Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 82:1-8
Ps 82:1-8
1 God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods": 2 "How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 5 "They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 "I said, 'You are "gods"; you are all sons of the Most High.' 7 But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler." 8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
1 Cor 8:4-6
4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
In every society there have been various gods that people have served. It may be in the form of a carved idol or one cast in the image of an animal or maybe more subtle and served without physical form. These would be the gods of pleasure or material things or sex or drugs or sports or maybe, just self-indulgence. Paul says that greed is an idol while Jesus says we cannot serve God and mammon. Today there are those who say we are our own gods and we must serve self.
But there is one true God, the Father, and there is but one Lord and he is Jesus Christ. All of the false gods are useless and cannot speak, hear or move about on their own and therefore, cannot accomplish anything for anyone. One of the consequences of serving false gods is that mankind never rises above the gods (God) they serve. Thus it is a practical advantage for us to serve the true God and to make Jesus our Lord because God is love, God is kind, he is always morally right and he always knows what is best for us. Every command he gives is for our good.
O Lord my God I stand in awe at your incomparable wisdom, your infinite power and your unspeakable majesty. Yet, in all this, you still love me enough that you make it possible for me to have my sins forgiven and for me to live with you in eternity. Your grace is beyond my ability to comprehend. Lord, I want to serve you and I want to become just like you in all of my life but I know I fall short of your glory and I fail too often. Thank you for continuing to forgive my sin. Fill me with compassion so I will help others and not be judgmental. In Jesus name.
Robert
