Wed., 10/22/14 Devotion (2 Thess. 3:5)

Today's encouragement comes from 2 Thessalonians 3:5, where we read these words:

"Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the pa-tience of Christ."

This is such a great prayer of the Apostle Paul. When regenerate Christians can conceive of their Heavenly Father as an ocean of love in Christ, rather than as a wrathful Deity who still is angry with their sins—then a great and marvelous transformation takes place in their souls.

All Christian duty and obedience is futile, if it is not based in the believed in, experienced, and even “felt” love of God the Father. Slavish compliance is neither acceptable to God, nor sweet to us. Instead, joyful, childlike, and will-ing obedience comes naturally to those who know how wonderfully good and loving God really is. This kind of grateful and heart-melting willingness to fol-low the Lord Jesus supremely pleases God, the Holy Trinity.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Let us pray that God will preserve pure ordinances and powerful preaching among us. Idolatry came in at first by the want of good preaching." --Thomas Watson, in, "The Ten Commandments"]