Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 29:16-21
Prov 29:16-21
16 When the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will look upon their downfall. 17 Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart. 18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. 19 By mere words a servant is not disciplined, for though he understands, he will not respond. 20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him. 21 Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will in the end find him his heir.
Rom 10:1-4
Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
God has provided a way for all people to be saved. He gave his Son to come to earth and to live as one of us in every way. He faced temptations, the same as we face them, but he did not sin in any way. Jesus then took our sin upon himself and was put to death for our sin. Then after three days, God raised him from the dead. He did all this so that we might have a way to be made righteous in him.
This is the essence of the gospel from heaven’s viewpoint. It is a gospel of grace for people who cannot save themselves (and that is all of us). From earth’s vantage point, we cannot earn it or do anything good enough to deserve it, it is a gift from God. What God requires of us is that we trust him in this. But it must be trust (or faith) that is strong enough that we willingly do what he says to accept it.
From the book of Acts we learn that this faith requires us to turn away from sin and to deny our selfish desires. We are told to acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God, our Savior and our Lord and then we are to be buried with Christ in baptism. It is at this point that our sins are washed away, and we are raised up from the grave of water to live a new life in him. We are born again, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. We do good works because we are saved in him.
O Lord God, what a blessing to know that you have forgiven me of my sins, all of my sins, in Jesus. What an even greater blessing to know that as I continue to live for you, that the blood of Jesus continues to forgive me! Help me always live in a manner worthy of your calling so that others will see Jesus living in me. Thank you for loving me this much and for giving me your Spirit to live in me and mold me into your image. Fill me with your love so that I will love everyone as you love me, even my enemies and those who do me harm. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
