Morning Devotional 032925 Gentle Power

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

  March 29, 2025

Philippians 4:4-7

4 Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! 5 Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. 7 Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.

Good Morning. Rejoice! Again, I say rejoice!

Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. 

As a society, we seem to have developed a propensity for mean-spiritedness. Spending even a few minutes on social media exposes readers to a plethora of disheartening dialogue. What has happened to us that our first response is to hurl insults at those with problems instead of listening, showing empathy, and being gentle with our words?

Maybe our personal anxieties temper our ability to have compassion, but I fall back on the idea of What Would Jesus Do? Jesus would not pile on to the barrage of insults. Jesus would stand beside us and bear the pain in our place. 

Rejoice in the Lord always. Be Gentle to all. Let go of your anxiety! Pray! Give Thanks! 

THEN (see that conditional word), the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.

Loving Lord, Maker of all things! Help us see others as you see them. Thank you. We love you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day:  Let go of earthly ways! Do what Jesus would do!

Temper your words with your heart! Pastor Liz