Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 12:1-8
Ps 12:1-8
1 Help, LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men. 2 Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception. 3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue 4 that says, "We will triumph with our tongues; we own our lips--who is our master?" 5 "Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says the LORD. "I will protect them from those who malign them." 6 And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. 7 O LORD, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever. 8 The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.
Matt 23:23-24
23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Christianity is a religion that requires certain things we do and others that we don’t do, both as a group when we meet together and as individuals when we are alone. But Christianity is not the rule maker and is not the god we serve. It is the result of our allegiance to Jesus Christ and following his will for our lives.
The church is the collective group of all who belong to Jesus and who have been saved by his blood. It may be the local group of saints who meet and worship together or it may refer to the entire body of believers of all time. But the church is not the rule maker and is not the god we serve. It is the by-product of being saved and it belongs to Christ and is controlled by God.
Our allegiance is to Jesus Christ as our Lord, our Savior and our King. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we have the will of God revealed for us to follow, both as individuals and as his church. This devotion to God and to Christ is based on our love for him and his love shown to us. As such, we are to be filled with his mercy and compassion so that we do good to all, especially those in his household.
Lord God open my eyes so I will see your great love and so it will be perfected in me. Let me allow this love to overflow to those around me in the way I act and the way I treat others. Give me greater patience. Help me to get rid of all anger, rage and bitterness and replace them with love, compassion and forgiveness. Use me to encourage all who seek to be yours and never to get in the way of their serving you. Help me humble myself and to think of others as more important than myself, putting their interests ahead of my own. I pray in Jesus name.
Robert
