it is the godly who love Him as they should. He knows that the godly are less likely to fall into sin. It is the godly who are moved to be light and salt in the world. It is the godly who have a real compassion for others. It is the godly who best serve as ambassadors to the world. It is the godly who are the movers and shakers in the church. It is the godly who are students of the Word and prayer warriors. It is the godly who are humbled before Him and confess their sins when they mess up. It is the godly who have a song to sing and are not afraid to sing it.

Who are the godly? It is those who not only know Jesus as their Savior, they know Him as their Lord as well. It is those who are committed to living life God's way. It is those who give the Lord the best of their love and do not waiver in their devotion to Him. It is those who will not compromise or neglect their salvation. It is those who welcome God's influence on their lives and embrace it. It is those who seek to be a holy people, a people after God's own heart. It is those who will be in heaven with the Lord when they die.

STOP YOUR ANGER!

 STOP YOUR ANGER!

Ps. 37:8 Stop your anger! Turn from your rage! Do not envy others—it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land. NLT

Let it go. Whoever or whatever you are angry at, stop it! Letting anger control you does nothing but hurt you. The more you lash out, the more damage it does to your soul. Anger that is not self-controlled can only damage or destroy. Righteous anger moves us to act to right the wrong. Any other anger moves us to do wrong.

Watch out so that you don't envy others. The world is full of people different than you. Many people are better at what you do, have different gifts than you do, are more successful than you are, look different than you do, have better jobs, have it easier than you do, the list goes on and on. It makes no difference at all as to how we differ. Everyone is on equal footing at the Cross. Everyone stands before God equally to account for their living. God treats all people the same. Everyone will be judged on the righteousness of their heart and how they have lived. The only one you will ever hurt by envying others is yourself.

If you are carrying around a spirit of anger or envy today, do something about it before they destroy your spirit. Confess them to the Lord. If you need to, let your emotions drive you in your confession. It's okay, He can handle it. Get it out on the table so that God can help you. Ask Him to help you gain control over your emotions (after all, self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit) so that you don't let anger or envy control you. It is sin to not do it. Don't put it off; do it now.