Daily Devotionals

Daily Devotionals

Daily Devotional: Psalms 22:29-31

Ps 22:29-31

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

Luke 12:15, 22, 34

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on”. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

A man died and one of his sons came to Jesus and asked him to tell his brother to divide the inheritance fairly. Jesus then talked to him about greed. We all know families who have been torn apart because of fighting over an inheritance. Jesus told the man that he was not the judge to decide the money but then proceeded to talk to him about his attitude toward material things in life.

He told a parable (vs. 16-21) of a rich farmer who had a bumper crop and so he tore down his barns and built bigger barns to store all of his grain. He then said he would retire with his wealth and just enjoy life. God called him a fool; he died that night and left it all to someone else. He should have laid up treasure in heaven.

Jesus was not saying it is wrong to be rich. He is not saying it is wrong to be a farmer and have a really great year. He is not saying it is wrong to build barns to store his grain. Nor is it wrong to retire and enjoy what you have earned. It is wrong to hoard all you have and not use it to help others. It is wrong to not be willing to share what God has given us. It is wrong to think that we have what we have because we got it on our own. We must remember that all we have in life is from the hand of God and it is by his grace. We cannot serve God and material things because one of them will become our master and we will reject the other.

O Lord God, great and majestic, the giver of life and all good things, I praise your matchless and holy name. As your child, help me to honor you in all I do and in all I say. Give me a generous heart to be willing to share with those who are in need and to not be greedy. Thank you for what you have given me in life. Forgive me when I fail to put you first in my heart and in my life because I do get distracted by things at times. Give me a positive attitude today so that I will not complain or find fault in others. Use me to be an encourager. Thank you for letting me know that you are in control, so I don’t need to worry. I pray in the Jesus’ name.

Robert