Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 35:26-28
Ps 35:26-28
Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me! Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.
1 Thess 4:9-12
Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Great is the Lord! He wants what is best for all of his creation. That includes those who seek him and want to be like him, but it also includes those who reject him as God and even those who fight against him. He loves everyone and wants all to repent of their evil deeds and to live for him and ultimately, live with him.
We tend to love those who love us. We do good to those who treat us nicely. We invite people to our homes who will return the invitation. But Jesus said for us to love our enemies and to do good to those who despitefully treat us. Pray for your enemies, bless those who curse you. This is a big part of why Jesus said that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees, they were just like us in all of this. This goes against everything in us and most of what we have been taught.
We claim to be followers, disciples, learners, and imitators of Jesus. The problem is that we want to define Jesus in terms of how we think and what we would do in any given situation. We want to be like him, but it is hard to wrap our head around forgiving someone who is in the process of killing us! Would we get on our knees to wash the feet of someone who we know is about to deny us, and then the other one who is going to betray us? That is the love we are to imitate.
O Lord God, great and almighty, how majestic is your name! I want to be just like Jesus, but it is hard to think like that when I am being mistreated or when things seem to have gone all wrong around me. Give me a greater grace to accept your Spirit in my heart so that he can change me from the inside to think, to love, and to show Jesus living in me. Be with our nation and our leaders so that we can live quiet and peaceful lives in all godliness. I pray for wars to cease, for peace to abound, and safety for the victims of war. In Jesus name I pray.
Robert
