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 10:35-39
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
James chapter two and Hebrews chapter eleven both describe what it means to live by faith. It is easy to profess our faith in God and in Jesus as our Savior but it is another thing to actually follow him and his will. Genuine faith is assurance of things we have not seen and being sure of things we cannot explain. It is that which allowed Gideon to go against a vast army with only three hundred men and the sword of the Lord. He could not see that sword but believed it would deliver him and his people. By faith he won the victory. We can too!
We have been conditioned to believe that our opinion determines the truth but it does not. All truth, whether in science, medicine, physics, math, morality, religion, or anything else, originates in the mind of God and therefore is absolute. Jesus told his disciples: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That seems narrow minded but it is truth. The only way for us to have eternal life with God is to be in Jesus Christ. To be in Christ means we are walking in his light; living like him and following his word.
Heavenly Father, give me a greater desire to know you and to know your will for me. As I study your word, give me understanding and wisdom to apply it. Help me be an example of faith so others will see Jesus living in me. The more I know you and the more I understand your holiness, the more I realize how much I fail and fall short of your glory. Keep me from getting discouraged and give me strength and patience to keep trying to be all you want me to become. I need the power of your Spirit to mold me from within. I pray in the name of Jesus my Savior.
Robert
