2-23-21 Today in the Word

DAILY DEVOTIONAL | OUR DEBT OF LOVE “Oh, to grace, how great a debtor. / Daily I’m constrained to be!” begins the third stanza of the hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” As recipients of God’s amazing grace, we are in His debt! What do we owe? We must love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:37–40). Today’s passage transitions from our obligation to pay taxes to the debt of love we owe to our neighbor. We are to love God and love our neighbor. Paul views love as the underlying motive behind the law. The commandments that forbid adultery, theft, murder, covetousness, and “whatever other command there may be” are protective. They limit our personal freedom or desires so we will do no harm either to ourselves or to others (v. 10). Obeying the law is an act of love. Paul puts this section in context. He has not drifted into a random tangent about morality in this passage but is still addressing those who were troubled by his message about a righteousness from God that is “apart from the law” (Rom. 3:21). The righteousness of the gospel does not come through obeying the law, but it agrees with it. Those who, through the Spirit, fulfill their “continuing debt to love one another” are fulfilling the righteousness of the law. Paul mentions an additional motive in verse 12, where he notes that the night is almost over and “the day is almost here.” This acknowledges the darkness of the present age and is a veiled reference to the return of Christ. Christ’s kingdom is called a “kingdom of light” (Col. 1:12). Its citizens are called “children of light” (Eph. 5:8). >> Are you longing for the light? By treating others with love, you are resisting the darkness of the present age and bearing witness to the coming of Christ’s kingdom. This love is shown both by what you do and what you do not do. How will you show God’s love today? PRAY WITH US When the world speaks of love, it does not know the depth and power of yours. Lord, give us your love for others so that all who interact with us get a taste of you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-18-23 Rage Against Jesus And His People — The Ominous Trend Of 2022

Rage Against Jesus And His People — The Ominous Trend Of 2022 – By Hal Lindsey - https://harbingersdaily.com/rage-against-jesus-and-his-people-the-ominous-trend-of-2022/ By the end of 2022, eight billion people lived on the earth. They were besieged by a series of plagues, droughts, false prophets, war, the threat of greater war, hatred, rage, theft, and violence. The eight billion were fragmented in a variety of ways — according to their nations, level of income, race, gender, various understandings of gender and human sexuality, along with religion or the lack thereof. Change became overwhelming to most of the eight billion. For those over 40, it was almost unfathomable that by the end of 2022, not even half the students at Cambridge University identified as heterosexual. In 2022, deception ruled the day. Trust in government, educational institutions, and the news media had been largely obliterated. Trust in health officials and doctors had become severely damaged. In suc
Read more

9-17-23 Now It Is Obvious Why

Now It Is Obvious Why :: By Dennis Huebshman Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles Once again, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, “But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (ESV – all emphasis mine) Going from cover to cover in the Bible, we see many countries mentioned as being in the end-time activities. However, the once most powerful nation on earth, America, is not specifically mentioned. One would think that this country would be listed because of all it has accomplished up to now. The possibility here could be found in Genesis 12:3; “I will bless those wh
Read more

9-18-23 Power of God’s Control

Power of God’s Control – Terry James - https://terryjamesprophecyline.com/2022/12/25/power-of-gods-control/ Going back just a way in my personal history, I’ll divulge my one-time wanting more than anything to be a cape-wearing, soaring superhero. In that regard, there’s a photograph somewhere in the family archive of myself, Pappy, and David all wearing capes (towels). All three of us were about 6, I think—the age when I was saved in the Seventh Street Tabernacle Church on the corner of Seventh and Derby in Pekin, Illinois. Superman was the rage in the “funny books” (my sons mock me now for using that term for comic books). We studied the Man of Steel and wanted more than anything to fly and perform super feats of strength. Sometimes it got us in trouble –like when we jumped from places higher than were safe for mere mortals with towels affixed around necks. So Pappy, David, and I proved that human beings’ desire for supernatural powers must begin early in life. But what we
Read more