Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 37:14-20
Ps 37:14-20
The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. But the wicked will perish: The LORD's enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish--vanish like smoke.
Matt 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
One of the things that Paul says several times in his letters is that we are to do good works, not to be saved, but because we are saved. Because we are the children of God, we are to imitate our Father. Because Jesus is our brother, we are to follow his example of going about doing good. So every good thing we do is noticed by the Father and will not be forgotten. In doing this, God is honored.
The object of our being nice, being kind, showing love, being compassionate, our willingness to listen to someone who needs to vent, being a good spouse, parent, or sibling, is to bring praise to God, not to ourselves. God made each of us perfect, we had no flaws or sin on our record when we were born. But we messed up, we sinned against others and against God. We are only right with him because he is willing to forgive us in Christ, and by the blood of Jesus. This leaves me no room for boasting of my goodness because it is by grace, not by my doing.
Heavenly Father it is so wonderful to consider your love and your grace. My only hope in this life and in eternity is because of your grace. Your grace gives me a reason to live and to try to be like Jesus. Your grace gives me strength to carry on when times are bad and when I think about giving up. Your grace causes me to want to show grace to others. Lord, I hate to see anyone suffer, so I ask you to give peace and healing and joy to those who are struggling today. Help them see that joy and peace comes from knowing you. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
