Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 119:161-168
Ps 119:161-168 Sin and Shin
Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law. Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. I wait for your salvation, O Lord, and I follow your commands. I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.
Matt 5:10-12
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Notice that the Psalmist said he praised the Lord seven times a day for his righteous laws. Do we even think about the Lord seven times in a day? Our praise and our worship should go far beyond what we do when we meet with the church on Sunday (and maybe more). When we are happy, we are told to sing. When we are sad, we are to pray. We sing and give thanks. We pray and turn our burdens over to the Lord. That restores our joy, so now we can sing once again.
Paul said that when we are faithful to Jesus, we will suffer persecution. It may be in many different forms, and it may be what we consider a small thing, or it may be life altering or threatening of death. Jesus said we are to rejoice when this happens to us, because we have a great reward waiting for us in heaven.
Most people tend to swing like a pendulum when we learn something and change what we believe. I have seen this happen to many people on the subjects of grace and works. Jude warned that we are not to make the grace of God a license to sin. Paul asked the rhetorical question: “Should we continue to live in sin so that grace may abound?” He then said: of course not!” Grace does not negate obedience. It is by obedience that we demonstrate our faith. It doesn’t mean we earn anything, or God owes us anything. It just means that we obey him because we love him.
O Lord God, thank you for your marvelous grace. According to your law of sin and death, I deserve to die. But thanks be to you because Jesus died in my place so that I am counted as being righteous before you! Hallelujah, what a Savior! Give us leaders that will respect you and your word so that we can live in peace. Be with those who are elderly and all alone. Give them your comfort and help me be more thoughtful of them and their needs. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
