Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 85:8-13
Ps 85:8-13
I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints — but let them not return to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.
Matt 5:3-9
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
The Lord loves to bless those who trust him and serve him. The only thing that is better to God than when we acknowledge our sin, is when we obey his will and not sin in the first place. There is nothing that demonstrates Jesus living in us more than when we love God enough to trust him and obey him. His goal while on earth, was to follow the will of the one who sent him. Our goal should be to follow his will in every part of our lives also. Jesus is our Lord and our Master.
He wants us to live in peace. Our inner peace begins when we are at peace with him. When we are at peace with God and we feel his peace within our hearts, it is much easier for us to be at peace with those around us. But peace is not the absence of conflict. We may be persecuted for serving the Lord. There will be times that others berate us or mock us because we stand for the truth and for his righteousness. But even in the worst conflict, we still have his peace in our hearts as we show his love and seek to forgive those who persecute us. We pray for our enemies. Like Jesus, we forgive and ask God to also. Like Stephen, we plead with God to not hold their sin against them. In forgiving, we find indescribable peace.
O Lord God, I need your wisdom every day of my life. I need your strength to do what you want me to accomplish. I ask you to fill my heart with your peace and then help me be at peace with others. I pray that peace will prevail in my family, in your church, in our nation and in the world. Give your peace to those who are hurting and struggling. Use me as your instrument of encouragement to others, even as many of them have been to me in the past. Open the eyes of the people in our country that they will come to know Jesus. In his name I pray.
Robert
