O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven and earth. You keep your covenant and show unfailing love to all who walk before you in wholehearted devotion. 2 Chronicles 6:14.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Be gracious. For you at this moment it means to let go of offense and see people in the light of My love. Stop looking at faults and see a soul I planned and made in hope. Stop seeing yourself as trapped and see yourself as free. Stop looking at those who offend you and look at Me. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of you faith.
Here is the key—live each day as if it was your last day on earth. Stop thinking evil things of others who oppose you in your heart though not spoken to them. And certainly do not speak them to others.
How do you control evil thoughts towards others who offend you? Be devoted to Me. Devotion leads to promotion. I can trust someone whose heart is totally devoted to Me.
What is devotion? The foundation of devotion is love and trust but it goes beyond that. Devotion is complete commitment to someone or something that is beyond loyalty and faithfulness. It has to do with the passion of your heart.
You are devoted to the one who is the focus and focal point of your life—the one for whom or the cause for which you would gladly give your life. And not just give your life, but give your thoughts and your words to please Me as you live each day.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14.
Devotion expresses itself in service to the one that has captured your affections. You submit and obey the one you are truly devoted to. You would rather lose your life than betray the object of your devotion.
I give you the definition of devotion in My Word: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Wholehearted devotion to Me will guide you into service of others for I bless you to be a blessing.
True devotion stems from actively believing that I love you and knowing that you live in Covenant with Me. When you are devoted to Me I am real to you. Devotion is the result of a personal relationship with Me. Devotion comes from connection and communication.
And I know you are devoted to Me when you are ready to give Me what you treasure without any reluctance. It means that I am your greatest treasure. You see this in Abraham’s life, when I was preaching the Gospel to him ahead of time and asked him to sacrifice his beloved son (just as I did with Jesus), he was ready to do it even though he loved Isaac more than anything or anyone else on earth. And do you remember what I called out to him as he raised the knife to sacrifice Isaac on the altar? I told him not to do the least thing to the boy. I said, “I know now how devoted you are to Me since you did not withhold from Me your own beloved son.” Genesis 22:12.
Does this tell you something else? You know now how devoted I am to YOU since I did not withhold from you My dearly beloved Son but so loved the world I sacrificed Him for you all so that you might be redeemed from the slavery to sin and death, set free from the curse, saved, healed, cleansed, forgiven, reconciled, and blessed. Yes, I am so devoted to every one of you that I make Covenant with you and espouse you to Myself forever.
And think of the devotion of Daniel, ready to go in the lions’ den rather than deny Me. His relationship with Me was more important to him than his life. But I sent My angel to hold the lions’ mouths closed so they could not harm one so devoted to Me.
David was also devoted to Me. He would never give Me anything he did not pay a good price for. He wanted to give Me things of value to show Me how much he valued Me. When he took up the final offering to build the temple which his son Solomon began and completed, because of his devotion for Me, he gave into the offering all of his own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This was in addition to the building materials he had already collected for My holy Temple, which was outstanding. 1 Chronicles 29:3.
Great devotion was also revealed in the lives of Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. Rather than deny Me, they went into a fiery furnace to suffer martyrdom, only to find out I went in with them and sheltered them from the heat.
But the rich young man that approached My Son and asked what he needed to do above and beyond the commandments to obtain eternal life was not devoted to Me. And he missed his promotion. He could not give up his money and possessions when My Son asked him to do so in order to become one of His disciples. He gave up the Kingdom and a hundred fold blessing in this life to hang on to what he treasured above Me—a large bank account and some earthly trinkets, neither of which will do you any good in Heaven.
But now also recall the many, seemingly beyond measure, who have been so devoted to Me and so focused on Me that they have given all they have, including their lives, so as not to deny Me or the Kingdom– John the Baptist, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, the twelve disciples, Paul, Timothy, and why not you? They all have been elevated in this life and in the next.
But the most perfect example of devotion to Me and to you is found in My Son Jesus who gave His life for all and came to serve and not to be served. And He did it all from His great love.
Devotion makes you bold and keeps you with no fear. If you truly trust in My care and love for you then you would be wrong to worry or puzzle about anything or ever to believe that I had abandoned you. My Son told you at the Last Supper that He would not leave you orphans but that He would come back to you. And He does. He manifests Himself to all those who obey and keep His Words. John 14:21.
And true devotion leads you to prayer and seeking to communicate constantly with me for the one devoted to Me finds fullness of joy in My presence and is thankful for My Word. When you are devoted to Me, it causes you to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and to give constant thanks.
Devotion leads to manifestation and promotion. It is a wonderful way to live.
I love you. I am wholly devoted to you. Will you return My love? Will you follow Me with wholehearted devotion?