Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 20:1-5
Ps 20:1-5
1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. 3 May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. Selah 4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. 5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.
John 15:18-20
18 "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
The Teacher in his book on life, concluded that the purpose of living is that we fear God and keep his commandments. To be truly successful we must be his servants. To serve God, we serve others around us. To follow the example of Jesus we must humble ourselves and put the interests of others ahead of our own. He gave up all we could ever hope to attain (and then a lot more on top of that) so we can be with him in eternity. Jesus, the Son of God became a servant for you and for me and then died so we can live.
One of the many wonderful things about being a Christian is that we can know our Father will hear us when we call. When our hearts are low or our spirits are desperate, he will hear our cry and respond in love and compassion. When we are filled with joy, he will share that with us too. But so much more than just hearing us, he will use all that occurs to us and around us for our good.
It is for these reasons we allow his Spirit to mold us to conform to his image more and more each day. We allow his love to overflow in our hearts to those around us. We feel compassion instead of indignation. We forgive instead of holding a grudge or being bitter toward others – even our enemies. We love as he loves us.
O God, my heavenly Father, holy and awesome is your name. Keep me from ever using your name in vain. Help me glorify you and your name in all my thoughts, my actions and my attitude. The more I know you, the more I realize how far short I fall of your glory and the more I know I need your forgiveness. Help me do what needs to be done to serve you better. Give me greater understanding of your will in my life and use me to teach and encourage others. Thank you for all you give me and do for me each day. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
