I read a Swedish proverb written on a small tag it that said, “Love me when I least deserve it, because that is when I really need it.”

As Christians, we need to remember that sentiment; Not waiting until people deserve it before loving them. Paul tells us that God did just that for us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

God didn’t wait for us to solve all our sinful problems before loving us enough to save us. We need to do the same, and love people first, even when they have sin problems, like all of us do.

Dear Lord, you presented the perfect example for us by sending Jesus to save us while we were undeserving sinners. Then Jesus showed the same example by loving and caring for those who had their own sin problems. Help us follow this example and love first rather waiting for people to deserve it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We have all seen examples of high profile “Christians” who by their publicly bad behavior give those who oppose Christianity anecdotes to demonstrate hypocrisy and paint all Christians with that brush. For every one of those bad examples, there are thousands of Christians who do amazing things that bring great glory to God, through their churches, charitable organizations, missions, and hundreds of other places and means.

Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:15, “It is God’s will that your good lives should silence those who foolishly condemn the Gospel without knowing what it can do for them, having never experienced it’s power.”

We need to be those positive, helpful, and hopeful people that show how being saved by Christ makes us different and “silences” those who would criticize Christians in general.

Dear Lord, what amazing things you have done for us through your love. Help us reflect that love and confidence in you to those around us, So that your Spirit might also work on them. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

We all know that God created us with a free will to choose. There is a constant battle going on inside each of us; a battle between our desire to choose to obey God and do what is right, and our desire to choose to follow the self-centered desires that the world would have us follow.

Think of all the modern day social issues that revolve around the “right” and “freedom” to do things that are clearly wrong according to God.

Paul writes to the church in Galatians 5:13 “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.”

Dear Lord, please help us use the freedom you gave us to live lives that glorify you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

You’ve probably heard it said, You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Proverbs 3:3,4 is a bit of a follow-on to that expression saying, “Never tire of loyalty and kindness. Hold these virtues tightly. Write them deep within your heart, If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgment” From TLB version.

The NIV Bible version text uses the virtues of “Love and Faithfulness,” and the RSV version uses “Loyalty and Faithfulness.”

Regardless of the Bible version; Loyalty, Kindness, Love, and Faithfulness, are virtues we need to work on to truly be the Christian brothers and sisters God wants us to be.

Dear Lord, we thank you that you first showed us Love, Loyalty, Kindness and Faithfulness. Help us keep these virtues in the front of our minds throughout our days and use them with those we encounter. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

Often times, we wait until we have tried everything else to deal with a problem or difficult situation before we pray about it. Unfortunately, it is the last resort for many people even after they have given up hope of a successful outcome.

God wants us to interact with him all the time, like he is a part of our lives every moment. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Never stop praying.” When we have that mindset, we start our problem solving with prayer; Asking God, who has the power to make anything right, and solve any problem we might have, first.

James 5:16 writes, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

Prayer is not a long shot, “it can’t hurt,” last resort. It is a powerful demonstration of our faith in and relationship with God. We need to believe that it will produce results, and it will.

Dear Lord, thank you for giving us the ability to come to you with our cares and concerns. Help us to keep you in our thoughts throughout our day and bring our needs to you, believing that you will give us what we ask or something better. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.