Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 102:12-17
Ps 102:12-17
12 But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations. 13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. 14 For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. 15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. 16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory. 17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
1 Cor 15:9-10
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
God can take the very worst person and make them into an apostle. Paul used his own conversion to prove that anyone can come to Jesus and have their sins forgiven. There is no sin so terrible or so black or so big that it cannot be covered by the grace of God. It is this same grace that continues to cover our sin after we become a child of God. We are what we are in life, by the grace of God.
But we must trust him to forgive us and to sustain us in his love. When CO2 is put on a fire, the fire goes out. This is because it replaces the oxygen that feeds the fire. Paul said we are not to put out the Spirit’s fire. He tells us that one way we do this is to ignore the word of God. His word is a part of the oxygen that feeds the flames. Another Spirit fire suppressant is when we begin to doubt instead of trusting God. His fire is seen in our lives as we allow his fruit to grow in us.
Our strength is not in faith itself but rather, it is in God who is the object of our faith. Our help can come from a positive attitude but our positive attitude must be rooted in our trust in God and in his word. There is an old hymn that says: “I am standing on the promises of God” and another that says: “I am standing on the solid rock, and that rock is Jesus.” God wants to save us in Jesus Christ. He wants us to be happy and be filled with his peace. But we must respond in faith.
Heavenly Father it is so wonderful to know that my sins are forgiven. You have blessed me in more ways than I can know or count. You have filled my life with friends who love me and accept me as I am but who try to help me be a better person. Help me reach out to those who are lost in sin and give me wisdom to share the good news of Jesus with them. I do ask your blessings of peace and joy for those who are hurting and struggling in so many ways. Use all I do and say, to bring honor to you and to your holy name. I humbly pray in Jesus name.
Robert
