So, after 12 hours of straight sleep, I'm up and ready to roll.
For godly wisdom for Dr. Jill Biden as she discerns the initiatives to which she will give her effort and energy
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
--Colossians 1:9 (NIV)
Loving Lord, Your beauty and glory are beyond our comprehension and all things look to You as their source, including human wisdom and knowledge of every kind. You gift us with skill and ability and You empower us to use those gifts to serve Your Kingdom purposes. We praise You for your glory and goodness today, O Lord. Great is Your Kingdom and Your glory!
With our praises, we bring our requests for Dr. Jill Biden, O God. We ask that she will be filled with Your wisdom and grace as she considers the initiatives to which she gives herself. We pray that she will be filled with the knowledge of Your will and understanding as she makes this decision, and we ask that Your hand will guide her and those with whom she consults. We ask this in Your blessed name, amen.
23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
"God, in the Scripture, frequently takes to himself the name , and puts on the character of a shepherd, and this is no mean token of his tender love towards us. As this is a lowly and homely manner of speaking, he who does not disdain to stoop so low for our sake, must bear a singularly strong affection towards us.
"But it should be observed, that God is a shepherd only to those who, touched with a sense of their own weakness and poverty, feel their need of his protection, and who willingly abide in his sheepfold, and surrender themselves to be governed by him."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
1 John 3:16-24
18-20 My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.
Self-criticism. Well, that punches me right in the gut! I'm horrible about that. I'm always thinking about what I should have done. Or maybe what I shouldn't have done. There are aspects about me that I would change if I could. I'm undisciplined. I'm not always faithful to God. I'm quick to show annoyance when things don't go the way I think they should. When people compliment me after a good worship service, I'm not quite sure how to respond. It makes me self-conscious. I always criticize my own "performances."
So how is this related to practicing real love, as John describes? I think I understand. If I'm concentrating on practicing real love, I am required to focus on other people. If I'm focusing on other people, I'm not focusing on myself and my self-realized shortcomings, regardless of whether or not my "shortcomings" are valid. It's a way of getting "outside myself." And I've seen this in action, too. I've seen other believers who area always helping someone else, with no regard for themselves. These people are practicing real love.
Remember the key verse from today's passage (at least key for me): "...let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love."
Grace and peace, friends!