Daily Bible Verse

Verse

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  --1 John 4: 20

Reflection

Loving God is not just in what we think to ourselves. We could be the most loving people, in our minds, but if al we are practicing is hatred then we are no better than liars.  A person who hates his or her brother or sister in the Lord is a liar because though they claim to love God, they actually do not.  Loving God is about how you treat everyone around you; not just in the declarations you make about how loving you think you are.

Prayer

Dear God, I pray that I never be someone who is all talk and no action.  Father, if there is anyone I am harboring resentment or hatred against, may you help me release such emotions, Lord.  They are not of you.  I desire to love everyone around me, Lord, as you will me to.  In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Called into Confidence

Time and time again we are exposed to the profound love of God.  One can never get used to it.  One can never understand the depths of the love that God has for His children.  Because of who God is, we always expect Him to pick ‘perfect people’ (if such a thing exists) for the tasks that He intends to carry out on earth.  We are always surprised when we discover the people God ends up choosing – even if it is ourselves.  All of the great men and women of God that you see did not start there.  There was a time where if someone had told you that God was going to use those particular people mightily, you would have thought that it was possible.

Samuel hadn’t had the word of the Lord revealed to Him yet when God called for Him.  Samuel didn’t know the Lord yet!  But that did not stop God.  It didn’t faze Him.  At some point, you will realize that ‘perfect timing’ is a myth.  We always assume that we have to be in a perfect position in our lives before we can be qualified to be missionaries for God.  This couldn’t be any farther away from the truth.

The truth is, our version of perfection will never match up to God’s standard of perfection.  So we shouldn’t try and waste our time by delaying our obedience to God’s call while we wait for ‘the right time’.  The concept of ‘the right time’ is a myth.  When God calls you, regardless of where you are in your life, then you need to know that that is the right time.  Sometimes the call won’t come with an audible voice.  The call could come through an inward witness.  A time wil come where you will receive a strange confidence that will let you know that it is time.

When that time comes, seize it.  When God has given you the go-ahead, you have every reason to feel confident about the journey ahead of you.