Daily Devotional For Monday, June 3, 2024
Well, it’s Marvelous Monday. The weekend has come and gone and now you’re either back to work, or back to school, or both, or back to enjoying retirement on this Monday. Yesterday, Sunday, was our rescued Westie’s 14th birthday. When we got home from church all three of us went out on the deck to take pictures. I was in the middle holding Spencer and Audrey was on my right (holding our other rescue, Miss Cali) and Emmie on my left. We sang Happy Birthday to that little fellow.
I know some of you may be thinking, “You sang Happy Birthday to your dog?” Yes we did. You see, our pets are family. I guess we could have broken out into the Pointer Sister’s song also, We Are Family, I got all my family with me . . .” If you are thinking, “Well, he didn’t know it was his 14th birthday, he didn’t know why you were singing to him. He is just a dog.” And you know what? You would be right, but what he did know and sense is the love of his “family”.
I want to use this as a bridge to lost people. Many of them don’t know they are lost. Many of them don’t know if they are going to hell, but hopefully they will sense your Christlike love when around you. Remember the most famous verse in the Bible? John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (KJV). If you watch football games or sports event, there is usually someone holding up a sign or placard with this written on it.
How do you think it would feel to sit next to someone who loves God so much that they want everyone to know how much God loves them? Do you feel the love? Jesus said this in John 13:34-35, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. (35) Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples” (NLT).
Notice what Jesus does not say here. He did not say, “The world will know you are My disciples by how much you attend church.” Jesus did not say, “The world will know you are My disciple by how much money you give to your local church.” Jesus did not say that. Jesus did not say, “The world will know you are My disciple by how involved in ministries and serve on committees you are.”
He didn’t say that. Why? Because those are not the basis of what bonds us to Him. What bonds us to Jesus and He to us is first, His love for us as seen on the cross and our love for Him in how we take up our own cross to follow HIm. This is why the most famous verse in the Bible is the focus of love. This means, that just like with our rescued 14-year-old Westie, Spencer, he felt our love for him. This means that when people are around you, what they should sense and feel first is God’s love. If we have sincerely given our life to Jesus Christ, then He has sincerely come into our hearts.
This is not something you can manipulate, manufacture or make. It can only come from our hearts when Jesus Christ resides in our hearts. Oh I know we can emotionally manipulate people. I know we can fake our way around some people. I know we can come across one way but live totally different kinds of lives. Remember that old quote? — “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”
When people are around us, they should feel the love of Christ from us. His presence in us impacts their presence with us. Believe it or not, they will sense and feel Christ’s presence. Their hearts are warmed by being around us due to our heart being His. Remember the two disciples on the road to Emmaus? They encountered the Resurrected Christ. They did not initially know it was Him because they were not expecting to see Him. They still thought He was dead and buried. But after they realized it was Jesus, later reflecting on their initial encounter with Jesus, they said this in Luke 24:32, “They said to each other, `Didn’t our hearts burn within us as He talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?’” (NLT).
You can’t fake Christ and His love. All of our dogs have been rescued dogs. They were rescued either from abusive homes, neglected homes, puppy mills or a home where the owner died. We have two now. Spencer who is 14 and Miss Cali who is 4. When we got Miss Cali, she would growl at me and even snap at me out of fear. She did not like men because she had been abused by one.
But every night we went to bed, I would slowly and carefully rub her. Do you know what happened? She sensed I loved her and I was no threat to her. It is what the Bible says in 1 Peter 4:8, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins” (NLT). My love for her covered the sins done against her. And guess what? This even includes your sins and my sins. When people sense we truly love them with the love of Christ, they will sense Christ’s love. Then they overlook our sin and look to the Savior who died for their sins.
Now, Miss Cali is my buddy. She sleeps right “slap up” next to me. If I get up and go somewhere, she follows me. When I am on the couch or recliner, she has to be with me. That is what real, genuine love does. And if it will work for a dog, it will work on our lost family and friends as well. This week be intentional with showing people how much God loves them. In time, they become your forever "buddy" as well.
Questions To Consider
- How would you say your lost friends feel the love of Christ when they around you?
- Do you believe there are lost people and they go to hell? Why or why not?
- What is one thing you could do this week that would be similar to holding them in your arms (like I did Spencer) that helps the lost people around you sense the love of Christ?
Scripture To Meditate On: Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus help me to love people, especially lost people as You do. Help me to see them as You do. Lord, when I am around anyone, especially lost people, I want them to sense You in me. I want them to sense how much You love them. I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside!—Pastor Kelly