Psalms 34:18 ESV “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” I’m sure many of us have experienced a situation that left us with a broken heart. I recall one specific break-up in high school that left me with swollen eyes, a bad case of the sniffles, and a heart that felt like it had been shattered into a million pieces. Of course, in high school, this quite literally felt like the end of the world to me. I am glad to report that I have since recovered. There are many different seasons that we will…
“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21 To be like Jesus, To be like Jesus. All I ask, to be like Him. This chorus has been running through my mind as I prayed and studied for these devotions over the past week. I know I have a long way to go to be like Jesus. But I am thankful that He is patient and long-suffering with me. He is still working on me, making me what He wants me to be. When we read the story of Paul, we think of him as a fitting example of a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, he struggled and wrote of how he fell short of what he felt the Lord wanted. Philippians chapter three records his feelings. I like how it appears in the J.B. Phillips New Testament: Philippians 3:12-14 “Yet, my brothers,…
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” John 15:12 The word “love” is used so carelessly in our world today. How many times do we hear people express their love for a certain food or for a particular piece of clothing? Love in the entertainment world is shallow and fickle. But to those of us who know the Lord, the word “love” is special. John 3:16 (KJV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. Jesus demonstrated true love in every part of His ministry. His love extended to people from every social class. He touched the people with leprosy. He mourned with those who mourned. He showed love to the children. To the rich or poor, prominent, or outcast, His love remained the same. He taught His disciples that they were to pass that love along to one another. John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye…
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7 During His earthly ministry, Jesus often used stories to teach His disciples about His kingdom. One such story is recorded in Matthew 18:21-35. A king was going over his accounts and noticed that one of his servants owed him a considerable sum of money. He summoned him and said that he needed payment immediately. The servant did not have the money to repay him, so the king ordered that he and his family were to be sold into bondage. Falling to his knees, the servant asked for time to…
“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” Psalm 86:15 The third attribute of God that David mentioned in this Psalm is “longsuffering.” As we read the Old Testament, we know that this word certainly describes God’s patience in His dealings with the Nation of Israel. Repeatedly, they went against His commandments and walked in their own way. He sent prophets to warn them of the consequences, but they refused to listen and turn from their sin. When Jesus began His ministry on earth, the Jewish leaders did not accept Him as the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. John 1:10-11 “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” In the Gospels, we read about all the ways He tried to show them that He was the Son of God, sent to earth to redeem people from sin. We see His long suffering demonstrated with His disciples as He taught them the things they needed to know so that they could proclaim His kingdom when…
“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” Psalm 103:8 When we think of the word gracious in connection with Jesus, we remember His divine grace towards us. He knows our faults and our failures, and yet His grace extends freely to us. Covered by His blood and protected by His Spirit, we are secure in our relationship with Him. Cambridge Dictionary describes gracious as “behaving in a pleasant, polite, calm way: a gracious smile, gracious enough.” When Jesus was here on earth, He encountered people from different circumstances, but He met each of them with grace and kindness. So how can we exemplify a gracious spirit as we endeavour to follow Jesus’ example? Perhaps one of the best ways is in the words we speak. Consider the following scriptures regarding this. Ecclesiastes 10:12 “The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.” Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” I Timothy 4:12 “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word,…