Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 118:19-24
Ps 118:19-24
Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
1 Peter 2:4-6
As you come to him, the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
In the reading yesterday and today, the theme is what the LORD has done for us and how he opens the way for us to worship him. We worship him because he is LORD and because of his majesty. We worship him because he loves us and he has provided a way for us to live in eternity. We worship the LORD because he is always watching over us and tending to our needs. What a joy to serve the LORD.
But we must be careful and not be in the crowd that rejects Jesus as Lord and who cry for him to be crucified. We can be like those who stood at the foot of the cross and mocked him and who hurled insults at him or we can be as the thief who hung next to him and asked for mercy. We have all sinned against God but we can be forgiven in Jesus Christ. In his love, he extends his grace to us.
But Paul says that we can receive the grace of God in vain. When we hear his message, we must respond with a heart of trust in Jesus as our Lord and accept his offer of salvation in humble obedience. The same apostle says that those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. (2 Thess. 1:9b-10a)
Heavenly Father I am thankful for your love and your grace shown to me in Jesus as your sacrificial Lamb, offered on the cross for my sin. Help me humbly obey your word with a desire to be like Jesus in all things. Give me a servant attitude, even as he came to serve. Give me the willingness and eagerness to do your will and to take advantage of every opportunity you give me to serve. I ask a special prayer for greater faith and for your protection for your children who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
