Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 140:1-6
Ps 140:1-6
Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men; protect me from men of violence, who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day. They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's; the poison of vipers is on their lips. Selah Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from men of violence who plan to trip my feet. Proud men have hidden a snare for me; they have spread out the cords of their net and have set traps for me along my path. Selah O Lord, I say to you, "You are my God." Hear, O Lord, my cry for mercy.
2 Thess 1:6-8
God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Did you ever wonder why God let Jesus come into the world by being born into a peasant family, and even so lowly as being born in a barn and then having a feeding trough as a bed? In that time and place, there were only two classes of people: the rich and the very, very poor. Common folks, such as carpenters, farmers, and fishermen were all a part of the lower class. Their plight was like the words of the country song: “They owed their soul to the company store.”
What caused David to number the people, against the will of God? What caused Nebuchadnezzar to be become insane and live as an ox in the field? Why did Naaman not want to dip seven times in the Jordan to be healed? The answer to all of these is their pride. They had been blessed by God and had been successful, but they thought it was their own doing and failed to realize that it was all by the grace of God. They took the credit for their power, wealth, and success.
Jesus knew about power, wealth, success (far beyond any of these) but gave it all up to come to earth and live as the son of a lowly peasant carpenter. In this new lifestyle, he learned firsthand about abuse, ridicule, scorn, and poverty. He could have been filled with self-pity or become defiant and demand he be treated in a better way. Instead, he thanked God for what he had and showed compassion and love to those around him. He learned to trust God in the way we must trust him.
O Lord God, what a blessing to be born into a nation and a time that has the many freedoms and the abundance that so many of us are able to enjoy. Keep me from becoming proud, no matter what I have accomplished in life. I know that all of my success is by your grace and so I give you thanks and praise your holy name. Help me to let go of this world in my mind so that my life is controlled by becoming ready to be with you in eternity. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
