Lord, we thank you so much for the gift of your word so we know how to live and order our lives. Your word teaches us to love you with the whole of our being: mind, heart, will and soul, and to love others as we love ourselves. We know that the more we love you and submit ourselves to you the more we are able to love others and the better life goes for us.
Thank you for giving all of us who humbly come to you the privilege to be your children. Thank you that in yielding to you we become able to love others as we love ourselves and to treat them with the respect they deserve. Thank you that when our minds are filled with you and your truth we are able to see and reason clearly.
Lord, we thank you for the life and understanding we have through you. We pray for those whose hearts and minds shut you out that they would come to their senses, see their own evil and their need to be made right by you. Lord, we thank you that your discipline is an act of love to show us how much we need you. May the consequences of our willful rebellion against you both as a nation and as individuals humble us so we bow before you.
Lord, may we see that apart from you we will never be righteous. Apart from you we will not consistently treat others in a way that honors you. Apart from you we will never experience the fullness of life that you desire nor will we be satisfied and content.
Jesus, thank you that you are our example of what it means to be loving and just. Thank you that you gave your life for all of us and that anyone who comes to you can gain forgiveness and salvation. Thank you that you want to make us into your likeness and are continually reaching out to us.
1 John 4:7-12 (click link to read)