Steadfast Love (and other devotionals)

Steadfast Love 

Guest Writer: Meet my son-in-law Tripp Prince. We are blessed to have him as our guest writer.


Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord. Psalm 107:43



In Psalm 107, the psalmist issues a challenge to his readers: if you want to be wise, consider the steadfast love of God. And as those who seek wisdom, this is a challenge that we should take to heart! Yet, we must ask ourselves, what does it truly mean to “consider the steadfast love of the Lord?” As nice as this phrase may sound, what does this actually look like in practice, day by day in our lives at home, work, and play?



It is hard to overestimate the way culture shapes and informs our understanding of love. Whether it’s the movies we watch, books we read, or social networks we engage in, each one is telling us what we should expect to receive love and give in return, and with few exceptions, we are taught that love is transactional, temporary, and turbulent. So often, we view love as a form of self-improvement; something that enriches our lives or makes us better, and as long as it fulfills this goal, we stick with it. We often go into relationships expecting them to end in pain and heartbreak, yet we simply shrug this off and say “It was good while it lasted.”



When the psalmist invites us to consider the love of God, he is inviting us to reject this cultural understanding of love and reframe our expectations in light of God’s steadfast love.



The word for God’s love in Hebrew is hesed, and it’s a hard word to translate into English. Steadfast love or unfailing love come the closest, yet neither exhaust the depth of this love that God has for his people. It is a love in which our creator God has covenanted himself to us. It is a love that extends to us even when we are unlovable, when we turn our backs on him and choose to reject his love.



God gives himself fully to those he loves, sending his own son to become like us, to live, die, and rise again that we might know the depths of his steadfast and unfailing love. When we look to Jesus, we learn what it means to be loved perfectly, and his love then reframes our understanding of every other relationship. The love of God shown in Jesus shows us how to love our spouses, parents, siblings, and friends. It teaches us to live our lives freely for the sake of others, to live as gift givers who have already received the greatest gift.



Prayer: Father, thank you for the steadfast and unfailing love shown to us in Jesus. Help us to open our hearts to receive from you and then share your love with a world in need. 



Application: What do I need to know, understand and apply about the Lord’s steadfast love for me?

~Wisdom Hunters Devotinal~

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Does Your Life Help or Hurt the Cause of Christ?

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” Romans 10:14

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
You are either a helper or a hurter when it comes to reaching the world for Christ. Why? Because, like “Big Brother,” the world is watching your “Sunday-go-to-church” behavior and wondering how it compares to your behavior the rest of the week.

Do they see you giving your time and resources to help them when they’re hurting? Do they witness how you treat your family? Or how you entertain your friends? Or do you even know their names?

ACTION POINT:
The greatest argument for Christ and the greatest argument against Christ is the life of a Christian. “Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave! Some poor fainting struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save” (Philip P. Bliss).

~Adrian Rogers~

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There hath not failed one word of all his good promise (1 Kings8:56).

Some day we shall understand that God has a reason in every NO which He speaks through the slow movement of life. "Somehow God makes up to us." How often, when His people are worrying and perplexing themselves about their, prayers not being answered, is God answering them in a far richer way! Glimpses of this we see occasionally, but the full revelation of it remains for the future.

If God says 'Yes' to our prayer, dear heart,

And the sunlight is golden, the sky is blue,

While the smooth road beckons to me and you,

And the song-birds warble as on we go,

Pausing to gather the buds at our feet,

Stopping to drink of the streamlets we meet,

Happy, more happy, our journey will grow,

If God says 'Yes' to our prayer, dear heart.

If God says 'No' to our prayer, dear heart,

And the clouds hang heavy and dull and gray;

If the rough rocks hinder and block the way,

While the sharp winds pierce us and sting with cold;

Ah, dear, there is home at the journey's end,

And these are the trials the Father doth send

To draw us as sheep to His Heavenly fold,

If God says 'No' to our prayer, dear heart.

Oh for the faith that does not make haste, but waits patiently for the Lord, waits for the explanation that shall come in the end, at the revelation of Jesus Christ! When did God take anything from a man, without giving him manifold more in return? Suppose that the return had not been made immediately manifest, what then? Is today the limit of God's working time? Has He no provinces beyond this little world? Does the door of the grave open upon nothing but infinite darkness and eternal silence?

Yet, even confining the judgment within the hour of this life, it is true that God never touches the heart with a trial without intending to bring upon it some grander gift, some tenderer benediction. He has attained to an eminent degree of Christian grace who knows how to wait.
--Selected

When the frosts are in the valley,

And the mountain tops are grey,

And the choicest buds are blighted,

And the blossoms die away,

A loving Father whispers,

"This cometh from my hand";

Blessed are ye if ye trust

Where ye cannot understand.

If, after years of toiling,

Your wealth should fly away

And leave your hands all empty,

And your locks are turning grey,

Remember then your Father

Owns all the sea and land;

Blessed are ye if ye trust

Where ye cannot understand.

~L. B. Cowman~

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Obedience
To God, obedience is a big deal. And one of the best ways to see just how importantly He regards it is to learn from those who disobeyed.
One of those is King Saul. When he was told by God to make an end of the Amalekites and to destroy all of their property, he did not do it.
Instead of obeying God, he saved the oxen and the sheep, along with some other things, and then claimed he had obeyed God. But when Samuel heard the oxen and the sheep, Saul knew he had been caught. So he changed his story. He said, "Well, these things are just a sacrifice to God."
In response to this act of disobedience, this is what Samuel, the prophet, said. We find it in 1 Samuel 15:22,
So Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."
God does not want religious lip service. He wants obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice. One reason for that is because you cannot make up by sacrifice what you lose through disobedience.
Another reason why obedience is better than sacrifice is because it is preventative. In Saul's day, sacrifices were made to cover sin, but if he had obeyed, there would have been no need for sacrifice. Obedience would have prevented his sin.
So do what God desires. Obey what He commands. It is always better.

~Bayless Conley~
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Picture of Contrasts

Today's reading: 1 Kings 15:25-16:28

Today we meet and learn about a number of the kings of Israel (Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri) who reigned during the same time frame as Asa. The sinful thinking and actions of these kings contrasted starkly with the thinking and actions of Asa, who was making decisions and leading the people of Judah with God at the forefront. Although it was a bit of a sad read, it was good in that it put before me the reminder of what we're all capable of when our focus and our goals have nothing to do with God.

Think back over the past couple of months. What's the impact on your thinking and actions when you're intentional about spending time with God in His Word? What's one lesson you learned about living for self from the kings of Israel in today's passage? 

~Tami~