Daily Bible Readings:
Monday, May 13. Read Psalm 30:4-12. 1) What does the Psalmist say that God has that only lasts a moment? 2) What lasts a lifetime? How does God express this? 3) What does the Psalmist say God did for him?
Tuesday, May 14. Read Genesis 6:5-8. 1) What was happening on the earth and what does the writer of Genesis say about how God handled this? 2) What was God’s emotional response to this? 3) How did God regard Moses?
Wednesday, May 15. Read Genesis 11:1-9. 1) What did mankind decide to do in this text? 2) How did God react to this? 3) Why was this place called Babel?
Thursday, May 16. Read Genesis 18:22-33. 1) The Classical-Philosophical view of God says that God is dispassionate and uninvolved in man. What does God do in verse 22? 2) How does this conflict with the Classical view? 3) How does Abraham interact with God?
Friday, May 17. Read Nahum 1:2-3. 1) The Classical-Philosophical view of God says that God is dispassionate or unemotional. What does Nahum say about God? 2) What does God do, that you would not expect of a God that is disconnected from His creation?
Saturday, May 18. Read 2 Peter 3:8-10. This is Sunday’s sermon text.
Prayer for the Week:
Dear Father. We want to know you and not some caricature of you. We want to know the YOU that was revealed in Jesus, because we know that Jesus said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the father. Please help us keep that vision in mind. In Jesus’ name I pray this. Amen.
Hymn of the Week:
Ancient of Days
by William Croswell Doane, 1886
Ancient of Days, who sittest throned in glory,
to thee all knees are bent, all voices pray;
thy love has blessed the wide world’s wondrous story
with light and life since Eden’s dawning day.
O Holy Father, who hast led thy children
in all the ages, with the fire and cloud,
through seas dry-shod, through weary wastes bewild’ring
to thee, in rev’rent love, our hearts are bowed.
O Holy Jesus, Prince of Peace and Savior,
to thee we owe the peace that still prevails,
stilling the rude wills of our wild behavior,
and calming passion’s fierce and stormy gales.
O Holy Ghost, the Lord and the Life-giver,
thine is the quickening power that gives increase;
from thee have flowed, as from a pleasant river,
our plenty, wealth, prosperity, and peace.
O Triune God, with heart and voice adoring,
praise we the goodness that doth crown our days;
pray we that thou wilt hear us, still imploring
thy love and favor, kept to us always.
Devotional Article of the Week:
God’s Redeeming Love!
We must never forget God’s most consistent message to each of us!
by Brian McCutchen
In the nearly 200 different world languages, each one of them finds a way to say, “I love you!”
ARABIC — أنا أحبك!
CHINESE — 我爱你
FRENCH — Je t’aime!
GERMAN — Ich liebe dich!
Greek — Σ ‘αγαπώ!
HEBREW — אני אוהב אותך!
Japanese — 私はあなたを愛して！
Spanish — ¡Te quiero!
No matter the way “I love you” is written or spoken in another language, the meaning is the same: “I care. I value you. I appreciate you. I desire you.”
We can express our “I love you!” with a kiss or a hug. We can demonstrate our “I love you!” by holding hands, by sending flowers, or by being gentle.
“I love you” is said at the end of phone conversations, written in cards or letters, before someone departs, when we wake up or getting ready to go to sleep.
There are many different types of love:
Puppy love is a temporary crush we have for someone.
Romantic love demonstrates passion, attraction, and caring for your partner.
Unconditional love says. “I love you” no matter what. No strings attached.
Brotherly love demonstrates our love for our community and neighbors because they are like a family.
Tough love says to someone doing wrong: “I am taking this action only because it will help you and because ‘I love you.'”
Of all the types of love, God’s love is the most amazing and sustaining. No matter what we do, say, or think, God loves us. No matter how we treat one another or even Him, He still loves us. God loves us for who we are. He created us.
It is true that God always wants all of us to put our BEST foot forward as we seek to reflect His glory and His grace. God wants us to study Scripture, tell the truth, be godly, act right, be honest, and love people unconditionally. Yet, when we are not at our BEST, He is and will always be at his best!
God says, “I love you!” by redeeming us. Redeeming means freeing someone from a burden. So often, our burden is sin! So, God took extreme measures to redeem us by giving us His son Jesus:
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son… (John 3:16).
King David said it this way:
God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs (Psalm 103:8-10 TM).
The beloved disciple, John, reminded us:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness [i.e., REDEEM us!] (1 John 1:9 NIV).
While God is in the redeeming business, he is also in the business of removing our sins from His memory bank, too:
I — yes, I alone — will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again (Isaiah 43:25 NIV).
God also says, “I love you!” by the sunsets and sunrises, by the crashing waves of the ocean, by the snow-capped mountains, by the blooming of the flowers, and the budding of the trees.
God says, “I love you!” in every language and in every moment of life!
Most of all, God has said “I love you!” in the gift of His Son, Jesus, through whom He redeemed us and bought us back as His own!
