Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 136:16-22
Ps 136:1-3, 16-22
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever. 2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. 3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever… 16 to him who led his people through the desert, His love endures forever. 17 who struck down great kings, His love endures forever. 18 and killed mighty kings--His love endures forever. 19 Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever. 20 and Og king of Bashan--His love endures forever. 21 and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever. 22 an inheritance to his servant Israel; His love endures forever.
1 John 4:7-10
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
This Psalm is not really about the history of Israel. This is about what God has done for them and why he did this. God delivered them from their bondage and carried them to the new land he had promised them because of his great love for them. His love is an enduring love and was shown by his mercy to them when they tried him and turned against him. While he did punish them when they did these things, even his punishment was because he loved them and was tempered by his enduring love for them. Every step of the way his love was seen.
His love is enduring for us today. Paul asks the rhetorical question of who can separate us from the love of God we have in Jesus Christ and responds by saying that nothing in all of creation can do so. The only force that can move us from the love of our Lord is when we decide to leave him and that only removes us from the benefits of his love because he still loves us in our rebellion. He loved us while we were still sinners and gave his Son to die for our sin; the just for the unjust so that we are be made righteous in him. His love endures forever.
Lord God of heaven and earth, it is with great humility, with the utmost respect and with a heart full of gratitude that I come to you today. It is such a privilege to be able to talk to the only true God over all things. Thank you for your great and enduring love shown to me in giving your Son to die for my sin. Increase my faith so I will show my thankfulness in the way I live every day. Help me know how to reach out to others with your love and lead them to you. I ask your mercy and care on those who have lost so much recently. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
