Hi. Welcome back. If you are in the states, we are celebrating Memorial Day today. I thank you for stopping by on such a significant day. Please open your bible to Nehemiah 9 and read verses 26-28. It might be hard to read, it is for me. Fortunately, God is full of compassion. So, please press through to the end.
“When they cried again to You, You heard from heaven, And many times You rescued them according to Your compassion.” (Nehemiah 9:28b, NASB)
To love a child seems an easy task. Raising them, though, takes strength, determination, and purpose. To correct a child today is knowing that another correction will be needed tomorrow and the next. For years to come. This relationship is built upon the repetition of rules and boundaries where love can flourish.
In our reading today we see the reminder of God’s people rebelling against his rules and boundaries. And so life gets very uncomfortable for them. It is hard to read these verses and see how the people turned away from God. It is also hard to be in a household where rebellion against the parents is occurring.
But where repentance and mercy are combined, love wins.
1 John chapter four explains that Jesus was sent, as God’s love. There was no longer denying God’s love in the physical sense, because here it was, in a real live man who embodied God. And tucked in this chapter is that God’s love removes fear from us. (1 John 4:18)
Lord,
Fear brings thoughts that are not yours. Thoughts filled with fear bring actions you do not intend for us. We lay our fears at your feet. May we remain focused on your perfect love, like a child reaching for its parents embrace.
If you have time, reading 1 John 4 is a great investment for your day! Thanks again for stopping by. I hope to see you again tomorrow.
“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation” http://www.lockman.org/