DAILY DEVOTION, December 17, 2021

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1).

This morning we look again at the faith of David. God is His light. God’s truth shines upon the path of those who love Him to show us the way. God is also David’s salvation. Was David a perfect man? Hardly. We all know of his affair with Bathsheba, which led him to lie and murder. David did not always follow God’s light. But he did receive God’s forgiveness and salvation.

Like David, we need God’s light, and when we drift into the darkness, we need His salvation. That is provided for all who trust in His Son, Jesus.

We see next that faith leads to strength. God gives strength to those who trust Him. Since we possess God’s light, God’s salvation, and God’s strength, we have nothing to fear. But, like David, we do have enemies who seek to bring us down. Satan and his minions are active. But we need not cower in fear. Faith gives us victory over fear. Those who walk in faith have nothing to fear.

Father, I thank You that all my spiritual needs are met. I possess Your light upon my path, and I have Your salvation when I wander into the darkness. Your light, salvation, and strength are all wrapped up in Jesus. I know that as I trust and follow Him, I have nothing to fear. I thank You, in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Marie’s daily verse: Psalm 133 :1 NLTHow wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live in harmony!

DAILY DEVOTION, December 15, 2021

 I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6 KJV).

Israel was to proclaim the name of God to the Gentile world. God intended to draw both Jews and Gentiles (us!) into His kingdom. The Jews were called to be a light to the Gentile nations. How did they do? Not very well. Jews hated Gentiles and wanted nothing to do with them. As a result, the Gentiles did not think much of Israel’s God (see Romans 2:24).

What does this have to do with us? Sometimes we are critical of those who do not attend church. We need to be careful not to drive people away from God because of our bad behavior. Some people cannot attend church because of illness or work hours. Some people do not attend church because the behavior of some members has deeply hurt them. I have heard it several times over the years. “I did attend church, but…” Then they describe some church member’s bad behavior that discouraged them from attending. I will always remember a young man who quit the church because his pastor had an illicit affair. Can you blame him?

We are known as a friendly church. Let’s keep it up so that visitors and regular members always feel welcome. Let’s be vigilant to watch our words and deeds carefully so that we do not drive some soul away from Christ and His church.

Father, I pray I will never drive anyone away from your church. Guard my tongue and my acts so that they are filled with Your love. I want to be Your instrument drawing people to Christ and His church. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

DAILY DEVOTION, Dec. 14,  2021

 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God (1 John 3:9).

This verse has puzzled many Christians. Is John saying that Christians never sin? If so, I do not know any Christians! We know we fall short of God’s will even as believers. John said earlier that if we say we have no sin, we are liars. I think John is saying that Christians do not abide in sin. God abides in us, and when we sin, we want to repent quickly. We do not want to treat our failures with indifference. Christians do sin, but they do not abide in sin. Christians may tell a lie, but they do not persist in lying. Christians may occasionally gossip, but gossip is not a way of life. The Holy Spirit within (God’s seed) will quickly lead us to repentance.

This note from the Quest Study Bible is a good summary of the verse. “In reality, God sees our struggle with sin all too well. He does not expect new Christians to mature and bear fruit overnight. But John emphasized that there should be an increasing conformity of a person’s will to the will of God. If a person shows no sign of change and his life is characterized by sin, John said that the person has not been born of God (v. 6, 9). The word continue is the key to this answer.” If I can sin and not be quickly drawn to confession and repentance, that is a danger sign.

Father, I thank you that the Holy Spirit dwells within and increases my conscience. Help me to realize that You never take my sins lightly. Lead me to repentance and increasing conformity to Your will, In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

DAILY DEVOTION, Dec. 13, 23021

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him (1 John 3:2).

John is amazed by the love of God. Behold! Or “Wow!” God has bestowed His love on us, and what are we? Sinners who have found forgiveness and new life by the power of God’s love. We are children of God! Unbelievable! We who deserve to spend eternity separated from God are now called children of God. And we owe it all to Jesus, the Lamb of God who has removed our sins from us.

There is a downside to being a child of God. The world does not know us because it does not know Jesus. We are strangers, aliens often ridiculed and even persecuted in this world by those who do not know God. We are otherworldly, weird to those who have not bowed the knee in faith to Jesus. However, those who abide in faith will one day experience the wonders of heaven for all eternity. Is a bit of earthly pain worth it in comparison to what God has prepared for us? I think so!

Father God, we praise You continually for adopting us into Your family. We often do not act like children of God, and we are very sorry when we offend You. Thank You for Your amazing love revealed in Jesus. Thank You for bringing us safely into Your kingdom, forgiven. In His name, we pray, Amen.