Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 145:17-21
Ps 145:17-21
The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.
1 John 3:2-3
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be, has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
We recently concluded a study on Old Testament history in a Bible class that I was teaching. There are a lot of valuable lessons we can learn from this kind of a study but the one thing that really stands out in my mind is the value of faith.
The writer of Hebrews says that faith is our evidence and the conviction of things that we have not seen. We have not seen God. We have not seen Jesus. We have more than ample evidence that God is real, and that Jesus is his Son. We have not seen Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Peter, John, or Paul but we know these were real people who put their trust in God and tried to follow his will.
But faith is much more than just saying we believe in something. Faith in God and faith in Jesus is trusting what God has said. It is trust that he will always keep his promises. It is absolute conviction that relies on him instead of ourselves, knowing that he knows what is best for us. Faith is letting him have control of our will.
Wearing a uniform to work means that you do not have to decide what is best to wear each day. This gives you a certain amount of peace of mind. Trusting God means that we do not have to decide a lot of things because we just follow his will that has been revealed to us. Faith gives us peace, even in the worst storms of life. Faith gives us hope for the future, no matter how things are today. Faith removes our need (and eventually or desire) to get even or to retaliate when we are done wrong. Faith teaches us that love is the greatest commandment. Trust God!
O Lord God, thank you for always keeping your word, your promises, and even your threats of punishment. Thank you for being totally reliable in every way. I know that I need greater faith at times. Help me be completely devoted to you and to following your will for me so that I will be a devoted servant to you and to others around me. Help me always remember that it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. Be with your people in places that offer little or no religious freedom. Protect them and increase their faith. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
