Devotional Thoughts
Free from Guilt and Free from Sin
I’ve been listening to King of Love today and the words to one of the songs reminded me of the great debt that Christ paid for me and the great freedom he provided!
My own righteousness? No, my need for grace!
This morning the following paragraph in Whiter than Snow (Paul David Tripp) made me stop and think:
Psalm 67 – Why should we ask God to bless us?
If we’re to follow the example recorded in Ps. 67 (and elsewhere; cf. Dt. 26.15), then we will ask the Lord to bless us. It’s not a selfish request at all, as long as we understand why we’re praying for blessing.
Encouragement from Matt Hoskinson
Years ago, I took a Bible course (New Testament Messages) from Matt. I remember two things from that course – he is a faithful student of God’s Word and he is a big Michigan fan. Recently he has been much more than that and has ministered grace to my heart.
Christ: Compassionate and Powerful
John 11 tells the story of the death of Jesus’ friend Lazarus – and of his being raised from the dead. I’ve read this story dozens of times and count myself very familiar with it. But today I read it with an eye on the details of the narrative and I noticed something fresh.
I’ve got way too much
I’ve got way too much – I really do. America is arguably the wealthiest single nation on earth and I’ve lived here all my life. Don’t get me wrong; I’m thankful. I am grateful for what the Lord has given me. I’ve got clothes (lots of them), food (in abundance and variety), housing, a job, a whole slew of extraneous things (computer, phone, etc), a small library and quite a number of non-material benefits. And I’m thankful! God has provided for my needs and allowed me to enjoy much that surpasses my needs! So why would I start this post as though I have a problem?
O God of Grace
I read this poem on the Between Two Worlds blog and felt it to be well worth passing on! We (me included!) so often lack the appropriate contrition and humility that our relationship with God demands. This prayer beautifully expresses gratitude for what God has done and humility before Him.
One Bad Apple Spoils the Barrel
This is the equation in Haggai 2.
No lack of mercy!
I was reading from Micah earlier this evening and the words of chapter 2 were frightening:
Weddings
They’re everywhere, it seems… In fact, some of my best friends have been getting married recently. I can quickly think of more than 10 weddings involving my good friends – just this summer! I was at one of those tonight and enjoyed it thoroughly. David (the groom) is one of my closest friends and I’ve known him and his new wife Jennifer for five years or so. Their wedding tonight was precious! The music was absolutely beautiful – both the sounds and the lyrics that tied marriage-love in with God’s love to us. The vows had been modified and improved and it was so moving to hear the love and loyalty in David’s and Jennifer’s words. The ceremony was neat, elegant and well-planned. Seeing the excitement and joy on their faces brought to my face a huge smile! The reception was filled with joy and fellowship. But all those things were secondary in my view. To me, the most important part of the evening was the fact that God’s glory was revealed. As the pastor pointed out in his brief challenge, Eph. 5.22-33 teaches that the husband-wife relationship of love & submission is designed to be a picture of Christ’s relationship with His church. This wedding demonstrated that glorious relationship well and I was blessed by it.