Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 22:19-24
Ps 22:19-24
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs. 21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen. 22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. 23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
Heb 2:11-15
11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises." 13 And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me." 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil- 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
The one hold that Satan has over mankind is the fear of death. We have never been there and faced it so the unknown is filled with fear. Yet, we can rid ourselves of this fear by placing our trust in Jesus. By his resurrection he defeated the power of death by offering eternal life to all who will obey him. By being in the family of God we can, like the apostle Paul, actually look forward to the time we leave this life to be with the Lord in eternity.
At one time my wife and I were caring for my aunt who was in a nursing home near us. On one visit, the social worker told us that my aunt needed to be put on an antidepressant. When we asked why, she said because she had been heard talking about dying. I explained to her that she was not depressed; she was ninety plus years old, had lived her life for the Lord and was ready to go be with him. It was not depression but rather anticipation. Come Lord Jesus!
Heavenly Father, help me live today and every day with the realization and the anticipation of the coming of Jesus to take me home. Keep me from ever thinking that this world is my home. Help me remember that I am just passing through this life to be ready to live in eternity with you. Let me live in such a way that I can show others Jesus living in me. I know that I fail to be all you want me to be in so many ways and ask you to continue to forgive me but also to strengthen me to be more like your Son. I pray in his name as my Lord and my Savior.
Robert
