Cherish Christ

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Good morning, Lord

Verse of the Day:   Hebrews 12:2-"who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Memory verse: Psalm 90:14

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.  

Today's reading: PSALM 1-3 ACTS 17:1-15

Christ Is To Be Cherished

One writer writes that "Christ is to be cherished, not just chosen". Think about that for a moment.

Paul was serious about this and wrote: “If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed” (1 Cor. 16:22).

If we just do or perform what we have heard is the 'right' thing to do because an organization such as a church tells us it is the 'way to life eternal', where is the love in that?

Real joy comes from real love. All of us remember a point in our lives when we had a real thrill of joy and happiness in our hearts that we felt for someone-not some thing-but a person or people-no matter how short that might have been for some-love has been experienced by all. This is the essence of life. This is what moves us forward. There is that sense, that because we have felt love, we will reach a point where that love will be realized and continued.

The love of God must be experienced. It cannot be learned. The only thing that lies between us and knowing and living the love of God is our sin-our earthly conditioning-the stuff from our lives that makes us think and reason the way we do.

A mental move must be made. Tell God you turn away from the negative spiritual things you have learned. Hear and see what Jesus did for the joy of knowing you will be with Him from now on(Hebrews 12:2-"who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.").

Look at why you do what you do. You do have a reason-you have real love for God. It is not for any of us as great as it should be or will so tell God you want to learn in His discipline.

Love grows. God's love is a living thing. Our struggle in our weakness is where we learn how great God's love is for us and how much strength we can draw from Him.

...because He loves us...

Father in Heaven,

Father, in my weakness I hallow Your great name; I want to know Your kingdom love as I depend on You for strength to love and forgive and walk away from evil. Forgive me in my weakness to sin.

Patient, kind, and good God,

In the name of Christ Jesus,

Amen