Love God and Love Others

Today's Reading: Psalm 77, Exodus 22:16‐23:9, Nehemiah 3, Romans 13

Psalm 77 - Asaph does something important in Psalm 77. He lists many ways that God has been faithful to the nation of Israel in the past. There are many times in the Psalms where the psalmist will list God's faithfulness to the nation of Israel. This is done in order to help the people trust in God's future faithfulness. From verse one to the end, Asaph trusts in God. I like that he writes, "I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will here me." We never have to question whether God hears our prayers. He can be counted on to listen to His people.

Exodus 22:16-23:9 - God lays down laws about social justice in this section of Exodus. Twice in these few verses He talks about taking care of a sojourner, reminding Israel that they were once sojourners in the land of Egypt. God wants us to care for others. He wants his people to be marked by love.

Nehemiah 3 - Remarkable detail went into the project of rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. That building begins in Nehemiah 3, and the details regarding builders and and the wall specifics are given in this chapter. Nehemiah took a giant step of faith to work on the wall. God loves to work through people's faith.

Romans 13 - Paul continues his practical teaching on how to live as a Christian by teaching us to submit to authority. He then talks about the importance of love. Anybody can show love to someone else. It's God's desire that Christians display love. Love fulfills the law and impacts people. If we love God and love others, we will fulfill all the law.