2020-03-08
1 John 4:11 NIV
We all know that we’re called to love other people. Jesus said that loving God and loving other people is the greatest commandment (have a read of Mark 12:30-31). But loving others isn’t always easy. In fact, sometimes it can be really challenging. So let’s take a look at how Jesus loved the church, which began with twelve disciples, and use it to learn how we should love others. He loved them unconditionally. He loved the disciples despite their mistakes and flaws. They were human, and would get things wrong. They doubted and argued. Jesus was perfect, but He didn’t let their mistakes change His love for them. It’s the same for us. God sees everything we do, good and bad, and still loves us. There’s nothing we can do to make Him love us more, and nothing we can do to make Him love us less. We’re His children. The Bible says: ‘See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!’ (1 John 3:1 NIV). He redeems every mistake we make, because of His love for us. He forgives us and restores us. Jesus did this for Peter after he had denied knowing Jesus three times. Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved Him (you can read about this in John 21). We’re told that ‘since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.’ So how can we love others God’s way? We can offer forgiveness when they make mistakes, and we can love them as a child of God even if we don’t like the way they’re acting. We can love them unconditionally.
Matt 5:3; Luke 18:9-14; Isa 57:14-21; 2 Sam 7:18-29
2020-03-07
Malachi 3:14 NLT
In the Old Testament book of Malachi, the Israelites asked, ‘What’s the use of serving God?’ It’s a question nonbelievers and sometimes even believers ask, particularly when times are hard, our faith is being tested, or we’re not seeing any benefit. But we also need to ask ourselves what’s in our heart. If we have a genuine desire to love, worship, and obey God, then we’ll never question the point of serving Him. But if we’re serving to get something back from God, or to earn His love by proving how good we are, then we’re going to become disillusioned about following Him. Even though it shouldn’t be our motive, God does love to bless us when we obey Him. The psalmist wrote: ‘Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands…Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice’ (Psalm 112:1; 5 NIV). When we serve God we’re blessed with good things. These might not always be the good things we want or are expecting, but they’re the things God wants to give us to enrich our lives. God notices everything we do for Him, big and small. The Bible says: ‘God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them’ (Hebrews 6:10 NIV). Even if our lives are tough, and we can’t see blessings now, we know that everything we do for God will be rewarded one day. And the whole point of serving Him is to express our love and gratitude for the amazing things He has done for us.
Gen 32-34; Matt 21:12-17; Ps 106:1-23; Prov 7:1-2
2020-03-06
Mark 11:24 NIV
God doesn’t just want us to pray, He wants us to pray with faith. The Bible says: ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him’ (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). Praying with faith means we’re trusting God for the outcome. It means praying expectantly without doubting that God will come through for us. However, just because we believe God will answer us doesn’t mean we’ll get everything we’re asking for. God knows what will be best for us and for those we love. And He wants us to experience that. If we’re asking for something that doesn’t line up with His will and desire to give us the best things, then we may find that He says no. That doesn’t mean we didn’t have enough faith; it simply means it wasn’t the right thing for us. So when we’re praying in faith, we’re praying in the knowledge that God’s faithful and good. The Bible says: ‘When you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind’ (James 1:6 NIV). Whatever we’re asking God for, we need to avoid doubting Him. It can be tempting to start doubting when we’ve been praying for a long time. We may have to pray many times before we see God answer us. We have to have persistence, and the faith that He does hear us. The Bible actually tells us to never stop praying (take a look at 1 Thessalonians 5:17). God wants us to go to Him with all our requests and burdens. So let’s take them to Him in faith.
Gen 30:25-31:55; Matt 21:1-11; Ps 136:13-26; Prov 6:32-35
2020-03-05
Matthew 7:14 NLT
If we’re being honest, living out our faith can be tough. We often have to walk a different path from those around us; we stand out. We’re called to walk Jesus’ way, not the world’s way. And sometimes that can cause us to feel conflicted. We want to follow Jesus, but the world’s way is tempting. It can be difficult going a different way to everyone else. Jesus said: ‘The gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.’ Here He is acknowledging that it will be tough to follow Him. But His way leads to life. It might be more difficult to follow His path, but overall it’s the best thing we can ever do. When we’re at a crossroads, and we’re not sure which path we should, or even want, to take, we need to look for God’s path. Jesus said: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6 NLT). If we want life, if we want to live eternally with God, we need to follow Jesus’ way. We might feel lonely on this path sometimes, but we can know that we’re never actually alone. God’s always walking alongside us. The Bible tells us that ‘God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you”‘ (Hebrews 13:5 NIV). There will be obstacles along the way, but God has the strength we need to keep going. We’re ‘more than conquerors’ through Him (Romans 8:37 NIV). The battles we have to fight along the way help us to become more like Him. The question is, are we more concerned with going the way everyone else is going, or going Jesus’ way?
Gen 28:1-30:24; Matt 20:29-34; Ps 136:1-12; Prov 6:30-31
2020-03-04
Joshua 1:11 NIV
God told Joshua, ‘You will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you.’ The Promised Land already belonged to God’s people. But when He told them to ‘take possession’, that meant they’d have to fight for it. There were thirty-one kings living there – each with their own tribal armies. There were seven major cities to conquer and giants to overcome. If we’re going to ‘take possession’ of what God has in store for us, we need to firstly believe God has given us the gifting, resources, and strength to fulfil our purpose. And then we need to be willing to fight for it. Just because it’s something God has for us doesn’t mean we won’t have to fight to get to it. The fight teaches us to trust in God, and helps us remember in the future how God helped us overcome things in order for us to reach our potential. We won’t win in our own strength. We need to rely on God. He says: ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you’ (v.9 NIV). Also, if we’re stepping out and taking hold of God’s plans for us, we’ll often face the attack of the enemy who wants to stop us being effective for the kingdom, and wants to stop us from getting closer to God. We need to take all our struggles to God, and ask for His help. Whatever God calls us to do, He will give us the ability to do, but we must work to develop that ability. Sometimes we have to pursue what He promised us – and that means we need to have passion, patience, and persistence for the fight.
Gen 25:19-27:46; Matt 20:17-28; Ps 77; Prov 6:29
2020-03-03
1 Peter 1:8 NLT
In yesterday’s reading, we explored what seeking God means. But it can seem really challenging to seek somebody we can’t see. How are we supposed to deepen our relationship with God when we can’t see Him? Peter said: ‘You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him.’ It’s possible to seek, love, and trust God without physically seeing Him. We can find out more about Him through reading the Bible, from looking at things He’s created, and listening to His voice in prayer. We can’t seek God without doing these things. We have to open our eyes up to see Him in the things and people around us. We also have to allow the Holy Spirit to show us more of God. It’s important to be disciplined. We need to be setting aside time to intentionally seek Him through reading the Bible, prayer, and times of silence. We might not feel like we’re getting closer to God, but that doesn’t mean we’re not. We can’t rely on our feelings. The Bible says: ‘The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him’ (Lamentation 3:25 NIV). God loves it when we make the choice to seek Him and discover more about Him. He wants us to discover just how good and loving He is. Seeking Him isn’t challenging, but it does require sacrifice. We need to put seeking Him at the top of our priority list. We can’t just do what we want, and expect to know more about Him. Jesus said: ‘Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness’ (Matthew 6:33 NIV). We have to set aside the other things we want to do, and focus on drawing close to Him.
Gen 24:1-25:18; Matt 20:1-16; Ps 70; Prov 6:26-28
