Devotion for Sunday, September 30, 2018

“For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways.  “Therefore I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest.”  (Psalm 95:10-11)

 

The Lord is serious about bringing us to the state of being like Jesus.  He has told us of His will and way.  There are those who will begin the journey of walking in the way of the Lord and those who will not.  The Lord sees into the heart and knows those who are His.  Come into the way of the Lord and walk humbly in His presence.  Know the Lord and learn of His goodness.

Lord, I understand that I need to take You seriously and walk the way You would have me walk.  Help me to understand what this means.  Some around me become like lawyers with Your law and others are too proud to obey You.  Help me to walk the path You have for me and grant me confidence in the salvation You have laid out before me.  May I humbly learn from You the way You would have me go.

Lord Jesus, You are the example of walking humbly in the Father’s presence.  Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I would walk always in the way and truth You have revealed.  Guide me in the goodness of mercy and grace that I may now and always live according to the Father’s will.  Help me to become the person You have always intended me to be by Your grace.  Amen.




Devotion for Saturday, September 29, 2018

“For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.  Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,  As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, “When your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work.”  (Psalm 95:7-9)

You are the One Lord through whom all things have their being.  Guide me according to Your never-changing mercy to live into the life to which You call the faithful.  You know our ways and the testing that happens amongst those who rebel.  Lead Your faithful to not be in rebellion, but to willingly come into Your presence and walk humbly before You, the Maker of all things.

Our hearts have been hardened, as they had been amongst the people of old.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of righteousness that I would not live with a hardened heart, but with one that is filled with Your peace and kindness.  Guide me in the way You would have me go that I may walk upright in Your sight and live according to Your will.  Keep me from those who would lead me astray.

Lord Jesus, You are the example of the godly life.  You have come and set us free from the recompense of sin and the death that it brings.  Lift me up to walk with You by my side that I may now and always live according to Your Word.  Help me this day to see more clearly the way You would have me go and then empower me to walk as You would have me walk in this world.  Amen.




Devotion for Friday, September 28, 2018

“The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land.  Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”  (Psalm 95:5-6)

 

The Lord is the Maker of all things.  In His hands are the caverns of the deep and the dry land is His.  All that is has come forth from His hands.  To whom else are we to compare anything when all things came into being through Him?  Come then, bow down and worship the Lord, for He is Your maker and the One through whom you have your being.  He is worthy of all honor and praise and in Him is life.

 Lord, Help me to understand more clearly that all things of this world are only things which You have made.  Everything is in You and apart from You is nothing.  Guide me, O Lord, according to Your goodness to walk in Your counsel.  Lead me in the way of righteousness that You have established.  Guide me to walk humbly with You, my Maker, that I may live according to Your will.

Holy Spirit, come and minister to my heart that I may walk in the peace that You give amidst the hostility of this world.  Lead me in the right way of living that I may now and always walk in the way You have established from the beginning.  Help me this day to see in You the hope that only You can give and live upright amidst a world filled with tribulation.  Guide me now and always.  Amen.




Devotion for Thursday, September 27, 2018

“For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also.”  (Psalm 95:3-4)

 

Kings of the earth come and go.  Leaders in every nation come and go.  The Lord is forever.  He who made You knows all things and has laid out the course for those who will walk in His ways.  Because all things are in His hands, you need fear nothing, for He is with You always even to the end of the age.  Everything belongs to Him, for it is He who made all things.

Lord, teach me the elemental truths that I may not kick against them, and walk the tried and failed way of thinking that there is any other way to live this life.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way You would have me go that I may now and always walk in Your sight.  You are the One who made all things and they are Yours.  With this in my heart, teach me how to live a life of praise and thanksgiving.

Holy Spirit, nurture my heart in the things You have taught me.  Guide me according to the principles I have already learned to live in a way that is pleasing to the Father.  Help me now and always to see through the distractions of this age to abide in the truth of Your presence.  Everything I have and that I am is Yours.  Guide me this day in a life that gives as You give.  Amen.




Devotion for Wednesday, September 26, 2018

“O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.”  (Psalm 95:1-2)

 

The joy of the Lord is in knowing your purpose and place in creation.  The Lord offers to those who come to Him understanding.  Come into His presence and walk in the joy of the Lord.  Know the goodness He has brought through salvation.  Be thankful for life, salvation and the promise of eternal life.  He is the rock upon which Your life is built.  Every other place is constantly shifting, but the Lord is forever.  Come to Him and know His peace and goodness.

Lord, this world is constantly shifting, and no matter where I go or what I try apart from You, it is only for a season.  Guide me to enjoy what You give to enjoy, but to know that only in You is there hope and a tomorrow.  Lead me in the way You have established that I may walk according to Your Word and live in the joy that You give.  Fill me heart with praise and thanksgiving.

Lord Jesus, thank You for making the Way possible for all who believe.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way I should go this day.  Fill my heart with Your peace and the joy You give that I may simply witness Your joy in this world.  In all I do, may it be a thank you to You for all that You have done.  You are the One through whom all things have their being and apart from You is nothing.  Amen.




Devotion for Tuesday, September 25, 2018

But the Lord has been my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.  He has brought back their wickedness upon them and will destroy them in their evil; the Lord our God will destroy them.”  (Psalm 94:22-23)

 

Where is your strength?  Do you depend upon yourself?  Do you depend upon another?  The Lord God, who created all things, is our strength and our shield.  Do not rely upon those who do not trust in the Lord.  Do not dwell on the acts of the wicked.  They will come to nothing.  Look to the Lord who made all things and know that He will lead you and watch over you all the days of your life.

Lord, I become confused and do not see that the ways of the wicked come to nothing.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way You would have me go.  Help me now and always to look to You, my strength and my shield.  You have spoken Your Word and You have given guidance for the ages.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way I should go that I may never depart from the way You have established.

Word made flesh, You come to the aide of all of those who come to You.  Lead me in the way You would have me go, knowing that only by Your grace am I able to avoid the ways of the wicked that are all around me.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of grace and help me to establish my life in the truth of the ages that was founded at the beginning.  You are my strength.  Amen.




Devotion for Monday, September 24, 2018

“When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.  Can a throne of destruction be allied with You, one which devises mischief by decree?  They band themselves together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.”  (Psalm 94:19-21)

 

There is destruction all around me in this world.  The news is filled with horrible things.  Yet, Lord, You are here in the midst of this troubled world.  Unite my heart with You that no matter what happens in this world filled with wickedness, I will walk alongside You and the path You have laid before me.  Lead me in the way I should go and then give me strength to follow.

Lord, You knew before it happened all the things that go on in this age.  You have purpose for allowing these things and I do not understand.  Help me through the pitfalls, most notably my insatiable desire to know all things before I take a step.  Lead me to walk in faith trusting You through all things and above all things.  Guide me to trust in Your Word and what You have taught me.

Holy Spirit, You comfort and guide me.  Help me to listen to You as You speak that I would move through those places where I am afraid or feel trapped.  Guide me to walk the path of the righteous, doing all that You give me to do.  Lead me in Your goodness to choose the better portion and do those things which are pleasing in the Father’s sight.  Help me now and always to be faithful.  Amen.




Devotion for Sunday, September 23, 2018

“If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.  If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.”  (Psalm 94:17-18)

 

We were born with a wandering heart, going to the places of our imagination.  The Lord calls out to all and invites us to journey with Him in truth.  The Lord watches over your going out and your coming in.  He knows who you are and what you need.  Come to the place where your soul is fed by His goodness and mercy.  Know that the Lord will hold you up.

Lord, I need Your guidance, for this world is filled with traps and pitfalls.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way I should go that I would forever dwell in Your presence.  Help me through those places where I slip that I may look to You, the One who made all things.  You are my help in every time and the One who is able to save me from this world that is heading to destruction.

Savior of the world, You have come that all who hear Your voice would rise and walk with You.  Keep me from going down into the pit.  Help me that I may now and always walk according to Your grace and mercy.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way You know I need to go and then give me the strength to follow where You lead.  You are my help and strength.  Guide me by Your lovingkindness.  Amen.




Devotion for Saturday, September 22, 2018

“For the Lord will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance.  For judgment will again be righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.  Who will stand up for me against evildoers?  Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?”  (Psalm 94:14-16)

 

Lord, time and again one can look at history and see that those who abide in Your Word survive whereas those who walk in the way of wickedness come to nothing.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way You would have me go that I would not fall prey to the way of the wicked.  Lead me to see in You the hope of glory and know that Your righteousness shall prevail forever.

Lord, grant me wisdom to see through the plots of the wicked.  Lift me up in Your goodness to see in You the hope of glory for all generations.  May I now and always come to You for wisdom and see clearly that the way of the wicked comes to destruction.  Guide me, O Lord, in Your ways, teaching me how to obey all that You have commanded not out of obligation, but in love.

Lord Jesus, You have come to set the captive free — free from the tyranny of wickedness to do what brings the Father glory.  Teach me this day those lessons You know I need that I would do what is right in Your sight always.  Help me through those temptations that come along that I would now and always choose the way You set before me.  May I abide in You and Your ways always.  Amen.




Devotion for Friday, September 21, 2018

“The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are a mere breath.  Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord, and whom You teach out of Your law; that You may grant him relief from the days of adversity, until a pit is dug for the wicked.”  (Psalm 94:11-13)

 

Only the young think they have forever in this life to accomplish their dreams.  The old know that life is fleeting and no matter how much success as this world calls it is achieved, it comes to nothing.  Blessed is the one who comes to the Lord on His terms and walks according to His will and way.  They will live into a life that is everlasting, filled with hope and a sure promise.

Lord, no matter my age, help me to step back and see clearly that Your way is the way of everlasting life.  Help me to see that it is not just about there and then, but about the goodness that You have given throughout the ages to those who walk in the way You have established.  Guide me, O Lord, in Your goodness to walk as You would have me walk now and always.

Teach me, Lord Jesus, by the direction of the Holy Spirit to walk as You would have me walk.  Remove from me those desires that hinder my ability to live obediently in the way You have established.  May I now and always live according to Your Word and see clearly the direction You give.  May my life be spent preparing for the eternity You have promised by Your grace.  Amen.