Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 18:20-24
Ps 18:20-24
The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his rules were before me, and his statutes I did not put away from me. I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt. So, the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
Matt 5:6-9
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
When we do what is right, we avoid so many problems. The devil has always tried to make sin appear to be as “the good life” but it only leads to death. Sin does have temporary pleasure, or we would not be tempted to sin. But this pleasure is soon replaced with remorse and other problems. He has used deception since the days of Adam and Eve, and he uses them on you and on me today.
Imagine a life in a land with no crime. There would be no thefts, no murders, no molestations, and no drugs. Put yourself in a place where every action by every single person is motivated by love. There would be no arguments, no fighting, no jealousy, no divorce, and no family problems. If we combined these two dreams, we would have a government run by people who always put their subjects good ahead of their own, with an ultimate goal of peace and goodwill for all.
God has a place like this waiting for you and for me! But Wait! That’s not all! If you really want this place, he throws in permanent joy because there will be no sorrow, no sickness, no pain, and never any suffering of any kind! This new city is going to be on the new earth that he is preparing, and it is for all of those who love him and trust Jesus enough to serve him. The only thing that can keep us out of this place is sin. But God has made it possible for each of us to have all of our sins forgiven by the substitute sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. In him is life!
O Lord God, I am so thankful for your wonderful love for me. Thank you for providing a way of salvation from my sin. Thank you for giving me parents who taught me to love you and to want to serve you. Thank you for my wife who is my number one encourager. Lord, I know that there are those who do not have this support group, so I ask you to please put people in their lives to help them live for you. Use me as one of these helpers wherever possible. Help me remember that people are more important than things. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
