Help us, Lord, to "give a friendly welcome" (Hebrews 11:31). What a
difference the friendly welcome makes! It's the word of encouragement
that makes us feel loved. It's the act of kindness that lets us know
that love is more than words. Lord, You are our Father. Help us to be
like You - "when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke
15:20). What amazing grace! Before the confession of sin - "Father, I
have sinned... " (Luke 15:21), there is the friendly welcome. It's Your
grace that inspires our confession of sin. It's Your grace that leads us
into the joy of Your forgiveness. It's not only joy for us. It's joy
for You - "my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is
found. And they began to celebrate" (Luke 15:24).
Lord, help us never to think, “We are blessed because we are obedient.” Help us always to say, “We are blessed because You love us and Jesus died for us.” Your love for us, Jesus’ death for us: This is where the blessing comes from – and it’s where our obedience comes from! We think of Your great love for us. We think of Jesus, crucified for us. We say, “Lord, You love me. Help me to love You.” We say, “Jesus, You died for me. Help me to live for You.” This is how Your blessing comes to us – You show us how much You love us, You put Your love into our hearts, the obedience grows stronger – and so does the blessing!
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