WATCHWORD:
“We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.” Job 5:27
And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. John 17:3
Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. … By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. 1 Timothy 6:12, 19
Meditation:
Setting Myself Aside
Practice, practice, practice. Pro golfer Lee Trevino tells us that the more he practices the luckier he gets. I believe that. I wonder if there is an application here for us?
How about this — In the book of John Jesus tells us “A new covenant I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
I wonder if anyone could love as He loves us without having Him in our lives? Think about it, unless we have an intimate relationship with Jesus, I mean every day, how can we possibly understand the fullness of what he is asking us, no, actually He is commanding us to do. That would be the practice, practice, practice, part of the equation.
The thing about loving as he loves us is that it communicates that we are His. But more than that, by His love we are changed. One cannot truly love another unless selfishness is removed from our thinking. How do we do that? By surrendering it all to God because we know that we can’t truly love others without His help.
In one of my morning time with the Lord I read something to the effect that we must set ourselves aside, you know deal with our own flaws, our greed, selfishness, and desires daily, and pick up our cross and follow. Jesus showed us the way when he surrendered His authority and power and died on the cross for us so that we could truly live because of that sacrifice. In our faith we are called upon to surrender all.
In Matthew 10:39 Jesus tells us whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. We find true life by loving others as Jesus loves us.
I never doubted what Lee Trevino said about practice. Do you suppose, with a bit of application, you know, practice, could I have become one of the truly great golfers of all time? No, get real. On the other hand, if I apply what Jesus tells us, to come to Him and practice, practice our loving others, each day, Would I become more and more what God had in mind for me? I think that’s probably a better way. Right?
Dove Chocolate Wisdom:
You can do hard things!
Get lost in the pages of your story.
Morning Prayers:
I come before you, O Lord. As the sun rises, may your hope rise up in me. As the birds sing, let your love flow out of me. As the light floods into this new day, may your joy shine through me. I come before you, O Lord And drink in this moment of peace, that I may carry something of your hope, love, and joy today in my heart.
Father, I am tempted to worry about so many things. Our world is a mess! Forgive me for focusing on anything or anyone but You. Thank You for the Bible that equips and empowers me to live each day. Right now, I declare that You are my only Hope. Please help me remember that You really are in control.
Thank You for Your unfailing love for me, Your blessings, and goodness. Thank You for Your faithfulness to guide me and see me through times of uncertainty, for lifting me up, and setting me on high. Thank You for Scripture that comforts and reminds me of Your promises, plan, and provision. Thank you for taking away my fears and worries, and the what-ifs, and reminding me that my help comes from You. In Christ’s name, Amen.”
