DAILY?READINGS: 2 Kings 18; Jeremiah 51:25-64; 1 Timothy 2
Thou hast left thy first love. Revelation 2:4
Not all love is good. We have a tendency to love what we shouldn’t. Demas forsook Paul, “having loved this present world” (2 Tim. 4:10). John warns us not to love the world (1 John 2:15). James warns that friendship with the world is enmity with God (Jam. 4:4). God loves righteousness but hates iniquity. The Psalmist said: “Oh how I love thy law” (Psa. 119:97), and “I love the Lord” (Psa. 116:1). How is it with you today? Who and what do you love? The answer reveals the condition of your heart. —Carl Knott
I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. —W. R. Featherston