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MEDITATION:

Written by Greg Laurie, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker.

God calls himself a “jealous God.” But does that mean He’s insecure and is therefore jealous? We tend to always think of jealousy in a negative sense. After all, it was Shakespeare who referred to it as “the green-eyed monster.” We envision a jealous person as someone who may fly into a rage for the slightest reason. But when God says He’s a jealous God, He means it in a different way. Imagine if a wife said to her husband, “Honey, I love you so much. And by the way, I’m going on a date tonight. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye. Love you!” No clear-thinking husband would go along with that plan. But we’ll say, “Oh, Lord, I love you so much,” and we’ll effectively have another god in our lives. The Bible says, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21 NKJV). And having another god is easier than we may think. A lot of things can become idols in our lives. A vehicle or a house can become an idol. So can a career. Even a ministry can become an idol. Other people can become idols in our lives. When we take our eyes off the Lord and become more passionate about a hobby or some other thing we do for fun, that can become an idol as well. When the Bible says that God is a jealous God, it means that He oversees your life. You are not in charge of it. God cares about you. He’s a Father who sees the potential of His children, a father who is brokenhearted when that potential isn’t realized, or worse yet, when we waste our lives. God is a Father who loves us and wants the very best for us. And He doesn’t want to share us with anyone or anything else.

PRAYER:

Written by Kevin Halloran, a contemporary pastor and author.

Lord, You know that even on my best days I sin against You. From my disappointment, fix the eyes of my heart continually on the grace You poured out on the cross. May that cross take away all shame and free me to worship You by drawing near in joyful repentance and fully hoping in the beautiful restoration You bring in Christ. More than anything, bind my wandering heart to You in joyful worship, knowing that for this reason I was created. Amen.