Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalm 95:6-11
Psalm 95:6-11
6 Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.” 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, “They shall never enter my rest.”
It is so easy for us to assume that everyone lives in the same circumstances in which we live. This may be a life of leisure or it may be near destitution but since we deal with it every day, we come to think that everyone lives this way. We who live in the United States enjoy so many freedoms until we begin to think that everyone, everywhere has the same privileges. Most who read this can get up on any Sunday morning and go meet with other Christians and enjoy the fellowship and worship that is so encouraging so we assume all Christians all over the world can do the same. We are truly blessed and we must be grateful.
Not everyone enjoys the freedoms we enjoy. There are those who must be very careful in their worship with others, lest they be found and persecuted or even killed. Many do not have the luxury of air conditioned or heated buildings with soft pews in which to sit but rather sit under a tree or even in the open air. We must be grateful to God for what we have and pray for those who are struggling in very difficult situations to serve him.
Logic would say that the more God blesses us and the easier he makes it for us to live for him, the more faithful we would be. However, in far too many cases it is just the opposite. The more we have, the more we take for granted. The easier it is to serve God, the less fervor we show in our devotion because we can do that just anytime we want. It was during the great persecution, led by Saul that the church grew so rapidly and began to spread over the world. Hardship breed zeal, strength and determination because they had to trust God for success.
Lord God, thank you for all you have given me. I am grateful that I live in a country where I enjoy so many freedoms and can worship you without being threatened or harmed. I thank you for all the material things you have put in my life. Help me not hold on to them but recognize they belong to you and therefore I must use them for your glory. I pray for those who live without the freedoms I have and ask you to protect them and give them strength to be faithful. Use me to be a help and encouragement to them. I pray in the name of Jesus, their Savior and mine.
--Robert
