VERSE OF THE DAY:
1 PETER 4:8
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Our Most Important Work
All throughout the Bible, Scripture is abundantly clear that love is at the center of what it is to be a follower of Jesus.
In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus says the greatest commandment is to love God with everything we are.
In John 13:35, Jesus says that people will know we’re His disciples because of the way that we love others. We won’t be recognized by our knowledge of the Bible, our families, the career paths we take, or the amount of time spent at church. While those are all important things, Jesus says that the most important quality is how we love other people.
1 Peter 4:8 tells us the same thing: we should be among the most loving people on earth, and our goal should be to love each other deeply. Peter, the author of this verse, also says love is the key to forgiving others. Just as we have been forgiven by Jesus, our love for other people should encourage us to forgive those who have wronged us.
Forgiving those who have mistreated us is one of the hardest things to do—it requires that we love deeply. That’s why forgiveness is evidence of a life marked by God’s love.
So if your closest friends were asked about your top qualities, what would they say? Would your top quality be how loving you are towards others? If not, know that you’re not alone. None of us are perfect, and we can all do better at this. Today, ask God to show you ways you can show love to those around you. Let Him fill your heart with love for others.
God, sometimes it's hard to love others. But even when people are unkind, I want to choose to love them because You love them, Encourage me to love others even when it's challenging, and give me the opportunities each day to go out of my way to show Your love to everyone I encounter. In Jesus' name, Amen.
SHARE YOUR FAITH
How will people know you love Jesus? The way you speak, the way we act, and the way we love others is a direct reflection of what's in our hearts. When Jesus is in your heart, you'll start to see Him and hear Him in the way you interact with others. And They'll see Him and hear His words, too!
JEREMIAH 32:17
Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
Bring to God whatever awe and adoration come to mind right now.
PROVERBS 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
What do you need to trust God with today?
Picture yourself bringing your concerns to God, and hand them to Him one by one.
God, I am so grateful that Your steadfast love endures forever. Thank You for giving me victory over sin, death, and darkness through Your Son, Jesus! As I think about what You have done for me, I am overwhelmed. You have been so good and faithful to me. Thank You! All glory is Yours, forever and ever. In Jesus' name, Amen.
DAILY BIBLE READING:
JUDGES 1-3
LUKE 4:1-30
THE CONTINUING CONQUEST OF CANAAN
After the death of Joshua, the people asked "Who shall go up first for us against the canaanites to fight?" The Lord gave the enemy in the hands of Judah. Caleb gave Achsah blessings and springs. Judah went with Simeon, the Lord was with them but Judah could not drive out the enemy because they had chariots of iron. Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites so they lived with them, the house of Joseph went against Bethel, the spies asked for entry and struck it. They built Luz City.
FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE CONQUEST
Manasseh did not drive out the enemy, they put them to forced labor, Ephraim did not drive out the enemy, Zebulun did not drive out the enemy, Asher did not drive out the enemy, Napthtali did not drive out the enemy.
ISRAEL'S DISOBEDIENCE
The angel of the Lord went to Bochim. "I brought you up from Egypt, I will never break my covenant with you, you shall break the altars of the enemy but you have not obeyed. They shall become thorns in your sides and their gods shall be a snare to you." the people wept, they sacrificed there at Bochim.
THE DEATH OF JOSHUA
The people went to take possession of the inheritance, they served the Lord all the days of Joshua for 110 years. There arose another generation who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
ISRAEL'S UNFAITHFULNESS
THE LORD RAISES UP JUDGES
OTHNIEL
Israel served Cushan-rishatham 8 years. Othniel was raised by God and the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, He prevailed. there was 40 years of peace.
EHUD
Israel served Eglon the king of Moab 18 years. Ehud, left-handed man, made a sword and bound it in his right thigh, He went and killed Eglon after driving out his attendants to send a secret message. He thrusted his sword in Eglons fat belly until dung came out, he left and locked the door behind him. Ehud escaped during the delay and he said to Israel: "Follow after me, the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." Moab was subdued that day under Israel and the land had rest for 80 years.
SHAMGAR
he killed 600 of Philistines with an oxgoad and saved Israel.
THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing and was hungry.
"If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."
IT IS WRITTEN, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE"
"To you I will give all this authority nad their glory, for it has been delivered to me and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."
IT IS WRITTEN, YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE"
"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down form here, for it is written 'He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone'"
IT IS SAID, YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST."
the devil has ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
JESUS BEGINS HIS MINISTRY
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, he taught in synagogues being glorified by all.
JESUS REJECTED AT NAZARETH
1 SAMUEL 8:1-9
ISRAEL DEMANDS A KING
When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. Joel, Abijah turned aside after gain, took bribes and perverted justice. The elders gathered: "Appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations." Samuel prayed to the Lord "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds they have done, only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.
INSIGHT
God set the Israelites apart to be His chosen people. They were to obey His laws and not follow the practices and customs of the surrounding nations (Leviticus 18:1-5; 20:26). Four hundred years later, His people demanded a king to rule over them “such as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5; see v. 20). Samuel—who faithfully served as Israel’s judge, military leader, priest, and prophet for thirty-five years—was now old, and his sons were unfit to succeed him (v. 5). Faced with external threats, the Israelites wanted a human king to lead them to war. In so doing, they rejected God as their king (v. 7; 12:12). They asked Samuel to intercede for them, and he assured them of his prayers. He exhorted them to remain faithful to God—to obey His laws and to serve Him wholeheartedly because they were God’s covenant people (12:14-15, 20-24).
By: K.T. Sim
WHEN THEY DON'T SEE
Nuñez tumbled down the mountain and into a valley where everyone was blind. A disease had robbed the original settlers of sight, and subsequent generations—all born blind—had adapted to life without being able to see. Nuñez tried to explain what it was like to possess eyesight, but they weren’t interested. Eventually, he found a passage through the mountain peaks that had prevented him from leaving the valley. He was free! But from his vantage point he now saw that a rockslide was about to crush the blind dwellers below. He tried to warn them, but they ignored him.
This tale by H. G. Wells, “The Country of the Blind,” would likely resonate with the prophet Samuel. Toward the end of his life, his “sons did not follow his ways” in loving and serving God (1 Samuel 8:3). Their spiritual blindness was mirrored by “the elders of Israel” (v. 4), who told Samuel to “give us a king” (v. 6). They’d all turned their eyes from God and faith in Him. God told Samuel, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me” (v. 7).
It can hurt when those we care for reject God in spiritual blindness. But there’s hope even for those whom “the god of this age has blinded” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Love them. Pray for them. The one who “made his light shine in our hearts” (v. 6) can do the same for them.
By: Tom Felten
REFLECT AND PRAY
How does it encourage you to know that God sees those who can't see Him?
Why is there always hope for even the spiritually blind?
Loving God, please help me to pray for those who are blind to Your love and to trust You with them.
In Jesus name, Amen.
THE MESSIAH MYSTERY
CLUES IN THE HOUSE
What's the farthest you've ever walked?
Around the block> A mile or two or more?
After they were freed from slavery in Egypt, the children of Israel began a long walk to the Promised Land. But this walk lasted 40 years. On the way, God spoke with Moses, not only giving him the Ten Commandments but also passing on some detailed instructions on how to build a tabernacle. A tabernacle was kind of like a church- only it was a huge tent. Because their journey was on foot, the tabernacle had to be portable so they could carry it with them.
The tabernacle's huge tent was to be a place where they could gather in God's presence and celebrate everything God did for them. It was also the place where they made sacrifices for their sins. The tabernacle was where God's holy presence could live near them.
And in this house, this huge tent, God put more clues about His promised Messiah. Everywhere in this tent were clues to finding Him.
For example, there were two rooms in God's house: a big room called the "Holy" and a smaller room called the "Most Holy". In the large room were three pieces of furniture: an oil lamp stand , a table with 12 loaves of special bread, and an altar for burning incense. These are three clues pointing to Jesus, the coming Messiah:
-Jesus is the light of the world.
-Jesus is the bread of life.
-Jesus is our intercessor, continually praying to God on our behalf.
The stone tablets of the 10 commandments are another clue about the coming Messiah because they point to why He came. The commandments teach us God's standards, but they leave us with a problem, Because no one can obey them precisely over a lifetime or even for one day, every person needs a Savior. Each of us needs our sin covered by the blood of Jesus.
Only Jesus' blood makes it so that we can be with God all the time, forever. His sacrifice was once and for all.
Father thank you for giving us eyes to see, ears to hear; and hearts to believe. And because you love us, you have left countless clues for us to discover, all leading to your matchless gift of
Jesus, the Messiah. How wonderful it is to know that all your promises come true, in Jesus' name, Amen.
JOHN 8:2
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying: "I am the light of the world, Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
JOHN 6:35
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
1 TIMOTHY 2:5
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
