Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 119:145-152
Ps 119:145-152 Qoph
I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD, and I will obey your decrees. I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your laws. Those who devise wicked schemes are near, but they are far from your law. Yet you are near, O LORD, and all your commands are true. Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever.
James 1:13-18
When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
It does us little good to know the word of God if we do not try to apply it to our lives. But more often than not, the knowing and even the understanding is not as much of a problem for us as is the application of it. This may be because we do not want to give up our will or our pleasure or we do not want to restrict our time with things we know we need to be doing. We need to make the will of God our own will so that we actually enjoy doing it and becoming like him.
God has given us his perfect will so that our lives can be maximized, even in a crooked and wicked world. Perversity is the norm in a world that is devoted to all kinds of ungodliness. When the will of God is rejected as foolishness, then people will follow their own wills and will go from bad to worse. This is because God has given up on them and allowed them to follow their own desires. But God is not slow concerning his promises but wants all mankind to come to repentance.
O Lord God, what a joy to serve you and to know that your will is what is always best for me, in every situation of life. Use me to serve you in your way. Give me success in every good thing I endeavor and keep me from going into things that are not according to your will. Keep me from being stubborn or selfish and following my own will instead of yours. Help me wait on your timing but keep me from ever putting off what needs to be done now. Give me your wisdom. I ask your special care on those who are sick and those who are hurting. In Jesus name.
Robert
