Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 81:8-16
Ps 81:8-16
8 "Hear, O my people, and I will warn you--if you would but listen to me, O Israel! 9 You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not bow down to an alien god. 10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. 11 "But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. 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."
James 4:7-10
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Our choice is simple. We either put our trust in God as the only God and we serve him or we do not put our trust in him and we serve self and make our own gods. This was a problem with Israel and they suffered because of it. From the inception of the nation, God told them if they served him and followed his law, they would be blessed beyond measure and he would protect them from their enemies. But if they did not serve him and if they went after false gods, he would punish them in increasing measure until they would be finally taken captive to a foreign land. This is exactly what happened to them because of their stubborn hearts and sin.
While God has not promised us the same physical blessings today, he does still bless us abundantly and often it is in the form of physical blessings. He has said that he will take care of us and protect us and he does when we serve him. But our service is not to be so that we get more “stuff” in life but it is based on our love for him and our desire to honor him and glorify him as God. Praise the Lord!
O God Almighty, creator and giver of life, I come to you in the name of Jesus, your Son and my Savior. I know that he is worthy of all praise, all glory and all honor, even as you are also. Help me always make and keep Jesus as LORD in my heart and in my life. Thank you for all you have given me in so many ways and help me always be willing to use what I have to serve you and honor you. Keep me from ever passing over opportunities you give me to do good to others. Use me to help those who are hurting and who are suffering in so many ways.
Robert
