Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Psalm 103:13
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Not all earthly fathers are perfect, as evidenced by the countless broken homes all over the country and the world. But even so, there are still good fathers in a sinful world who know how to love and bless their kids. If even human beings show compassion to their own, imagine how immense God’s compassion is for His children. Like a loving dad, He’s proud of the good things you do, and even when you mess up, it doesn’t change what He thinks about you. You’re loved, you’re forgiven, and you’re His. All He wants in return is for you to run to Him and find peace in His arms.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Proverbs 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.

God sees you as His child, and He treats you as such. Raising a child isn’t just about providing for their needs, and it isn’t always about making them happy either. Sometimes God allows things to happen that you don’t enjoy, or He may close doors in life that you wanted to walk through. But He does this because He loves you: like a dad keeping his son or daughter from wandering into the street, He very well could be protecting you from things you don’t see coming. The child might not understand why they can’t play on the pavement, but the Father does, and He reproves and disciplines His child because He delights in you.

Monday, June 19, 2023

Monday, June 19, 2023
Psalm 127:4-5a
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!

Your father is the man God used to bring you into the world, and you are God’s blessing to him. That’s the way the Lord designed it, and it’s the way it ought to be, but reality often isn’t picture perfect. A man whose quiver is full of arrows is blessed, but a father can still mistreat his arrows, and fire them recklessly into the world without a care. However your life began, and however your father shaped it, the Lord commands that you and I honor everyone: including your dad here on earth. Take the time to remember and honor the man God used to make you, and even the special brothers in Christ that the Lord placed in your life at a young age to guide and mentor you.

Friday, June 16, 2023

Friday, June 16, 2023
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Selfless love means you count others as more significant than yourself, treating them the way you would want to be treated. Dying in place of a friend is the greatest act of self-sacrifice that there is but imagine dying for your enemies. Imagine dying for people who ignored you, betrayed you, and crucified you. Jesus doesn’t have to imagine; it happened to Him, and He would do it all again for the children He loves. It was selfless love that held Him on that cross, and selflessness is something that He wants to plant in your heart, and the hearts of all those who serve Him.

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Thursday, June 15, 2023
1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Who you spend time with has a massive influence on who you are. The right crowd can bring the best or worst out of you, often stretching your morals instead of strengthening them. Don’t blend in with people who don’t make God a priority in their lives. You live in the world, and that can’t be changed, but Jesus commanded His followers not to be of the world. Ignoring lost people isn’t right, but living like them can be just as destructive. Be a positive influence on the people you spend time with and ask the Lord to help you show them what a life transformed by the Living God really looks like.

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Proverbs 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Have you ever felt betrayed by someone you thought was a friend? Have you ever been lied to by someone you trusted? Enemies and friends alike can both leave wounds… the difference is that when a friend leaves a wound, it’s one that you needed. An honest person calling out the things in your life God wants to change might sting, but it might also be exactly what you need to hear. An enemy will just use your flaws to bring you down, but a true friend, instead of watching you go down the wrong road, would rather force you to face hard things in order for you to come out on top. The enemy condemns you, saying that you are imperfect, flawed, and not worthy of love. But a friend, and the Holy Spirit Himself, will convict you: you are imperfect, you are flawed, but Christ redeems you, and through Him all things are possible.