Morning Devotional 073023 Love, Mercy, and Grace

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

July 30, 2023

Ephesians 4:1-6

1 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. 2 Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, 3 and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. 4 You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.

Good Morning, Blessed are those who follow God!

2 Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love,

When I consider Jesus, especially during his earthly walk, I see humility, gentleness, and patience. He came humbly as a servant to all who were ready to listen to the word and see the light. Regardless of how he was treated, he responded with gentleness. We see examples of his patience in the Gospels. When his message was not being received even by those who were trying to hear the word, he repeated it or told it in another way to give them the opportunity to understand. When the disciples were weak or filled with doubt, he gently helped them see and accept this new way of looking at the world. He laughed when they were happy and cried when they were sad, but all the while, he prayed with them and for them as he accepted them all with love.

The Good News is that all of these things I have described from long ago are still with us and available to us today. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus gently works with us and through us so that we might learn humility, gentleness, and patience so that we, too, can love one another. Loving without prejudice, conditions, and judgment is only attainable through God's grace, mercy, and love. We are called to be a reflection of God’s love, mercy, and grace as we navigate our earthly lives.

Loving God, We thank you! You sent your only son to walk among us and teach us your ways. Then you blessed us with the Holy Spirit to continue our transformation. Thank you for your neverending love, grace, and mercy even when we fall and turn away. Thank you! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day: I know whom I have believed and am persuaded.

God is Good! All the Time! Pastor Liz