Daily Affirmations - Day 3 - The Father Himself Loves You - A Present God

Day 3: A present God

My heart says of You, "Seek His face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves Me will obey My teaching. My Father will love them, and We will come to them and make Our home with them (John 14:23).

God of unchanging love, God of unbreakable promise, the world seeks Your peace apart from You; the blessings of Your hand and the favor of Your heart without the glory of Your face.

But You call us away from this futility of thinking (Ephesians 4:17). You taught Your disciples that You show Your love to those who love You and obey Your teaching, and You make Your home with them (John 14:23).

Because of Your great grace and mercy, Lord, humanity is not consumed by this broken, fallen world and its trouble and difficulty (Lamentations 3:22). But we endure much, and we cannot realize the fullness of life You intend apart from Your saving help (John 10:10).

You call us to love You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). And You desire that love be the motivation for us to obey Your teaching (2 Corinthians 5:14); for love is expressed in obedience. In fact this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).

Your commands are designed to protect us, to cause us to flourish— to bring us the peace and the blessings that we deeply desire, for You are God, and You know every good path (Proverbs 2:9).

Loving God, You desire to be a God who is present with us. May the cry of our heart be for You, for Your face, for Your presence with us. May You be pleased to come and make Your home with us and that we would know the blessings described by the Sons of Korah:

How lovely is Your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they are ever praising You. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless (Psalm 84:1-2, 4-5, 10-12).

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