Loving Jesus Style

  Scripture: Psalm 92:4 (NIV) For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. Devotion: This verse reminds us that the deepest joy in the Christian life doesn’t come from circumstances but from recognizing God’s hand at work. The psalmist celebrates with gladness because God’s works are good, purposeful, and personal. We often rush through life without pausing to notice the ways God sustains, protects, and blesses us. Let us slow down and reflect on the kindness, goodness, and mercy that God has wrought in our lives today. The psalmist in this psalm is expressing his joy in what God has already done and will continue to do in his life. While God may allow us to encounter difficulties, God works all things together for good if we will but trust in Him. We have so much to be thankful for. We can rely on what God has done in Scripture and in our lives to give us hope for the future. We need to anchor our lives and our joy in the fact th...

Scripture: Isaiah 26:12 (NIV) Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished, you have done for us. Devotion: With these words, Isaiah points out that all our accomplishments are either due to the gifts and talents the Lord has given to us or His sovereign will. How often we blame God when things go poorly for us while insisting that we accomplish anything positive all on our own. Isaiah here is challenging that mindset. God Himself gives us success and peace, and is the source of all blessings. We should give God praise for all He does for us, and ask for strength and courage when things go against us. This short verse should reorient our view of reality, instead of a “me” based outlook. We must develop a God-based outlook. If we can do this, we will naturally be at peace with the world and with ourselves. This is because we would have to give up controlling and planning our lives and allow God to be in charge. We should rely more on God than on ourselves. R...

Scripture: John 13:34-35 (NIV) “A new command 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.” Devotion: Jesus here issues a clarion call for a new way of love among believers. In a world where love is often reduced to sentiment or convenience, Jesus calls us to a higher standard. We are to love as He has loved us. Jesus showed His love for us by healing the sick, raising the dead, and loving us enough to go to the cross to pay the debt we could not pay. This command challenges us to examine our lives. How do we treat others? The way we live our lives reveals how closely we follow Jesus. Jesus here states the undeniable fact that the world will take notice when Christians truly love one another in a way that points to the One we follow. The context here is Jesus in the upper room with His twelve disciples before the Passover meal. Just prior to this teaching, Jesus ...

Scripture: Psalm 34:8 (NIV) 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Devotion: This psalm begins with the imperative verb, taste. It is both a command and an invitation to come, see, and experience all that God has to offer. The psalm’s author, David, calls on God’s people to go beyond just a head knowledge of God and really experience the good fruit that comes from a heart knowledge of God. The verse also speaks to those who are not yet in the kingdom by revealing that God is not distant and uninvolved with life. God can be known, and He is waiting for us to reach out and taste and see that the Lord is indeed very good. David uses the verbs "taste" and "see" to engage our senses. The Spirit inspired David to write those words because they make us move beyond dry learning of facts about God into the realm of experience that takes us deeper into a personal relationship with God. Many learned people know a lot abou...

  Matthew 5:21–26 stands within the section of the Sermon on the Mount often called the "antitheses," where Jesus repeatedly says, "You have heard that it was said... but I say to you." He is not correcting Moses or setting aside the Law of God. As He has just declared in verses 17–20, He came to fulfill the Law, not abolish it, and He insists that the righteousness of His disciples must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. What Jesus does in this passage is press the sixth commandment, "You shall not murder," down to its true depth. The Pharisees had reduced the commandment to a bare prohibition of the physical act of killing. Jesus reveals that God's Law was never merely about outward conduct; it governs the heart. He begins by citing the familiar teaching: murder is forbidden, and the murderer is answerable to judgment. Then He escalates matters in a way His hearers would have found startling. Anger nursed against a brother, Jesus says, alr...

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (NIV) For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Devotion: When Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that God has not destined His people for wrath but for salvation, he is offering more than theological clarity—he is offering comfort for weary hearts. These early Christians lived with pressure, uncertainty, and the constant temptation to lose courage. Yet Paul lifts their eyes to the steady purposes of God and calls them to strengthen one another with this truth. We are not wandering through life hoping for mercy; we are held by a God who has already secured it. And because this is true, we can encourage, build up, and walk beside one another with confidence and hope. These verses make it clear that our redempti...