Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 140:7-13
Ps 140:7-13
O Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle — do not grant the wicked their desires, O Lord; do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. Let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise. Let slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down men of violence. I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous will praise your name and the upright will live before you.
2 Thess 1:8-10
He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
At times we feel or think that so much sin goes unpunished. There are unsolved murders, never reported abuse, thefts and all kinds of dishonesty, people who abuse drugs, and the list goes on and on. The truth is that all sin will have been punished in the end. Either it is punished in the vicarious death of Jesus on behalf of those who come to him for salvation or in the final judgment, it will be meted out to those who refuse to accept his saving grace. The wage of all sin is death.
But the Lord will rescue all those who are willing to come to him and to allow the blood of Jesus to cleanse them from their sins. There is no sin that is so horrible that it cannot be covered by the death of Jesus on the cross. At the same time, there is no sin so small that it does not also need to be covered by his blood. He died on that cross so all of us can have eternal life with him in glory.
The grace of God is his offer to save everyone, and none of us deserves to be saved. We all deserve to be punished for our sins. Our faith in him is what moves us to accept his grace, to turn from sin and to put on Christ in baptism. “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
O Lord God, what a blessing to know that my sins are forgiven, even though I do not deserve to be forgiven. Thank you for your great love, your rich mercy, and the incomparable riches of your grace shown to me in the death, burial and the resurrection of Jesus my Lord and my Savior. Help me keep my heart open to your Spirit so I will always be your workmanship, doing good and bringing honor to your holy name. Use me to show your love to others. In Jesus’ name.
Robert
