DEVOTION

Psalm 37: 5-11 “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.”

Is the Lord Jesus enough? Is His strength more than enough when we need it? The unregenerate heart, turning from the living & true God, thinks that religion is esoteric and for those who are weak. But religion is man’s attempt to reach God through his own efforts, while Christianity is God, by His mercy & grace, reaching down to man to save and give understanding without any effort of our own, except to accept the free gift of God. Having not surrendered to God’s plan, the natural man, obsessed with sin is an offense to the Cross. They lack a personal relationship with God through Christ the Savior. But the Christian church exists to know God and make Him known; to reach out and evangelize this lost world - so those outside of the faith (those who do not know the gospel of salvation through Jesus) may be brought inside. To realize that we have sinned against the just & holy God, our Maker, and sincerely ask, “What must I do to be saved?” that the forgiveness & redemption in the gospel of Christ might be offered and accepted in the born again heart. We don't change the message, the message changes us. In doing so, we convert a meaningless life of vanity and immorality into a meaningful life of worship and enterprise, walking in the Spirit – from death to life. God created a “good” world, in which He gave us all a choice to make, using our free will. We are free to choose and devotedly follow Jesus or free to choose sin and self. In Christ, God changes our heart, not our mind. In Christ there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1); we may rest and rely on God, our Father in heaven. A heart towards Jesus changes our life.

Psalm 31:1-6 “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD.”

Who is keeping us from following Jesus Christ? Break away and flee from sin, because though we are in this egocentric world, we are not of this sinful world. Our citizenship is in heaven. We’ve been sent to influence this lost world as a light for Christ, the Redeemer; not being influenced by the world, the flesh and Satan. We are created to know God and His will for our lives through His Son, the Savior of the world. Do it the Lord’s way and live the abundant life. We need to be thinking and living biblically, because we live in a materialistic community that is starving for the Word of God and for a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our devotion is a witness for the Lord to our culture. Isaiah 38:3 "Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes."

In Christ, Brian