Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 38:17-22
Ps 38:17-22
17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. 18 I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. 19 Many are those who are my vigorous enemies; those who hate me without reason are numerous. 20 Those who repay my good with evil slander me when I pursue what is good. 21 O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. 22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.
Col 1:21-23a
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation- 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.
We all were enemies of God because of our sin. It was not because of the sins of our fathers or our mothers. It was not because of the sins of the church where we attend or the nation in which we live. We were enemies of God because we made choices to do our will instead of the will of God – we each individually sinned. This sin in our lives separated us from God and filled our hearts with guilt. It is for this reason that Jesus came to the earth – to reconcile us to God and the only way to do this was to rid us of the sin held against us.
We now live in hope. This is not just wishful thinking that maybe we are living good enough to outweigh our sin and somehow God will be merciful and let us squeak by and get into heaven. In fact, there is nothing more unscriptural than the idea of squeaking by into heaven.
In Romans 8:1-2 we read: 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. The “law of sin and death” is the principle of God that says “the wages of sin is death.” In Christ our sin is forgiven so we do not have to face the consequences of it in eternity because we are no longer condemned. Praise be to God who has shown his love and given his Son so we can have our fellowship with him completely restored.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the promise of eternal life in Jesus Christ. Thank you for your fellowship in my life today. Open my eyes to see that your church is just a foretaste of heaven as I am able to enjoy your fellowship and the fellowship of so many others who love you and serve you here on earth. Thank you for the teaching and encouragement I get from being a part of the body of Christ. Help me share this good news with others so they can live in hope also. Please be with our country and guide our elections. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
