Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 138:6-8
Ps 138:6-8
Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever — do not abandon the works of your hands.
1 Thess 3:12-13
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Whatever we face in life, as a child of God, we can know that God is with us that Jesus is always near to us. We all have problems, and it is not wrong to recognize them or to acknowledge them. Jesus prayed that God would take the impending cup from him. Paul prayed for God to remove the thorn that beset him. We need to turn our troubles over to God.
But the reason for serving God and for being his child is not primarily so that we can have his protection while on earth. That is a wonderful side-effect. The real reason we serve him is to honor him and to obtain an eternal goal – a home with him that will be forever. We honor him when we trust him. We honor him when we show our faith by praying to him. We honor him by obeying his will.
We honor God when we show our love for him and we do this when we allow Jesus to be our Lord, to dictate our lifestyle, our thinking, and our behavior. We show our love for God when we love other people. We show this love when we are willing to forgive them for whatever they have done that we feel is wrong. He loves us so we show his love. He forgives us so we share this forgiveness. God is kind to us, so we show kindness to others. God is patient with us, so we show patience to those all around us. We honor God when we imitate him and when we do our best to be just like Jesus in every part of our lives. Praise the Lord!
O Lord my God, what a wonder day it is when I can wake up and know that my sins have been forgiven and that you will be with me all day, no matter what I face or what happens to me. Thank you for being my Father and allowing me to be your child. Help me open my heart to your Spirit so he can mold me into the likeness of Jesus, so others will see him living in me. Lord, be with your church that we will be what you want us to be on earth. Be with the leaders of our nation and guide them so that we can live in peace. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
