Sermon: 6/21/26- Thursday's Devotional

The Commands We Conveniently Forget
Reading: Matthew 5:38-48 and Luke 6:27-36

Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Don't worry about tomorrow. Treat others as you want to be treated. We're familiar with these commands, perhaps too familiar. Like wallpaper we no longer notice, they've become background noise rather than life-changing directives.
The Israelites grew comfortable with God's presence—the cloud by day, fire by night—until it became ordinary. We risk the same with Scripture. We've heard "love your enemies" so often that we've developed sophisticated ways to explain why it doesn't apply to this particular person who wronged us.
Today, choose one of Jesus' "hard sayings" that you've been avoiding. Don't just read it—wrestle with it. Who is the enemy you're refusing to love? What worry are you clutching instead of surrendering? Which person are you treating worse than you'd want to be treated? Obedience often begins with honest acknowledgment of disobedience.