Category: living by faith

In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps.
Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)

What is the proper response to violence? In an increasingly violent culture, this is a question we must all ask ourselves. It isn’t just a question of what “works” to reduce violent crime; it’s also a question of how God has called his people to live and witness in a troubled world.

Genuine loves means that we hate what is evil. Think about it… We detest it creeping into our hearts and ruining our relationships. We abhor its effects on those we love. We are repelled by the eternal destruction it causes in those whose lives are tender, or weak, or wavering. So we strive to do the very best thing we can do for those we love by clinging to what is good and staying far away from evil and wickedness.

Christians still have the ministry of comfort and care to help alleviate the aftermath of evil in this world. We are called to minister to the weak, helpless, abused, and ravaged victims of evil. We are also called to hate the horrible actions and not the perpetrator of evil deeds. It is not easy being a follower of Jesus, in fact it can be heart-wrenching, but that is our calling. We must allow God to work through us even when we cannot comprehend the circumstances.

Love must be sincere.
Hate what is evil;
cling to what is good.
Romans 12:9 (NIV)

Loving Father,
May my life be a source of goodness and joy
in my family and with my friends.
Please give me wisdom to see what is good
and the courage to pursue it with passion.
Please protect me from the evil one and
forgive me when I have followed his temptations.
Please protect those I love from the fallout
of my own selfish and evil decisions.
Please purify and cleanse me so that my life
may be lived holy, and wholly, to you.
Help me to offer grace and forgiveness
even when I cannot do so with ease.
Comfort the afflicted and redeem the lost.
In the name of your Holy Son, Jesus. Amen.

 

Do you have the gift of speaking?
Then speak as though God himself
were speaking through you.
Do you have the gift of helping others?
Do it with all the strength
and energy that God supplies.
Then everything you do
will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.
All glory and power to him
forever and ever! Amen.
1 Peter 4:11 NLT

We tend to busy ourselves and over-book our calendars in an attempt to justify our relevance. We can become frustrated and discouraged when our lofty goals are not achieved. There is the urge is to do more and more until we become exhausted. Failure to achieve success can be deflating and this misdirection takes us down a path of self-pity and perceived failure. This may be God’s way of keeping us humble. When we get to the end of a day, sometimes there is nothing left for us to do except thank and praise God!

Now all glory to God,
who is able,
through his mighty power
at work within us,
to accomplish infinitely more
than we might ask or think.
Glory to him in the church
and in Christ Jesus
through all generations
forever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 NLT

While we may often dream of doing great things for God and his Kingdom, the dreams aren’t as big as God’s plans. While we may be richly talented, influential, powerful, or rich, these are merely tools in God’s hands, not symbols of our sufficiency. “God is able” has to be one of the best and most accurate phrases in the Bible. But this time, it’s said about his work in you in me. He is able of much more than we imagine to work through and in us. What can we say to that?  Just say, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!”

Loving Father,
please help me to know
and live your will in my life.
I want to be your vessel of ministry,
healing, blessing, and hope
to those around me
at work and play.
Please use me to your glory today,
and always. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.

A new command I give you:
Love one another. As I have loved you,
so you must love one another.
By this all men will know
that you are my disciples,
if you love one another.
John 13:34-35 NIV

 

How do you recognize Jesus’ followers? How do you find Christians? Jesus said they love each other just as he loved the disciples. In the immediate context this means he is willing to give sacrificially and extravagantly by dying for them at the cross, and he is also willing to love selflessly and practically by washing their feet. His ministry reveals he will do almost anything in between extravagant and practical. Imagine if we all read the Gospels and committed to love each other in the same way Jesus showed his love to his disciples!

 

Father of Compassion and God of all grace,
I thank you for teaching me to love
through the example of Jesus.
May my words and actions
reflect his love toward your people today,
tomorrow, and until you bring us all home to you.
In the name of Christ, my Great Example, I pray.
Amen.

 

“All you need is love.
But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
– Charlie Brown (Charles M. Schulz)

Therefore, anyone who refuses
to live by these rules
is not disobeying human teaching
but is rejecting God,
who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
But we don’t need to write to you
about the importance of loving each other,
for God himself has
taught you to love one another. 
1 Thessalonians 4:8-9 NLT

God keeps on giving us the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. One of the great blessings about this presence is that God pours love into our hearts through the Spirit (Rom. 5:5). Along with the great example of God’s love in sending Jesus (John 3:16-17), the Father uses the Spirit to teach us to know how to love each other. This is part of the Spirit’s fruit (Gal. 5:22-23) as well as the work of the Spirit that brings us into fellowship (2 Cor. 13:14), that holds us together in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3-4), and that fills us as we submit to one another (Eph. 5:17-21). Loving each other is not only a command; it is also part of God’s continuing work in us through the Holy Spirit. The reward for this obedience is kind of like good chocolates… heavenly!

Dear God, I confess
that I do not always love others as I should.
I ask you to make me more like Jesus
in my love for others.
I am thankful for the presence
of the Holy Spirit
to help me see those
whom I need to show your love
and to empower me to love them
when it is difficult.
In Jesus’ name I pray for this grace.
Amen.