⁸ Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. ⁹ For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

Romans 13:8-10

Dear God, our small group last night was talking about the idols we can make out of our devoutness. It is easy to make piety my idol. It’s easy to even make doing these prayer journals my idol. But if we focus on these things–going to church every time the door is open, spending our daily time in prayer or praying so many minutes a day, listening to only Christian music, etc., but have not love for our neighbors in need then we are a loud, clanging gong (1 Corinthians 13).

But it does start with legitimate worship of you because if I’m not submitting myself to you, worshipping you, asking for forgiveness for the things I do that grieve you, and then accepting that forgiveness in a loving relationship with you, then I will not be able to extend forgiveness to others, and I won’t know how to love them because I won’t really understand how much you love me.

Father, I know you are love because the closer I get to you and the more I turn loose of my worldly idols the more I feel love. The less selfish I become. Speaking of love for others, I have a friend who has to be nervous about a doctor appointment they have today. Help them through this process. Guide them. Guide the doctor. Father, have mercy. Jesus, have mercy. Holy spirit, have mercy.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen