Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 119:25-32
Psalms 119:25-32
Daleth
25 I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word. 26 I recounted my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees. 27 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. 28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 29 Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law. 30 I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. 31 I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD; do not let me be put to shame. 32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
There is no prayer more needed today than to ask God to keep us from deceitful ways. Satan is referred to as the great deceiver because he is a master at doing this. He began on Eve and has been doing it with every one of us since that time. He can make sin look good and can help us rationalize almost anything we are tempted to do by convincing us that it really isn’t that bad. It is his deception that is behind a lot of what is called political correctness in our society.
Blatant disregard for God’s word and all kinds of immorality is simply referred to as an alternative lifestyle and anyone who calls it sin is classified as hating. Paul listed all kinds of sin (sexual sins, money sins, attitude sins and others) in his letter to the Corinthians and declared that those who do these things will not enter the kingdom of God. Satan would tell us, as he did Eve in the Garden, that we will not surely die but God is mistaken or that he is not looking out for our best interest or that he just doesn’t want us to be happy.
It is this same letter to the Corinthians where Paul’s description of love is so often read and discussed. Paul repeatedly emphasizes love as a necessity of being a Christian. It is love that holds us together; both with Christ and with each other as we deal with our differences and our struggles to be faithful. John declares that God is love and we are to be like God. Calling sin what it really is does not make us hate others but causes us to be filled with compassion and makes us want to help them see the love of God for them. So we are warned repeatedly not to be deceived, either by ourselves, by Satan or by our society.
Lord God, thank you for revealing your word to me so I can know your will for me and my life. Thank you for pointing out what is right and what is wrong. Give me wisdom to understand and strength to put it into practice. Increase my faith so I am not deceived by this world and the things of this world. Fill my heart with your love so when I see others in sin I am filled with compassion and not a sense of self-righteousness or hatred. Help me share your love with those around me so they will see Jesus in me. I pray in his name.
--Robert
