Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:5

 Recommended Reading: Romans 5:1-5

Have you heard of the Great Man-Made River project? It’s the world’s largest irrigation project, a network of pipes and aqueducts that supplies fresh water across Libya. There are vast aquifers under the Sahara desert—enough water to last a thousand years, according to some estimates. Others aren’t so sure how long the supply will last, but this incredible engineering feat keeps the faucets of Libya running.

Have you heard of the great God-Made River project? It’s the outpouring of love, channeled into our heart by the Holy Spirit. When we accept Christ as Savior, God sends us the Holy Spirit—His love in us. This enables us to love others through situations we would have found impossible before. Give a prayer of thanks to God that He chose to send His love into us through the Holy Spirit, and ask Him to enable you to show others the love of Christ in you.

The reality of God’s love in a believer’s heart gives the assurance, even the guarantee, that the believer’s hope in God and His promise of glory is not misplaced and will not fail.
John A. Witmer

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26

 Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 13

We all fail from time to time, even the biblical heroes did. The psalmist said, “My heart pants, my strength fails” (Psalm 38:10). Jeremiah wrote, “My eyes fail with tears” (Lamentations 2:11).

But not God! He never fails! Joshua 21:45 says, “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken.” Psalm 89:33 says, “My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail.” Isaiah 42:4 says the Lord “will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth.” Lamentations 3:22 says, “His compassions fail not.”

His eternal existence cannot fail. We read in Hebrews 1:12 that even the heavens will be folded up like a garment, but as for God: “Your years will not fail.”

Zephaniah 3:5 says plainly: “The Lord is righteous…. He never fails.”

That’s why 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “Love never fails.” We can be confident that love never fails because God never fails and God is love. Give thanks that we can always count on the love of God to see us through all things.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail, in Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail.
Robert Grant

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head…. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid.
Psalm 3:3-6

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 3

King David’s darkest days were when he fled Jerusalem, pursued by his own army, which had come under the control of his rebellious son Absalom. David’s heart was broken by family problems, and his crown was threatened by national rebellion. In this setting, he wrote Psalm 3: “Lord, how they have increased who trouble me!” (verse 1)

But David had evidently been reading Genesis 15:1, where the Lord told Abraham, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield.” David claimed that concept for himself, visualizing his God as a shield that surrounded him in all directions like a globe of grace. Therefore, he could lay down and go to sleep, unafraid. He knew God loved him.

The Bible says love “hopes all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7).

When a difficulty arises, remember we can remain hopeful because our loving God is a shield around us. There is no situation we cannot face with His divine love around and within us.

The Psalms are inexhaustible, and deserve to be read, said, sung, chanted, whispered, learned by heart, and even shouted from the rooftops.
N. T. Wright

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28

 Recommended Reading: Romans 8:35-39

Everything we know about love stems from God. The apostle John wrote that “God is love” and that “we love [God] because He first loved us” (1 John 4:8, 16, 19). Our love for God, as well as our love for others, is a response to the God of love who first loved us. As we abide in God’s love, we respond by obeying His command to love others (John 15:10).

Psalm 91 is a testament to God’s loving protection for those who love Him: “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him” (verse 14). When we get to the New Testament, we find Paul writing that everything works for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28). And in the same chapter (a mirror of Psalm 91), Paul lists all the things in life that might separate us from God’s love and says none of them will (Romans 8:35-39)!

To be loved unconditionally—by God or by others—is a safe harbor. Dwell in God’s love today so you are equipped to love others.

We are called upon to reflect the love of God as much in trial as in tranquility.
John Blanchard

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

[Love] does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.
1 Corinthians 13:6

 Recommended Reading: Proverbs 18:8; 26:20

“Gossip” goes back to the Old English godsibb—a godfather, godmother, or baptismal sponsor. It evolved to refer to anyone who was a close friend, associate, or relative—that is, a person with whom one talks about intimate matters. The idea of “gossip” gradually became that of “idle talk”—the words themselves or the person who speaks them.

Proverbs has much to say about idle talk and those who engage in it. Sin is potential in a multitude of words; the one who restrains his speech is wise (Proverbs 10:19). A gossip’s words are like delectable sweets, going down deep in a person (Proverbs 18:8). The best way to put out a fire is to remove the wood; the best way to stop strife is to remove the gossip (Proverbs 26:20). In a neutral sense, gossip is just words between people—positive or negative words. But biblically, gossip is always viewed in a negative light. Gossip is kept alive by spreading rumors and recounting unsavory news that should remain private. Gossip is the opposite of “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

Love does not delight in spreading rumors of dark deeds. Love participates only in what edifies and honors others.

Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.
Unknown

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

 [Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:7

 Recommended Reading: Hebrews 12:14-15

Is it possible to “forgive and forget”? We can choose to forgive, but can we choose to forget? Every time we tell ourselves to forget about an offense we have suffered, it refreshes the emotion of that painful event.

It is possible to forgive and not forget an offense, though in time the offense can become a distant memory. The danger in not forgiving is that forgetting becomes impossible. If we don’t forgive, we replay the offense over and over, keeping it alive in our mind as if it happens afresh every day. Then resentment sets in—and resentment gradually transitions into bitterness, a source of trouble and defilement (Hebrews 12:15). So what do we do? First, we choose to forgive when we are hurt. Then we love by bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). We bear the offense and believe and hope that it will never happen again. We begin each day with a clean slate, keeping “no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5, NIV).

If you have been hurt, first forgive, then love. Live as if you have no memory of the wrong suffered.

Forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.
Lewis B. Smedes

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

 Recommended Reading: Matthew 18:21-22

Love is at the heart of everything—even forgiveness. But not because forgiveness is a loving thing to do (though it is). But because it is a sacrificial thing to do. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that “love suffers long” (verse 4), which is usually a way of saying that love is patient. But when the need for forgiveness comes often, it can result in longsuffering—patiently enduring the offense that necessitates forgiveness no matter how often it arises.

When Peter asked Jesus how many times he was required to forgive the one who offended him—and suggested seven times would suffice—Jesus surprised him with a different number: seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22). Jesus didn’t mean that 490 was the limit; He was suggesting that we are to forgive an infinite number of times. We are to forgive without counting. We wonder if Paul had this teaching in mind when he exhorted the Ephesians to forgive each other “as God in Christ forgave you.”

God puts no limit on the number of times He is willing to forgive us. Neither should we limit our forgiveness for others.

If you are suffering from a bad man’s injustice, forgive him lest there be two bad men.
Augustine

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13, NIV

 Recommended Reading: Colossians 3:12-17

If you’re having trouble getting over an insult, hurt, or injustice, here are two verses that may help. In 1 Corinthians 13:5, we’re told that love “keeps no record of wrongs” (NIV). We have to take that list of grievances, give it to the Lord, then burn it in the fire and turn it to ash, putting it behind us.

Isaiah 43:18-19 contains this counsel: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (NIV).

If someone has done you wrong, your anger might lead you to want to seek revenge. Refusing to forgive another for their transgression can keep you bound by this anger. Choose today to forgive in the power of the Lord who has forgiven you, and free yourself from this sort of anger addiction.

Burn the list of past grievances, and go into the future knowing God is doing a new thing in your life.

Divine love is kind even when misunderstood. Love knows how to take sorrow and heartache victoriously.
George Sweeting

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
Ephesians 4:26

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 4

What emotion motivated William Wilberforce to campaign tirelessly against England’s participation in the African slave trade? Or, in the same vein, what propelled Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to protest against racial injustice in the United States? Even more importantly, how was Jesus feeling emotionally when He cleared the merchants and money changers from the temple in Jerusalem?

We could say that anger was the motivating emotion—but not sinful anger. Anger in itself is not sinful; it is one of many human emotions that can lead to good or evil outcomes. Anger at injustice can lead to reforms that result in justice or to destructive behaviors that fuel further negative outcomes. The psalmist David warned against being angry in a sinful way. He advised meditation and stillness to sort through the emotion (Psalm 4:4). And the apostle Paul quoted David’s words with advice on relationships: be angry but don’t sin by dwelling indefinitely on your anger. Resolve your anger by the end of the day.

When you feel angry, ask yourself: Is my anger self-centered or will it motivate me to help others? Keeping anger on a short leash will help you decide.

When anger is present, look for the pain.
R. C. Sproul

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4

 Recommended Reading: Romans 14:17-19

As the Gospel spread from Jerusalem into the world of the Gentiles, cultural issues arose that required a spiritual response. For instance, in the food markets of large cities like Corinth and Rome, meat would be sold that was leftover from sacrifices in pagan temples. In other words, it was meat that had been offered to idols. The question arose as to whether Christians could eat that meat without defiling their conscience.

Paul wrote two lengthy passages addressing this issue in 1 Corinthians 10:14–11:1 and Romans 14:1-23. In short, he said that there was no harm in eating meat from pagan temples, but he left the decision up to the individual. More importantly, he cautioned against letting one’s own conscience be a standard of judgment against others. He said that peace in the church and mutual edification were most important (Romans 14:19). As always, love was to be the guide: “Love…does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

In all our relationships—home, work, church—we are to love one another, not judge one another. Pursue peace and edification wherever you go today.

Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
1 Timothy 6:6

 Recommended Reading: 1 Timothy 6:6-10

Leaders in various religious movements are often discovered to be living lavish lifestyles: mansions, private jets, expensive belongings, and large salaries. But this is not a modern phenomenon. In the apostle Paul’s day, there were traveling teachers and philosophers who demanded payments before they would dispense their “wisdom.” In fact, some of them criticized Paul because he refused to take payments for his ministry (2 Corinthians 11).

When Paul wrote to the young pastor Timothy, he warned him to have nothing to do with any such teachers who thought that “godliness is a means of gain” (1 Timothy 6:5). Then he reminded Timothy that godliness can be a source of gain if it is coupled with one thing: contentment (1 Timothy 6:6). Paul wrote a long section of his epistle on the subject of riches and contentment and the spiritual gain that comes from finding wealth in Christ, not in the things of this world. Money is not the problem; the love of money is (1 Timothy 6:10). To be content frees us to be “rich in good works” and to lay a foundation for the age to come (1 Timothy 6:18-19).

Are you content in Christ today? In Him we have all we will ever need.

Deep, contented joy comes from a place of complete security and confidence [in God].
Charles Swindoll

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Add to your faith…brotherly kindness.
2 Peter 1:5, 7

 Recommended Reading: 2 Peter 1:5-8

Earlier this year two police offers in Oklahoma received a report of someone yelling for help. They responded to the call and tracked the voice. When they came upon the distressed individual, they found not a human but a goat. Its cry sounded like “Help!” The animal had become separated from its mate, and the officers kindly guided it back to its companion.¹

If we listen carefully nowadays, we can hear cries for help coming from many different places. People need a kind shoulder to lean on, a kind friend to talk with, a kind word to encourage them, or some help kindly given.

Showing kindness to others is something we as Christians simply do! Proverbs 19:22 says, “What is desired in a man is kindness.” And Romans 12:10 says, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.”

Kindness is among the items we call the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Praise God today that the kindness of Jesus is available for you to duplicate in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Kindness has been called the small coin of love.
J. R. Miller

1. Alex Portée, “Oklahoma Police Responded to a Cry for ‘Help.’ It Turned Out to Be a Goat,” Today, May 11, 2023.

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:18

 Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 13

If you went through the Bible and drew a circle around every occurrence of the word love, you’d end up with more than 500 circles. It first appears in Genesis 22:2 to describe Abraham’s love for his son Isaac. You’ll have 25 circles in the book of Deuteronomy, 44 in Psalms, and 57 in John’s Gospel. One chapter in the Bible is called the Love Chapter (1 Corinthians 13), and the last reference to love in the Bible is in Revelation 22, although there the word is used in a negative sense, to condemn anyone who “loves and practices a lie” (verse 15).

Love is God’s priority, and it should be ours as well. Nothing is harder than to give up a grudge, overlook an insult, or cast out a root of bitterness from our hearts. But that is God’s way and His will, and we can accomplish those things through His strength and His Spirit.

Look for a way to love someone well today, maybe even someone you’ve recently failed to love very well!

When a human act does not conform to the standard of love, then it is not right, nor good, nor perfect.
Thomas Aquinas

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.
Psalm 30:2

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 41:1-3

God revealed Himself to His people Israel by a series of covenant names, one of which was Jehovah Rophe—“the Lord who heals.” Having redeemed His people from Egypt, God told them if they would walk in His statutes they would be spared from the diseases He brought on the Egyptians—“For I am the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26).

Conversely, if Israel failed to walk in obedience to God, they would suffer the diseases of Egypt and more (Deuteronomy 28:60-61). Part of the covenant expectations that Israel had of God was that He would forgive all their sins and heal all their diseases (Psalm 103:2-3). The coming Messiah would be “bruised for our iniquities” and we would be “healed” by His “stripes” (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). Healing, or salvation, was considered to be inclusive of both body and soul. So it is no surprise that we find the psalmist David praying for healing in Psalm 30. And it should likewise be no surprise that God answered his prayer (verse 2).

From your head to your toes, if you are in need of wholeness and good health, ask the Lord who heals you. 

Any sinner may be healed if he will only come to Christ. 
J. C. Ryle

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.
Psalm 63:6

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 4:4-5

The “night watches”—those hours we spend in bed during the night—can be fertile soil for seeds of worry. In Psalm 63, we find David describing his “night watch” practice: meditating on God. And this he did during one of the most tumultuous, heart-wrenching times of his life. 

King David’s son Absalom wanted to unseat his father from the throne (2 Samuel 17:1-4) When word reached David that Absalom’s army was approaching Jerusalem, David gathered his loyal courtiers and commanders, and their families, and they left Jerusalem. As he fled Jerusalem, David was cursed by those loyal to Absalom. Crossing the Kidron Valley, they ascended the Mount of Olives. From there they headed into the Judean wilderness to seek refuge and make plans. (See the title inscription for Psalm 63: “A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.”) David organized his troops and engaged the army of Absalom, and his son was killed. 

Can you imagine the worry and heartache David experienced during those days? Yet on his bed, he turned his thoughts to God and meditated on Him. Use the quiet hours of the night to commit your concerns to God in prayer.

Faith can place a candle in the darkest night.
Margaret E. Sangster

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.
Psalm 100:4

 Recommended Reading: Psalm 100

Fifianna Su, 9, lives with her family in a one-hundred-square-foot room in San Francisco, but last Easter she and her mom were invited to the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. The invitation came from the Chinatown Community Development Center, which received three tickets to the event. Nonprofit organizations and donors paid their way, and the mother and daughter arrived at the White House on a bright, sunny day, along with approximately thirty thousand others. Afterward, Fifianna’s mother told The Washington Post, “She knows that her dream, her future…is more than just the space we’re living in right now.”¹

Sometimes our world can seem very small and our pressures very large. But by grace, we have constant access through the gates of the Lord and into the courtyard of the King of kings. We can always come with thanksgiving and praise. Our Lord is the One who can satisfy the desires of our heart. Lean on Him. Because of His resurrection, He can give you levels of personal satisfaction the world can never afford.

Right now you can enter His gates with joy and His courts with praise!

Everything if given to God can become your gateway to joy.
Elisabeth Elliot

1. Daniel Wu, “Their Home Is 100 Square Feet. A White House Trip Expanded Their World,” The Washington Post, April 11, 2023.

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Psalm 51:7-8

 Recommended Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

On the night before the exodus of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt, Moses gave instructions to the people. That night, the Lord would bring judgment on the firstborn sons of Egypt—but not on the Hebrew families. They were to take hyssop and paint their doorways with sacrificial blood. Upon seeing the blood, the “destroyer” would pass over their homes (Exodus 12:22-23).

Hyssop was a plant that was used to sprinkle blood during ritual cleansings. The image of hyssop came to David’s mind as he composed Psalm 51 in the wake of his sin against Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah. In verse 2 he prayed God would cleanse him from his sin, and in verse 7 he pictured how: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” Scholars suggest that the word cleanse means to “un-sin”—to make me as I was before I sinned. That’s what God does when He forgives us.

Christians are not called sinners in the New Testament but saints (holy ones). After being forgiven, God sees us as “whiter than snow.”

God does not demand a beautiful vessel for His work, but He does demand a clean one.
Quoted by R. A. Torrey

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

Thus says the Lord of hosts [to David]…. “I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.”
2 Samuel 7:8-9

 Recommended Reading: Acts 16:6-10

A standard dialogue technique in screenwriting is to have one character say to another, “I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?” It’s a tough choice to make when you don’t know what either piece of news will be.

David experienced something like that choice—only God didn’t ask him which news he wanted first. To prepare David’s heart for the bad news to come, God gave the king the good news first. The good news was that God had always been with David, had given him success over his enemies, and had guaranteed that his descendants would continually occupy the throne in Israel. But the bad news was that David would not have the honor of building a “house” for God in Jerusalem; that honor would fall to his son, Solomon.

There is always good news from God: He is always faithful, even in the face of bad news. Thank Him today for His faithfulness to you.

Though men are false, God is faithful.
Matthew Henry

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

So they brought the ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
2 Samuel 6:17

 Recommended Reading: Galatians 5:22-23

We often hear people say, “The end justifies the means.” In other words, it’s okay to do something dishonorable, if necessary, in order to achieve something honorable. But that is not a biblical perspective. God is as concerned about the process as much as the product.

Early in King David’s career, he learned this lesson the hard way. He was moving the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. But he failed to follow God’s instructions on how to transport the Ark. A man died as a result, and the Ark’s movement was delayed for three months. There is a lesson there: God cares about how we serve Him as much as He cares about what we accomplish. For example, not only are we to speak the truth, but we are also to speak the truth “in love” (Ephesians 4:15). We are to defend the faith but with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, NIV). 

Do God’s work today—yes! But do it God’s way so He is free to bless and honor it.

God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.
Hudson Taylor

https://www.davidjeremiah.org

So David said to [Mephibosheth], “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”
2 Samuel 9:7

 Recommended Reading: Matthew 5:33-37

We often invoke the notion of a promise when conversing about a commitment: “I promise I’ll be there at four o’clock sharp!” Jesus noted that a promise (oath) is a step beyond merely giving one’s word—and should be an unnecessary step: “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37). 

In the Old Testament, a covenant was a type of binding promise. Before David became king, he and Saul’s son Jonathan made a covenant involving Jonathan’s future children. Jonathan asked David to promise that when he became king, he would care for Jonathan’s children. And David did. Years after Jonathan died and David became king, he heard that Jonathan’s disabled son, Mephibosheth, was alive and living as an outcast as a descendant of Saul. So David brought Mephibosheth to his court and made ample and permanent provisions for him.

David kept his promise to Jonathan. God keeps His promises to us. And we should keep our word to one another—always.

God hath promised to keep his people, and he will keep his promise.
Charles Spurgeon

https://www.davidjeremiah.org