The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end” (John 13:1).

Every one of us has had an unpleasant experience at one time or another. Was your unpleasant experience a situation at work, at home, or in your family? Maybe it was at the dental office, or perhaps you have undergone an unpleasant medical procedure. You kept telling yourself, “This is almost over. This has to be almost over!” Then the medical doctor says, “We’re all finished,” and silently you breathe a sigh of relief. It is pretty amazing and interesting at the same time. John states that Christ’s hour had come (Calvary), and yet His love for His own was unto the end. Here the word “end” means “continual, on and on, unto the greatest extent.” He understands the hard times, and yet His love for you is nonstop. It simply doesn’t get any better than this!

For today: While you may find it hard to believe, rest upon the fact that the love of the Lord Jesus is never ending for you as a believer!

“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD” (Proverbs 5:21).

In Proverbs 5, Solomon writes to his son about avoiding sexual sin. I know that he didn’t follow his own advice later on. But don’t let that stop you from seeing the great blessing in his present writing. It isn’t just in sexual sins that the wise believer remembers that God sees everything. Nothing is hidden from His sight. We know this in theory, but sometimes we do not live this actually. May the Lord help us to remember the children’s chorus about being careful how we live! It concludes by saying, “For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful…”

For today: May our lives reflect what we know to be true. God is watching!

“My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Paul had asked the Lord three times to remove a thorn in his flesh. We do not know for sure what that thorn in the flesh was. However, it was annoying at the least and perhaps painful to him. Three times God’s reply to Paul was that He was going to do something even better than removing the thorn. He told Paul, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.” When I see that I am at my weakest, I then see that God is so very strong! Yesterday the Psalmist said, “I will go in the strength of the LORD GOD” (Psalm 71:16). Sounds like a good idea for us today!

For today: I will especially trust the Lord in my weakest times. Then I will discover His strength in new and wonderful ways.

“I will go in the strength of the LORD GOD” (Psalm 71:16).

I remember from my earliest days singing about the Lord Jesus. As a very young child I sang, “I am weak; but He is strong.” Wise parents teach their children about trusting in the Lord Jesus. Not only do we need to trust the Lord Jesus for our salvation, we need to trust Him for daily living as well. The longer I live, the more I am sensing just how weak I am and just how strong He is. I will be wise if I remember that the Lord Jesus is strong and that I can go in His strength. We will think more about this tomorrow.

For today: I will be asking the Lord to give me His strength today. Will you be praying the same for yourself?

“For I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29c).

When the Lord Jesus said this of Himself, He actually meant that He was gentle, gracious, and without arrogance. There was nothing in Him that was sinful or selfish. He calls on His followers to take His yoke upon themselves and learn of Him. As we do this, we are so impressed with His presence that we want these characteristics to be evident in our lives as well. Gentleness, graciousness, and being without arrogance are wonderful ways for people to see the Lord working in our lives.

For today: May Christ be seen in the way we live in this world today.