He who loves His brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in Him. 1 John 2:10 NKJV
 
Driving down the road one day the Lord said, “Serve your brother.” Today the Lord is telling me to love my neighbor. How can I be sure the Lord is speaking to me? 
 
Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. As I have loved you that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples that you love one another.”
 
God’s second greatest commandment is, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
 
John loved Jesus deeply. There was something about his personality that enabled John to express his love for Jesus freely. God created John. He filled John’s heart with love for Jesus. 
 
I love Jesus! He has forgiven me of so much. I love Him very much. It is very easy for me to love Jesus. God gave me that gift. He created me with the capacity to freely express my love for Jesus! 
 
Loving people is not easy for me! When someone crosses me I want nothing more to do with them. When someone is rude I want to be rude back to them. When someone attacks me I want to fight back.
 
How can I love my unlovable neighbors and serve people who take advantage of my willingness to serve them? 
 
John says; he who loves his brother abides in the light. Jesus is the light. We cannot find our way through the darkness of sin and shame without loving people the way Jesus did. Loving other people is the best way to express our love for Jesus!
 
The Christian life is lived out in relationship with Jesus. The Christian life is also lived out in our relationships with each other. God wants the evidence of our love for Him to be seen in the way we live in loving relationships with each other! 
 
How can you and I love each other? We must turn to the Lord. We must confess that loving people is impossible without Jesus.
 
If you tell me I should not lie or steal, cheat on my wife or look at pornography I can feel pretty good about those things. Loving people is something I struggle with. Jesus wants me to turn to Him so He can love people through me! 
 
Tell Jesus you want to love your neighbor. Tell Him you want to serve His people. God will give you the faith to love them. He will give you the faith to serve them.
 
Abide in the light of Jesus Christ so you will not stumble in your faith!
 
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The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, The Rock of my salvation! 2 Samuel 22:47 NKJV
 
David praises God for victory over his enemies. He praises God for blessing his life. 
 
David writes about the goodness and mercy of God because he experienced it. He writes about the Lord’s forgiveness and deliverance because he received it.
 
God’s loving-kindness towards him was not theology to David, it was reality. God’s love for David impacted him in such a powerful way he needed an outlet to express it. David wrote beautiful poems of praise that give glory to God!
 
When we look through rose colored glasses everything we see is colored by them. God looks at us through lenses of loving-kindness. Everything He does is colored by them.
 
God wants us to be so filled with His Spirit we are overwhelmed by the work He is doing in us and through us. He wants us to be so impacted by His love we need to share it.
 
David did not pretend to be a man after God’s own heart. He never tried to be a man after God’s own heart. David never referred to himself as a man after God’s own heart. The Lord called David a man after His own heart.
 
What did God see when He looked into David’s heart? He saw a man who surrendered his life to God. He saw a man who trusted God. The Lord saw a man who received God’s loved and returned it.
 
God did not spoil David. He disciplined and chastised David. He trained and prepared David for the work He created David to accomplish. He allowed David to suffer the consequences for his mistakes so he could grow up and become the man God created him to be.
 
Is the loving-kindness of God a reality in your life? 
 
God does not spoil His children today. He disciplines the people He loves. He trains and prepares us for the work He sets before us. He allows us to suffer the consequences of our mistakes so we can grow up and become the people He created us to be.
 
When you struggle through hardship and heartache remember God has chosen to look at you through lenses of loving-kindness! 
 
If you have never experienced God’s love turn to Him today. Ask God to reveal Himself to you. Ask Him to show you how much He loves you. Ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.
 
Jesus is waiting for you. He wants to be the rock of your salvation!
 
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So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the kings table. And he was lame in both his feet. 2 Samuel 9:13 NKJV
 
Saul was a bitter enemy of David. He knew David would become king. Saul sought to kill David. His son Jonathon accepted God’s will. He helped David. He protected David. He loved David like a brother. Jonathon had a young son named Mephibosheth.
 
When Saul and Jonathon were killed their families became fearful. Mephibosheth’s nurse scooped him up and fled. Mephibosheth fell. He became paralyzed in both legs.
 
David remembered his friend. He asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Johnathon’s sake? David was told Mephibosheth was crippled and living in a place called Lo Debar.
 
If his father had survived Mephibosheth would have been a prince. He became a cripple. He would have lived in the splendor and abundance of a palace. He lived in the hopelessness and despair of a place known for lack and need!
 
David summoned Mephibosheth. The young man wondered if David wanted to eliminate possible opposition to his authority? Would he be thrown into prison or killed?
 
David wanted to restore all that Mephibosheth lost. Mephibosheth would reap a harvest without sowing. He would live in a palace and eat at the kings table. His hopelessness and despair were replaced by peace and joy. His lack and need by plenty and blessing!
 
The man with a heart after God’s remembered the covenant he made with Jonathon!
 
Have you ever been paralyzed by fear and failure? I have. How do I move forward when my heart is sick and my feet are stuck in the sand? I remember the Lord!
 
Jesus wants to restore all that we have lost!
 
God calls people who live by faith in Jesus Christ His friends. He will deliver us out of the land of lack and want. We will live in the safety and security of our Kings palace. We will dine at His table in eternity.
 
The Lord remembers His covenant with us. Do you? Jesus calls you His friend. Do you act like a friend of Jesus?
 
Do not look back to the land where you lived in lack of faith. Look forward to the glory awaiting you in eternity. Show the kindness of God to people who are paralyzed by sin shame and fear.
 
Move ever forward through faith in the Risen Lord!
 
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A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord.  And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”
 
So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
 
Then he said, “Go borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors-empty vessels; do not gather just a few.
And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels and set aside the full ones.”
 
So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 
Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel,” So the oil ceased. 
 
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.” 2 Kings 4:1-7 NKJV
 
The only thing this widow was asked to do was take a small step of faith. God provided for her needs in a miraculous way. He multiplied her meager resources so her family would not be separated.
 
She was not told to say a special prayer. She was not told God would help her if she had enough faith. She was told to do what she could and trust God to do what she could not.
 
God is speaking to us today. He is saying do what you can and trust me to do what you can’t. God knows your needs better than you do. He wants you to trust Him with your resources and needs. He wants you to trust Him with your greatest dreams and desires.
 
Our relationships are important to God. He provided this miracle so the widow would not be separated from her sons. She had already lost her husband. The Lord in His compassion and mercy did not want her to lose the children she loved. 
 
God can use financial crisis to unite families separated by the fast pace of life. He can bring healing and restoration to families separated by anger resentment and unforgiveness.
 
The oil represents the Holy Spirit. God is calling us to pour the little we have into other vessels. He will multiply the oil as long as we continue to pour out our faith into others!
 
God is calling us to be disciple makers. How can you be a disciple maker? Step out in faith today. Do what you can and trust God to do what you cannot.
 
Money is not the treasure we believe it is. Time is the greatest resource God has entrusted to us. Do not waste it. Invest it in godly relationships that will bless Jesus!
 
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You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!” Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you. 2 Chronicles 20:17 NKJV
 
The king of Israel received news that a great army was coming against God’s people. They would be hopelessly out numbered.
 
Sometimes thinking about the size of our problems is worse than facing them.
 
King Jehoshaphat turned to God in prayer first. He did not wait until all of his resources were exhausted.
 
God wants us to cry out to Him in faith first. Not as a last resort when all else fails but as the first and most effective action we can take!
 
The people of Israel were God’s chosen people. They were His beloved people. The Lord was with them.
 
Today all people who call on the name of the Lord and put their faith in Jesus are the people of God. We are His chosen people, His beloved people. God is with us today.
 
God fought this battle for His people. He brought about a great victory for them!
 
God will fight your battles today. He will bring about great victories in your life if you position yourself in faith!
 
When a man’s ways please the Lord He causes even his enemies to be at peace with him. How will you please God today? By faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God! 
 
Jesus promised us we will suffer trials and tribulations in this world. He also promised never to leave us or forsake us. Jesus will never to turn His back on us! 
 
The Lord of Heaven and Earth is not calling you to fight your battles with a sword or spear. He is not calling you to fight your battles with a gun or a knife. He is calling you to fight your battles through faith in Jesus Christ!
 
God is calling you to humble yourself before Him today. He is calling you to submit to His will for your life today. Jesus is calling you to fight through the temptations and deceptions you face today. Jesus is calling us to trust Him today! 
 
The battle between good and evil is the Lord’s. Trust Jesus to fight the battle. Jesus is always victorious!
 
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Trust Jesus to fight your battles!
 
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 1 Samuel 17:45 NKJV
 
These are some of the words the future King of Israel spoke to Goliath the Philistine warrior.
 
Goliath was a giant. He had been a man of war since his youth. David was just a boy. David killed a lion and a bear but was untested on the battlefield. Goliath was the champion of the Philistine army. His skill was forged in battle. He was undefeated.
 
Goliath carried deadly weapons. An armor bearer went before him and carried his shield. David had no armor. The trained men of Israel’s army stood at a distance. David went to war with a heart full of faith in God. He carried a slingshot and five smooth stones.
 
David knew God would not allow His people to be defeated and disgraced. David knew God would not let a giant defeat anyone who so boldly declared the name of the Lord!
 
This event thrust David into the spotlight. Soon everyone in Israel would know how he defeated Goliath.
 
God knew David before he was born. God had His hand upon David. David lived in relationship with the Lord long before he met Goliath on the battlefield. God loved David. David knew it. David knew God loved Israel. He knew God would protect them!
 
Jesus knew you before you were born. The Lord has His hand upon you today. God loves you as much as He loved David. Jesus loves people who serve Him today as much as He loved the children of Israel. Jesus will protect you just as He protects Israel today!
 
Jesus wants you to be a mighty warrior in His spiritual army. Jesus wants your relationship with Him to prosper and bear fruit for His glory and honor!
 
Jesus can accomplish great and mighty deeds in you and through you no matter how many giants come against you. The Lord will not allow people who serve Jesus to be defeated!
 
Trust Jesus to fight your battles. Trust the Lord by boldly declaring the name of Jesus in the presence of those who defy Him!
 
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Nevertheless the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 1 Samuel 8:19-20 NKJV
 
Israel cried out for a king.
 
God’s people had selective memory loss. They did not remember the Lord. They remembered God existed. They remembered to go to the temple on the appointed days. They remembered the Sabbath and the festivals. They forgot the Lord in their daily lives.
 
The children of Israel forgot they were called to be different than the nations around them. They forgot God was their king and would fight their battles for them. They forgot everything God did for them!
 
God’s wanted their love and devotion. He wanted their hearts!
 
Today we are the people of God. Jesus wants us to remember Him today!
 
We remember God at Christmas and Easter. Do we remember Him in our daily lives? Do we consider the Lord when we make the decisions that set the course of our lives?
 
Jesus wants our love and devotion. He wants our hearts. Jesus wants us to remember what He did for us. Remembering what Jesus did for us reminds us of what He can do today.
 
Jesus wants us to remember what the future holds for people who trust Him. Our memories give us the courage and hope we need to live for Him today. Jesus wants us to remember that He fights our battles for us!
 
Jesus wants us to be subject to the civil and political leaders appointed over us. He wants us to obey the laws established by them. He wants us to be in submission to each other.
 
Jesus does not want us to bow our hearts before anyone or anything other than Him. He wants to be our true king today and forever!
 
Remember Jesus!
 
Remember that Jesus is the King of Creation. Remember that Jesus will fight your battles for you. Remember that Jesus loves you!
 
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Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down: and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, Speak Lord for your servant hears,” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 1 Samuel 3:9 NKJV
 
A woman named Hannah was barren. She was married to a man who had two wives. The other wife gave her husband children. She taunted and teased Hannah. They became bitter rivals. God gave Hannah a desire to have a child of her own.
 
Hannah made a vow to give the child back to God if He blessed her with a son. She promised her son would be set apart and dedicated to serving God all of his life. The Lord answered Hannah’s prayer. She kept her vow.
 
Hannah took Samuel to live in the tabernacle to minister before the Lord. He lived there with the priests. God rewarded Hannah by giving her other sons and daughters.
 
God deposited the greatest desire of Hannah’s heart into her hands. She trusted Him enough to let go!
 
What dreams and desires has God put into your heart?
 
Are you willing to let God do as He pleases with your dreams and desires? Hannah did. God blessed her beyond her wildest dreams. She asked the Lord for a son. He gave her four sons and two daughters. 
 
God can use the smallest acts of obedience to do great and mighty things. Samuel was a man who placed God first in all he did. God raised him up to be a great prophet.
 
Samuel did not recognize the voice of God the first or second time the Lord called Him. He did not recognize the voice of God until someone who knew The Lord told him God was calling him. 
 
Jesus is calling you to give Him first place in all you do today. He is calling you to speak to people who do not know Him today. Jesus wants you to tell people His greatest desire is to live in a loving relationship with them.
 
If you give God the desires of your heart He will bless you beyond your wildest dreams. He will bless you because He loves you.
 
God will bless other people through your acts of obedience. He will bless them because He loves them!
 
You do not have to be a prophet to serve Jesus. You do not have to make a vow or take an oath. Seek Jesus. Answer the call to go and make disciples in your corner of the world. You will be blessed. People will be saved.
 
Jesus will be lifted up and glorified. Will you glorify Him with your dreams and desires?
 
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And it shall be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. 1 Kings 17:4 NKJV
 
The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah. 1 Kings 17:16 NKJV
 
God sent the prophet Elijah to confront the King of Israel. Ahab was an evil King. He served a false God.
 
Elijah told Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand; there shall not be dew or rain these years, except at my word.”
 
God sent Elijah into hiding by a brook to protect him from harm. He sent birds to feed Elijah bread and meat twice a day.
 
When the brook dried up. God sent Elijah to live with a widow. She only had enough food to eat and feed her son one meal. Elijah asked her for a cup of water and a morsel to eat. She replied that she only had a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar.
 
Elijah said “The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.” She went her way and did what the prophet asked. The bin of flour and the jar of oil was not used up just as God said through Elijah. 
 
The price of food and other necessities have risen rapidly. Millions are homeless. We spend billions fighting wars in foreign lands that could be used to help people at home. Many of our young heroes return scarred and wounded. These are difficult times.
 
God is still on the Throne of Creation!
 
The Lord used birds and an impoverished widow to provide for His servant in biblical times. He used Elijah to provide for her.
 
God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow!
 
God will not leave people who trust Him hopeless. People who wait on the Lord will not be disappointed. People who walk by faith and not by sight will not be left destitute. God will meet the needs of people who serve Him today! 
 
If you share the little you have with people who are in need God will multiply the little you have to meet your needs. If you use your time treasure and talent to serve Jesus He will multiply the little you have and you will have plenty.
 
Trust Jesus with your needs. He is trustworthy. Entrust Him with your resources. He will use them to bless you and your neighbors!
 
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Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly, and David said:
“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever, Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all. 
Both riches and honor come from You, And you reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 NKJV
 
David put together the plans and gathered the materials to build the temple of God. He prepared the way for His son Solomon to complete the construction. David knew he was charging his son with an awesome task. It was a task only God could complete. 
 
David praised God saying, “O Lord our God, all this abundance we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is all Your own.”
 
God has a lot to say about money. One of the things God says about money is that it is all His. He gives it to whomever He pleases. 
 
Standing before Israel David praised God for the privilege of giving himself to the work of God. He acknowledged that what he is giving to the Lord already belongs to Him.
 
These verses give us a clear view of David’s priorities. He did not praise God for making Him king of Israel. He did not praise God for making him rich and famous.
 
David praised God for His greatness, His power and His majesty. He praised God for the privilege of serving Him. David knew everything He had was given to Him by the Lord. David knew everything he accomplished was done by the hand of God!
 
Everything we have today was given to us by God. We should praise Him for it.
 
You may not have much. You may be struggling. Praise God for what you do have. You have exactly what God wants you to have today!  
 
God has a purpose for giving us exactly what we have. He is teaching us to seek Him and serve Him regardless of our resources. God wants us to honor Him in our time of plenty just as David did. God wants us to honor Him in our time of need as well.
 
Our circumstances do not change God’s character!  
 
God is faithful to meet all of our needs all of the time. In the quietness of your own heart thank God for what He has given you. He will give you what you need when you need it so that you can seek and serve Jesus!
 
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