THE UPPER ROOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL 30 MAY 2024, THURSDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: What Is Required?
TODAY’S READING
Matthew 22:34-40
[The Lord] has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? – Micah 6:8 (NRSVUE)
TODAY’S MESSAGE
When I became a Christian, I was excited and wanted to please God. I thought the only way I could please God was by doing, so I became a super volunteer in my church and community. Unfortunately, as I overcommitted myself to acts of service, I became less enthusiastic. I wore myself out and started feeling like a failure as a Christian.
It has been a long time since those early days when I was learning how to grow and share my faith. I am still excited about my love for God, and I still eagerly look for opportunities to share that love with others. However, I have learned that it’s not simply an act of service that pleases the Lord but also how we do the act of service. To please God, I do not need to overcommit myself to work that I can’t do wholeheartedly — but I do have to commit myself to the Lord.
In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus reiterated Micah’s words when he spoke of the importance of loving the Lord and loving our neighbor. Every life experience is an opportunity to humbly exalt God as we do justice and love others with kindness and mercy.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Gracious Lord, guide us to live with justice and kindness. Help us to love our neighbors as ourselves as we humbly acknowledge that you are God. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Is my commitment to work greater than my commitment to God?
PRAYER FOCUS
Volunteers in my community
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The Upper Room Daily Devotional 30 May 2024 Message. The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together. Read More