Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 78:65-72
Ps 78:65-72
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, as a man wakes from the stupor of wine. 66 He beat back his enemies; he put them to everlasting shame. 67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph, he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim; 68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loved. 69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever. 70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; 71 from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. 72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.
Acts 13:36-37
36 For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.
At times God chooses the most unlikely people and does things in some of the most unlikely ways to accomplish his purposes. Who would have ever thought of using the youngest son of a shepherd family to become king of Israel? The same God who did this sent his Son to be born of a virgin who was engaged to a lowly carpenter in a small fishing village of Galilee. But this gets even stranger (and less likely) when they traveled to Bethlehem to be counted by the Roman government in a decreed census. It was in this small town that Jesus was born.
It was in this way that many prophecies were fulfilled in the birth and lineage of Jesus. As a descendent of David, he was in line to serve as the promised Messiah and to rule over the kingdom of God. While many then (and even now) were looking for an earthly kingdom, it was not to be such. What God promised was a spiritual and eternal kingdom. Jesus is our king and his rule is forever.
What a blessing to be transferred from the realm of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved Son. It is in him we have redemption and the forgiveness from sin. In him we enjoy all spiritual blessings. As we live for him and walk in his ways, we are joint companions with other believers whom we use and by whom we are used to mutually encourage and lift one another up in the faith.
Lord God, my heavenly Father, I am so thankful for your infinite wisdom that is shown all through the ages in more ways than I can understand. Thank you for making it possible for me to be in your family and thus a citizen in your kingdom and to enjoy the help of so many others who seek to live for you. Help me always submit my will to yours as I follow the teaching of Jesus your Son. Give me your wisdom to become more like him. Give your strength to those who are struggling to overcome addictions and other sins. I pray in the name of Jesus my king.
Robert
