Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 125:1-5
Ps 125:1-5
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil. Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart. But those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
Rom 4:4-5
Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
We all have sinned, and we all deserve to be banished from God. We do not deserve to be forgiven. We do not deserve to have someone to take care of us while we live on earth. We do not deserve to be loved. Yet, God in his mercy, because of his great love, is willing to forgive us in Jesus Christ. Not only is he willing to forgive us, but to add us to his family and then watch out for us.
Jesus said the greatest response we can show to the love of God is when we love him with all our being in return. When we do this, we will also love others around us, even when they are not loveable, just like he loved us when we were not. We will, out of love, seek to obey his word and do everything in our power to live for him. We will seek to be like him as we follow the example of Jesus.
Understanding grace opens our eyes to a new way of seeing our salvation. This changes the way we see ourselves and others. This levels the playing field for all of mankind. There are those who are forgiven and right with God and there are those who have not been forgiven but are welcome to come to him to accept his grace in forgiveness. This takes away any reason we may have thought we had for judging others or thinking we are better than others. Our righteousness is because Jesus was made sin for us and is not our own doing. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments!
O Lord my God, thank you for loving me. Help me open my heart to have your love perfected in me so that I will show it to everyone around me. Help me grasp the fulness of your love and your grace so that I will better understand the changes it brings to my way of thinking. Be with your people, wherever they are, that we can show Jesus to the world around us. Be with our nation and give us leaders who will respect you and follow your wisdom. Give your peace to those who are grieving. Use me to help lift their burden. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
