GPS for the week of February 16th, 2025

“For He Is Kind To The Ungrateful And The Wicked”

Using your phone?  Try a new app: www.bible.com

Our Lord Jesus knows our hearts and wants us to leave judgment,

pride, and fear behind. The living God will graciously love, forgive,

heal, and restore us in a deep and joyful relationship that brings

life.

 

Dear Lord, lead us this week as we meditate on your

generosity and love. Amen.

 

Monday 2.17 “Pray for those who abuse you.”

Luke 6:27-38

“‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those

who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who

abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other

also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold

even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if

anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to

others as you would have them do to you. ‘If you love those who

love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those

who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what

credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to

those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you?

Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.” We may

trust in God’s love and leave our fears behind.

 

Tuesday 2.18 “Do not judge.”

Luke 6:27-38

“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in

return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the

Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be

merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ‘Do not judge, and you

will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be

condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be

given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together,

running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give

will be the measure you get back.’” Give and forgive. God is

generous with us!

 

Wednesday 2.19 “God sent me before you to preserve life.”

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

“Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’

But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at

his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to

me.’ And they came closer. He said, ‘I am your brother Joseph,

whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or

angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent

me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the

land these two years; and there are five more years in which there

will be neither ploughing nor harvest. God sent me before you to

preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you

many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he

has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and

ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and

say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord

of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in

the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your

children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your

herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since

there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your

household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.”’… So

the men took the present, and they took double the money with

them, as well as Benjamin. Then they went on their way down to

Egypt, and stood before Joseph.” God’s power to restore, heal,

and preserve life was at work even as strong emotions surged

through Joseph and his brothers.

 

Thursday 2.20 “Trust in the Lord and do good.”

Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40

“Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of

wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like

the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in

the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will

give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine

like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. Be

still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over

those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil

devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it

leads only to evil. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who

wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. Yet a little while, and the

wicked will be no more; though you look diligently for their place,

they will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land, and

delight in abundant prosperity. The salvation of the righteous is

from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord

helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked,

and saves them, because they take refuge in him.” Do not be

afraid! Wait quietly and patiently for the one who loves us.

 

Friday 2.21 “it is sown in weakness.”

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

“But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind

of body do they come?’ Fool! What you sow does not come to

life unless it dies. And as for what you sow, you do not sow the

body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some

other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to

each kind of seed its own body… So it is with the resurrection of

the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is

imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is

sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical

body, it is raised a spiritual body.” We are weak, but he is strong!

 

Saturday 2.22 “We will also bear the image of the man of

heaven.”

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

“If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is

written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living being’; the last

Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is

first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was

from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As

was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is

the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we

have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the

image of the man of heaven. What I am saying, brothers and

sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,

nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” Jesus, the man

from heaven, heals and restores us to life.