Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 116:1-7
Ps 116:1-7
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, save me!" The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
Phil 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ — to the glory and praise of God.
The Lord has been good to all of us. What a blessing to know that he loves the simplehearted. I once had a lady tell me that she loved to hear me preach because my lessons were so simple-minded. Simple is better. It is simple to trust in Jesus. It is simple to believe his word and to seek to follow it. It is we who complicate things with our desires and with sin.
Jesus said the greatest command is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your mind. The second is similar and that is that we love our neighbor as ourselves. Paul said that love does not harm others. Love builds up and does not tear others down. Love, like faith, is demonstrated by our actions, both toward God and toward others around us.
The more we fill our hearts and minds with the word of God, both by study and then meditation, the closer we will draw to him. And he has promised that as we come toward him, he will come toward us. Remember that faith comes from hearing the word of God. Faith is seeing the unseen because we know that God is real, and his word is truth. I can do all things through Christ Jesus my Lord.
O Lord God, I love you and I trust you. Increase my faith and help me live it every day of my life. Use me to your glory and help me be willing to spend myself in your service. As we go through the holidays, please give your peace to those who are facing them alone, especially those who have lost loved ones recently. Open my eyes to the opportunities you give to help others, both physically and emotionally. Thank you for all you do for me every day. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
