Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 139:19-24
Ps 139:19-24
If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
1 Cor 6:9-11
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Someone has said that the best way to destroy and enemy is to make that person a friend. When David was King of Israel, it was his job to destroy the enemies of God and to win physical battles. In our Christian age, it is our job to fight the good fight of faith and win others to Christ as we show him living in us. We are not in a physical battle nor are we to try to force others to serve Jesus. We are to convince them that Jesus is Lord and that in him alone can they find eternal life.
But it is not just about the life to come and what happens when we die. When we re-read the list of things that can keep us from the eternal kingdom, most of them are things that destroy our happiness in this life, and they cause problems with our families and erode our friendships. By serving God, we do away with so many of the issues that make people miserable and destroy relationships. This is because Satan is a liar and a deceiver and tries to tell us these things give us happiness.
Serving the Lord is the best way to live in this life. Jesus gives us abundant life, in this age and in the hereafter. While we may very well be persecuted for our faith and we will face challenges in serving the Lord, we have a peace that surpasses the understanding of the world and an inward joy that cannot be taken from us.
Our Father who is in heaven, holy and reverend is your name in all the earth. I recognize that you are awesome, and you alone deserve all glory and all honor, above every name. Jesus is Lord and he is worthy of all honor and all glory as we confess his name above all other, both in heaven and on earth. Help me follow the Word and live his example in every part of my life. Use me to show others the love, the compassion, the care, and the mercy of Jesus in how I live and in my attitude toward them. Increase my faith. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
