Today’s verses teach that love “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). This means believers aren’t to dwell on the harm others cause and write them off as hopeless, despicable criminals. Love enables us to hate the evil unjustly visited upon the innocent while valuing the one who committed the act. More simply, we hate the sin but love the sinner.
In spite of everything that seems apparent about someone who’s been driven to sinful actions, God has created him or her with the potential to be made into something good. Outwardly, it may seem as if a difficult upbringing, poor treatment, or negative influence has corrupted a person’s morality and worldview beyond repair. For such individuals, the capacity to love and rise above circumstances can get buried so deep that it may seem nonexistent.
God still considers the most evil and corrupt person worth saving. How do I know this is true? Because in John 3:16—one of the very first verses we teach children—He said that whoever believes in God’s Son will have eternal life. Many of us are guilty of thinking we deserve His love because we look good compared to those we deem unlovable. But God doesn’t work that way. He loves every single person, no matter how awful his or her sin may be.
God doesn’t want anyone to mistreat others; such sinful action will bring repercussions or discipline. But the Lord does extend His care, mercy, and salvation to anybody who wants it. He keeps no record of wrongs. He loves without conditions. And He wants us to love in the same way.
Dexter, Missouri - The National Day of Prayer event will be held at 12:15 p.m. at the Dexter City Hall building located at 301 E. Stoddard Street across from the downtown fire station. If rain they will move across the street at the First Christian Church.
The public is encouraged to attend this free event.
"The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman."
The theme this year is For Your Great Name’s Sake! Hear Us... Forgive Us...Heal Us! Taken from Daniel 9:19, which says, “O Lord, Listen! O Lord, Forgive! O Lord, Hear and Act! For Your Sake, O My God...”.
Two sisters were busy preparing for Jesus’ visit. Upon His arrival, Mary turned her attention to the Lord. Meanwhile, Martha was distracted by the preparations (Luke 10:40) and became agitated that her sister was no longer helping. We may be thinking Martha was right—if there was still work to be done, her sister should not have been sitting down. Then we hear Jesus’ perspective. Observing that Martha was worried and upset about many things when only one thing was needed, He said Mary had chosen what was better (Luke 10:42).
There are some important lessons to be learned from this story. First, to have fellowship with Jesus, we may have to leave some things undone. Jesus knew how hard the women had been working and how much Martha longed to finish the tasks. But their greatest need was to spend time with Him. The sisters’ focus was to be on listening, learning, and interacting with Him.
The second lesson is that our choice to forgo an activity may be misunderstood. Martha certainly didn’t comprehend her sister’s decision. What’s more, if we fail to take time with the Lord, there may be unpleasant consequences. We see this in the way Martha’s distraction led to worry and agitation. Jesus invited her to choose the better way—namely, to be with Him.
Establishing a habit of communing with God is essential to our spiritual health. Even in our daily work, we can learn how to maintain an awareness of Him. So aim to choose the better way, as Mary did. Connecting with Jesus regularly will sharpen your focus on what is most important and help you distinguish what is good from what is truly the Lord’s best.
Today’s verse outlines the commitment and steps necessary in developing a godly lifestyle. Paul was urgently warning believers not to be conformed to the patterns of the world. Our susceptibility to compromise is one of the greatest dangers in the church today.
Through ungodly relationships and the impact of media, we’re being influenced by people who are not following God’s ways. Our society tells us to put self first, take what we want, protect our rights, and promote our own interests above others’. In contrast, Jesus said that our heavenly Father will provide what we truly need (Phil. 4:19), we are to deny ourselves and follow Him (Luke 9:23), and the humble—not the proud—shall receive honor (James 4:10). Conformity to the world’s ideals will lead us away from God.
At the same time, Paul urged us to pursue godly transformation of our mind, to set our thoughts on things above (Col. 3:2) and to focus on what is true, right, pure, and lovely (Phil. 4:8). Adopting a Christian worldview will lead to Christlike actions. It requires making adjustments in how we look at life, until our thoughts line up with Scripture. We must also protect our mind with biblical truth and surround ourselves with mature believers who can warn us when we start to stray.
Ask yourself, Am I focusing on what is important to the Lord? Avoiding compromise? Making a conscious effort to adhere to biblical truth? Demonstrating a pattern of godly transformation? Let the Holy Spirit empower you to make the changes necessary to be more like Christ.
From time to time, undeserved criticism is the lot of every Christian. On occasion, it comes when we offer our best to the Lord and our good intentions are misunderstood or even ridiculed by those who should know better. Such an event is described in today’s Scripture reading.
The passage describes a woman who took a bottle of precious perfume and poured it on Jesus’ head as He reclined at the table. There is no record of any great results coming from this loving gesture. No lives were saved, no converts were made, and nothing measurable was obtained. Worse still, the woman was scolded for her actions. Her efforts were viewed as extravagant, unreasonable, and irresponsible. Jesus, however, thought otherwise. The Lord’s commendation for this woman’s loving sacrifice was astonishing. In His mind, it deserved to be memorialized—He said, “What she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (Matt. 26:13 NIV).
We sometimes wonder how much God is noticing our efforts to please Him. At times some of our greatest sacrifices seem to bring nothing but misunderstanding or even criticism from our family members and friends. Voices from others—and even from within our own heart—rise up to condemn us for godly choices that now seem to be incapacitating us.
But Jesus Christ, who knows the depths of our soul, sees and understands the torment we face. He hears the condemning voices of our accusers. When our sacrifices for the heavenly Father make little sense to the inhospitable world around us, it is His voice that will prevail on our behalf.
