Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 135:15-21
Ps 135:15-21
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. O house of Israel, praise the Lord; O house of Aaron, praise the Lord; O house of Levi, praise the Lord; you who fear him, praise the Lord. Praise be to the Lord from Zion, to him who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.
Rom 1:1-4
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Very often when someone is describing a food, they say that it tastes like chicken. My first thought when I hear this is, why would I want to eat something that tastes like chicken when I can have the real thing – chicken? Why would we substitute an imitation for the real thing. But the truth is that frog legs may have some similarities with chicken, but they do not taste like chicken. Alligator tail may be sort of like chicken, but it does not taste like chicken. Sort of, but not really.
There are all kinds of false gods in the world but all of them are substitutes and not the real thing. False gods, even when molded into the image of a person, may have ears, eyes, and feet, but they cannot hear, see, or walk. False gods that offer the deception of wisdom, power, fame, wealth, or pleasure, can never actually deliver any of these and make them last. They are sort of gods, but not really!
Through the Spirit of holiness, Jesus has been declared to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the grave. The word “declared” in this text means to announce that which already exists. Jesus is the Son of God from before the beginning. He will be the Son of God in the destruction of this earth. He is the real God, not some cheap substitute. We can choose to serve a god that is “sort of” or we can serve the real thing, the God who made all things and who will be our judge.
O Lord God, my heart aches for those who are serving you in places that do not have any of the luxuries that I often take for granted, and in fact, they do not even have what I call a necessity. Many of these are being persecuted, some even to death, for their faith. You know each one and what they need. Please increase their faith and supply them with the physical things needed. Use me to help in whatever ways I can help them. I praise you and thank you in Jesus name.
Robert
