Daily Devotional - 9/6/10 (10/6/09)

Prayer Focus - Leaders (any type - World, State, Local, Church, Business, Work)



Day 6


Pray for:
One leader who inspires you
One leader who you know is struggling with something
One leader from another country
One local leader
One political leader
One leader you disagree with


Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs


Dear Lord - Help me to hear You and grant me the strength to obey.




Psalms 36



"An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin." (vs. 1-2)


Without the fear of God, we get into a lot of trouble. I believe that is partly why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, Psalms 111:10). Without it, we get puffed up and think that we are something special. We are special to God, but not for anything we have done. Like a precious child, God loves us because we are His creations. We can never be good enough or earn God's love. It just is. It is so important that we keep in perspective the fleeting nature of our lives and the inability we have to control the workings of the world and time and chance. We are so minuscule and yet so often we presume to be kings and queens. We presume to be able to rule over our lives. We flatter ourselves too much and can not take a good look at ourselves and our need anymore. When we start on this path, it is leading us to our downfall. We must continually work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12-13). That is what God wants. He does not want us groveling on the ground but He wants us, like humble children, to acknowledge our need for Him. He wants us to draw close to Him so that He can take care of us like a father would his child. Consider these passages:



"Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies...How priceless is Your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Continue Your love to those who know You, Your righteousness to the upright in heart." (vs. 5, 7-10)



God's love is priceless. His justice is amazing. We are all the same and equal in the eyes of God; the rich and poor, alike, will fall at the feet of the Lord someday and praise Him. In the present also, we are all to find shelter in the shadow of His wings. We are to run to Him as chicks run to hide under the wings of their mother. His care for us is immense. We can feast on the abundance of His house. We may be struggling now, but God has abundance. We can feast on it, if we find refuge in Him and maintain our fear of the Lord. We can also drink from His river of delight. We all like to be delighted. God has a whole river awaiting us. With Him is also the fountain of life. It springs up for us to drink from. Finally, in His light we see light. We do not have to go blindly about our days anymore. We can see because the Lord will light our path and show us which way to go. God will continue His love for us, but is up to us to remain in it (John 15:10).



Daily Prayer



Dear Lord,

Continue Your love and Your righteous to us. Help us to fear You because we know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We know that You want to take care of us and pull us under Your wing so that You can comfort us. Help us to number our days right so that we realize that we do not have long here and that we need to take advantage of it. We don't want to be swept along with the evildoers. We want to rise up and be a comfort to others. We know how the evildoers will lie fallen, thrown down, not able to rise. Keep us from this fate and help us to stay focused on You.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen



QFT



1. Do I fear God? What does that mean to me?  If I do not like this idea, why not?

2. Am I willing to look at the sin in my life? Am I willing to hate it? Why or why not? How can looking at my sin help me? How can hating my sin help me?

3. How can I draw close to God? Who do I have that can help me to do this?

4. What does it mean to me that God has a house of abundance, a river of delight, and a fountain of life available to me? How can this encourage me?

5.  What have I received from God so far in my life?  What qualities about myself do I like?  How are these gifts from God?  Do I look at all of the good things in my life as gifts from God?  Why or why not?