Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 81:13-16
Ps 81:13-16
13 "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, 14 how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! 15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. 16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
1 Peter 1:13-16
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
The hymn says: “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer.” We often talk of the cost of serving God and there is a price to pay. But what about the cost of not serving him? What are we missing because we do not fully trust him and we do not fully give him our hearts and lives? He wants to bless us and provide for us.
From the pictures we find in the Bible it seems that God is just waiting to shower his blessings on his people. He is not seeking to catch us in some wrong so he can punish us. He is caring, loving, merciful and full of grace. He wants to bless us.
But his blessings are conditional. We must trust him – really trust him with all our being. That means we do not put our trust in material things or in our wisdom or our desires but we trust him. We are taught from an early age to be self-sufficient but that is opposed to what God wants from us. The more we trust him, the more he is able to bless us and take care of us. He wants us to come live with him.
This trust is demonstrated by how we live. James says that faith without works is dead because we show our faith by our works. We are to be holy as he is holy. We sing another song that says we are to “take time to be holy.” The next line says we are to speak often to the Lord and always feed on his word. Then we are told to exercise our senses to decern good and evil. We are preparing to live with him.
Heavenly Father it is such a blessing to be your child and to know that you love me and care for me. I do want to be holy, even as you are holy but I know I fail from time to time and so I always need your help in my life. I need your Spirit to give me power and to fill me with your wisdom. Increase my faith as I study your word and speak to you always. I pray for our nation, for our leaders, for the media and for each citizen that we can live in peace and harmony. Even more, I pray for your church that we can show the love of Jesus to the world. I pray in his name.
Robert
