Devotion
The Importance of the Gathering
Chipo Biti
Part of professing our faith in God is choosing to walk in love with one another. Loving everyone around us, with the love of God, is one of the main ways in which our words and actions can testify of God and His love to the world. The world looks to Christians when seeking the existence and legitimacy of God and the love we preach of. If they do not see that love emulated within us, they will not be convinced of who we say God truly is.
Instead of provoking one another to anger or dispute, we are to provoke one another to love. It may sound a little funny but it is true. We should seek to bring out the loving side of every believer that we come across. This can be done through the words we speak and the actions we carry out. Instead of treating people like strangers, welcome them into your world and consider them to be friends. Pay attention to their needs and their concerns and treat them if you can.
Prayer
Good works are a part of expressing the love of God that resides within us. Good works without love are meaningless - 1 Corinthians 13 goes to extensive lengths to stress this. If you do good works but you have no love in your heart, then it means that you are a pretender.
One of the best places to share our love with one another is when we gather together to worship God as one. This is usually in church, at group bible studies, or other Christian gatherings. Do no treat these gatherings lightly. They mean a great deal to God and He desires that we take them seriously. There is great growth that occurs when believers come together to worship and study God's word.
Night Prayer
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
Inspiration
We cannot surrender part of our lives to serve the Lord; we must surrender it all. We see multiple occurrences in the New Testament when Jesus says, 'follow me,' met with an excuse or other business that needed to be taken care of first. We like to think that, given the opportunity, we would follow immediately, but that may not be true. We put many earthly activities before the Lord. We make idols of technology, sports, and other activities or people. These secondary priorities cause us to wander away from the Lord instead of closer to Him. We must analyze our walk closely and remove all stumbling blocks that distract us from the Lord.
Prayer
Dear Lord, we want to serve You with all our hearts. Help us analyze our lives and remove stumbling blocks that slow our walk with You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
