Jesus teaches His followers concerning the need to follow the Lord fully in everything.

Matthew 7

Jesus teaches His followers concerning the need to follow the Lord fully in everything.
INSIGHT
Love is the basis of all that God asks of us. Jesus says, "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12). This teaching goes hand in hand with what Jesus urges later in Luke 10:27, that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. We want to be appreciated, loved, treated with dignity, and esteemed. This, then, is the way we ought to treat others. The double benefit is that when we treat others that way, they begin to treat us the same, and our relationships are characterized by depth and meaning.
PRAYER
Praise the Lord because He has treated us with love and dignity:
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge. . . .
I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the nations.
For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth (Psalm 57:1, 9-11).

As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:
When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. . . .
I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,"
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin (Psalm 32:3, 5).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
The wages of sin is death, but Your gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
(based on Romans 6:23).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
Greater faithfulness with your talents
Opportunities to serve the Lord
Your activities for the day
Finally, offer this closing prayer:
Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever (Psalm 28:9).
Biblical Portrait
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