Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 79:9-13
Ps 79:9-13
Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake. Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants. May the groans of the prisoners come before you; by the strength of your arm preserve those condemned to die. Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the reproach they have hurled at you, O Lord. Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation, we will recount your praise.
John 17:1-4
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
As Jesus was about to leave this earth, he told his disciples that all authority had been given to him, both in heaven and on earth. Jesus is the King of kings! In the opening scene of the Revelation, John describes all of heaven singing praises to the Lamb who is worthy to receive honor, glory, and praise! He is in control of all things until the time comes for him to hand the kingdom back to the Father. For now, it is his power that sustains the creation. He controls the nations.
But it is God the Father who gave the power to Jesus and who will receive it back at the end of the age. Jesus came to earth and endured all that he faced because he was doing the will of the Father. It is the Father who is on the throne, with Jesus on his right hand. Jesus is to be praised because the Father said so.
Trust and obey. Jesus told his disciples this and John explained it even more in his writing. The best way to honor God and to praise Jesus is to trust and obey. When we say we trust him and do not do what he says, we are not being honest with him or with ourselves. Genuine faith in God and in Jesus will be demonstrated in our desire to obey him. Jesus said to obey him is to obey the Father, they are one.
O Lord God, I come to you in the name of Jesus my High Priest, I need your help today. When I compare my life to that of Jesus on earth, and when I study your will, I find that too often I fall short of your glory. Jesus told Peter that the spirit is strong, but the flesh is weak, or as Paul put it, that which I do not want to do, I find myself doing. Give me a pure heart and a determined spirit to do your will in all things and not make excuses or procrastinate. Use me to help others.
Robert
