Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 76:7-12
Ps 76:7-12
7 You alone are to be feared. Who can stand before you when you are angry? 8 From heaven you pronounced judgment, and the land feared and was quiet--9 when you, O God, rose up to judge, to save all the afflicted of the land. Selah 10 Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your wrath are restrained. 11 Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the one to be feared. 12 He breaks the spirit of rulers; he is feared by the kings of the earth.
Eph 2:1-5
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of the flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
We love our children dearly but how many of us have been really angry at one of our kids? Does that anger mean we quit loving them? Of course not! But because of some action they have taken we are filled with anger towards them and feel they deserve to be punished. This anger is tempered by our love so that when we punish them it is because we want what is best for them and their future.
Because of our sin we deserve to be punished. Before Jesus becomes our Savior, we are truly the objects of wrath to our God. That does not mean he no longer loves us or wants what is best for us but it does mean we deserve to be punished because of our actions. The just wage for sin is death. We deserve to die.
God, who raises rulers and makes kings to sit on their thrones is the one who can speak the word and bring them down. He makes nations great and he humbles them by other nations around them. There is not one who can stand before God on his own but all may stand in confidence by the blood of Jesus on their behalf.
Heavenly Father I am so thankful for your wonderful love shown to me by the sacrifice of Jesus for my sin. I want to be just like him, to be holy as your are holy but too often I fail to live up to your glory and I see myself as the one who caused your Son to die on the cross. Give me greater faith and more self-control to yield my will to you and to follow your will in every part of my life. Help me live in such a way that I can lead others to you as they seek to be like Jesus also. Help your children show love for each other. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
