A Wonderful Devotion on Love that my Mom Shared with Me

The following post is cited from Portals of Prayer October to December 2010 by Concordia Publishing House. It is a wonderful devotion on love.

Tuesday, October 19

Read John 3:16-21 and Psalm 145

God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son. John 3:16


Love



It is easy to give gifts to people we love, and we usually love people who are lovable. But what about the obnoxious neighbor, the less-than-lovable co-worker, the spiteful relative - are we really supposed to love them just the same? It is not so easy to give to or to love the mean, the spiteful, the unlovable. But God did and does.
God gave His Son - out of love, not gratitude, not in return for anything  the world had done, but only out of His gracious love. The world (that includes you and me) had done nothing to earn that love. What could we ever offer God? He is Creator of all things; there is nothing He needs from us. In fact, all that we have came from Him. Without His aid, we cannot keep His perfect Law of love. On our own, we turn away from Him, reject Him, and scorn His love. Still, He loved and loves us. Still, He gifts us with grace and mercy.
This verse from John, the Gospel "in a nutshell," tells us the story of God's love, which sent salvation in the form of Jesus. The Creator of light has become our light in a world of darkness. The light penetrates our darkness and, by our God-given faith and love, we are able to love even the less-than-lovable.

Prayer:
All-loving God, we praise and thank You for sending Christ to be our light and hope. Help us, Lord, to live in Your love each day. 
Amen.

Lutheran Hour Ministries - Resources for You

Lutheran Hour Ministries - Resources for You

If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared. Psalm 130:3-4

It has been a while since I have read through my daily devotion on the Lutheran Hour site. I found it fitting that today's devotion was about God's forgiveness. But not just forgiveness but the fact that God isn't keeping tack of our sins at all. I have grown up with the human dea of forgiveness as seeing something that has wronged you and letting it go through through a process and finally forgetting the offense (and possibly remembering and having to go through the process of forgiving and forgetting again later).

God, as usual goes beyond our human concepts of forgiveness and can just let it all go through his infinite forgiveness. Since we know our own sins, and have to go through the process for ourselves, it is a great comfort that God doesn't list them. Since God is within us as the holy spirit we can do this to through him.

My Prayer: Dear Lord, please help me to remember that you aren't keeping a tally of my sins, please help me to let my own tally go and forgive myself for my sins, faults, and misteps. Thank you for the amazing gifts you continually bestow upon me, it amazes me more and more everyday and I look forward to each and every one of them.

Amen.