Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 140:1-8
Ps 140:1-8
Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; protect me from men of violence, who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day. They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's; the poison of vipers is on their lips. Selah Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from men of violence who plan to trip my feet. Proud men have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path. Selah O LORD, I say to you, "You are my God." Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy. O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle--do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah
2 Cor 10:3-5
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
I have heard people say that being a preacher is much like being a salesperson. While it is the task of a preacher to make the gospel attractive in their delivery of a lesson, the gospel is the good news and the beauty of it lies, not in the one who delivers it, nor in his ability as a speaker, but it lies in the message itself. In fact, Paul says that he spoke with the power of the gospel and not in his own power or ability. The gospel is designed to create faith in the heart of the non-believer.
In my opinion, preaching is more like being a trial lawyer than a salesperson because it is our task to make logically sound arguments from Scripture that cannot be refuted. God implores us to “reason together” as we approach his word, and this involves comparing one scripture with another and then, by using logic, determining the valid conclusion. It is our responsibility to present the evidence that Jesus is the Christ and then showing that we must accept him as our Lord and our risen Savior. The conclusion is, only in Christ do we have eternal life.
Heavenly Father, your wisdom is beyond my ability to comprehend. Your power is so great that I cannot truly wrap my mind around it. Your compassion and your love is so immense that it confounds the wisdom of the ages. So, I reach out to you in faith, trusting you and your word to guide me in every part of my life and in all I say. Give me your wisdom to convince the lost to want to follow you and your Son. Please give your healing to both those who are hurting physically and those who are in emotional distress. I pray in the wonderful name of Jesus.
Robert
