For President Obama to desire and seek to live a godly and righteous life so that he may be surrounded by God�s favor and help
For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
--Psalm 5:12
Holy God, You are righteous and perfect in all Your ways. I praise You for Your goodness and greatness, O loving God! Thank You, holy God, for wooing us into relationship with You and putting in our hearts a desire to grow in You. You bless us with the gift of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to live a holy life that is pleasing to You. All glory and praise and thanks to You for the kind gift of the Spirit�s work in our lives!
Today, even as I acknowledge my need to grow in the Spirit, I ask for my brother in Christ, Barack Obama, that he will also desire to seek and live a godly life, earnestly seeking righteousness in You. I pray for him to desire Your holy word daily�may he dwell on it and meditate on it so it informs his thoughts and ideas, shaping every decision he makes. O God, surround him with Your favor, making a shield that will keep him from ungodly influence, I ask in Your holy name, amen.
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
In this commentary, Calvin addresses an apparent contradiction between David's view of the "law" and the Apostle Paul's view of it.
"It is certain, that if the Spirit of Christ does not quickent the law, the law is not only unprofitable, but also deadly to its disciples. Without Christ, there is in the law nothing but inexorable rigour, which adjudges all mankind to the wrath and curse of God. And farther, without Christ, there remains within us a rebelliousness of the flesh, which kindles in our hearts a hatred of God and of his law, and from this proceeds the distressing bondage and awful terror of which the Apostle speaks."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
Day 343 in The Message//Remix:Solo
It's review day, so I look back at the last six devotions to see what has been learned.
Day 337--Be Relaxed With What You Have--Hebrews 13:5-9
Who do we trust? God or our money? God or our possessions? We cannot be trusting both. We must trust in God and be content with what we have, whether it be a little or a lot. Having more money or more stuff benefits nothing at all.
Day 338--Act On What You Hear--James 1:19-27
We need to be not just hearers of God's word, but "doers" as well. It is important to hear God's word. And I'm learning more and more that "hearing" is much more important that just reading! But if we just hear and don't do, we aren't much good.
Day 339--So-Called Important People--James 2:1-9
This was the passage about giving the rich, well-dressed man preferential seating over the poor man, dressed in rags. James warns us not to do that. I commented that I have the opposite problem; I would be more likely to make the rich guy sit in back. Neither attitude is Christ-like. All people are equal at the foot of the Cross.
Day 340--Wise Living--James 3:13-18
James gives a list of things that wisdom is not and then what it is. Two things that are important are that wisdom begins with a holy life, and that it is characterized by getting along with others. I'm finding this to be an area in which I need a lot of improvement. And it's hard work, this life of wisdom. Hard work.
Day 341--A Loud No...A Quiet Yes--James 4:7-10
It's not good to give Satan too much credit. He's not behind every little "bad" thing that happens. Nor is it good to not give him enough credit. He is real. He does, through his "minions," create some real trouble for God's children. But we have a simple tool for dealing with him here, from James. Yell a loud "NO" to him! Resist him and he will flee. But don't stop there. After that, say "yes" to God.
Day 342--Healed Inside and Out--James 5:13-18
I experienced most of this passage in person yesterday. We prayed, because we are "suffering/hurting." We sang praises, because we have much to be cheerful about. And we brought Stephanie up to the front of the church, had the church leaders gather around her, anointed her with oil and prayed over her. She still hurts today, but that doesn't mean God hasn't answered our prayers. She did make it through the whole day of school today. I struggled with sleep, but every time I woke up, I prayed. It was, I believe, a landmark day for me. I am confident in God's faithfulness. He is in control, and whatever he chooses to do is right, good, and just. Even if he chooses not to heal at this point. But we get our strength from him, and we draw from that strength to deal with whatever trials and tests get thrown our way. I believe I passed some of those tests today. And I praise God for that. I praise him for what is to come. I'm not "thanking him in advance" for doing what I asked him to do, as a lot of people do. But I'm praising him for whatever he is going to do, because he is my God and he is sovereign. Our lives are his, and we gratefully acknowledge that.
Ok. That's it for this trip. I'll see y'all tomorrow with a fresh devotional.
Grace and peace, friends!