Jul 25 2024

Afternoon Bible Verse

Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

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Psalm 2 is called a Royal Psalm because it talks about how God has appointed kings over Israel in order to fulfill His promise to Abraham. In verse 11, we get a description of the importance of revering God in everything that we do. Even though it was addressed to Israelite Kings long ago, it still applies to us today. To understand what we can learn from this verse, we'll break it into two sections.

First, we are supposed to serve the Lord. This means we do what the Lord has called us to do. His instructions to us are all over the Bible, and are encompassed with the commands to love God and love one another. We are supposed to serve the Lord by loving Him, which we do by spending time with Him in His word and in prayer. Loving other people—reaching out to them, caring for them, being generous with time and resources—is another essential aspect of serving the Lord.

We are also supposed to rejoice. We rejoice in how He has transformed our lives and in His ultimate plan to redeem the whole world. This means we should not dwell on our afflictions right now, but instead focus on the truth that very soon, we will live with the Lord in Heaven without pain.

This verse emphasizes how we serve and how we rejoice: with fear and with trembling (respectively). This means we are supposed to keep in mind that everything we do is unto the Lord. The God who created man from dust, whose words formed galaxies, the God who changes hearts when it seems impossible—this is the God we are serving. He is powerful and bigger and mightier and holier than any of us will ever understand. We should serve and rejoice with these characteristics of God in mind, while remembering that as magnificent as He is, so is His great love and mercy for each of us.

Afternoon Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you so much for being awesome in might and in power. You are above all things. Help me to serve you with fear and rejoice with trembling. I want to remember that you are a big, big God, and that nothing on Earth will ever threaten you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Jul 24 2024

Yesterday Afternoon's Bible Verse

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. :

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Yesterday Afternoon's Bible study

Jude is one of the shortest letters in the New Testament. Besides offering wisdom in how to deal with false teachers, it provides very little instruction on godly living.

This afternoon's verse instructs us to "Keep yourselves in the love of God." This is an interesting way to tell us not to run from God's love, but rather, remain in it.

We can't remove ourselves from God's love because there is nothing we can do to lose His love for us. But we can choose to move away from accepting His love, and by default, choose His wrath.

Fellowship with God is offered to all believers. It's the opportunity to know God's heart and allow Him to guide our lives. What other place would we possibly want to be than in fellowship with our Creator?

The second part of the verse says, "looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Mercy is ours right now. We don't have to wait to receive God's mercy, but we will receive the ultimate mercy when we stand face-to-face with God, and He welcomes us into eternal life.

Today, we can choose to abide in God's love and know Him better and more deeply until we meet Him in eternity.

Yesterday Afternoon's Prayer

Jesus, I want to know you more every day. I want to experience your love in such a strong way that it affects everyone around me. Help me obey your commands and be obedient to your Word. Someday, when I enter into eternity with you, I will know the fullness of your mercy. But for now, Jesus, I am grateful for your love that is always with me. In your name, amen.
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