Fruits of godly perseverance

Monday, May 6, 2013

Devotions: Ps 77, 79, 80; Deut 8:1-10; Jas 1:1-15; Lk 9:18-27

I cry aloud to God, so He can hear me; in this day of my trouble, I seek my God; my soul refuses comfort, and I hold out my hand to God. I think of God, I meditate and moan; my spirit faints. My spirit is so troubled that I cannot speak. I reminisce about the old days; I search my spirit in the watches of the night. Will YHWH never again favor me? Has He cut me off from His steadfast love once and for all? Are His promises no longer extended to me? Has God chosen to stop being compassionate? I am desolate without God and His favor! So I will rally: I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember, God, Your wonders of old. I will meditate on Your works, not my lacks; and I will muse upon Your mighty deeds. Lord, Your ways are holy; You Are God, the One Who works wonders; You have manifested Your might among the peoples for ages past. Nature obeys You, and You have chosen and sustained a people for Yourself, whom You have like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Heathens have laid waste Your temple, God; Jerusalem has been ruined. Pagans give the bodies of Your servants to the birds and beasts; the blood of Your saints is poured out like water. We followers of YHWH are the scorn of our enemies. How long, God? Will You be angry or silent forever? Pour out Your righteous anger on the pagans who deny You. Forgive me my sins and those of my ancestors, God. Don't let the unbelievers taunt, 'Where is their god?' Let our groans come before You, and return to us, O God. They we, Your people, will give You thanks for ever, and recount Your praise for all generations. Let Israel's Shepherd listen; God, stir up Your might and come to save us! Restore us, God; let Your face shine, that we may be saved. Forgive! Restore! Shine! You chose Your people; You brought them out of bondage and planted them in the Land You promised. You cleared space and protected them as they prospered. But why, then, have their walls been broken down? The boar from the forest ravages Your people. God of hosts, turn again! Let Your right hand be upon the man of Your choice; restore us, and shine on us, that we may be saved!

Moses spoke for God to the people of Israel: Be careful to do everything I command you, so you may live and multiply and possess the Land YHWH promised to your ancestors. Recall how God has led you all the years till now; be humble before Him. For He Is mighty and merciful and holy. He has been teaching you: mortals do not live by bread alone, but much more by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God! YHWH disciplines you as a father disciplines his children; so keep the commands of YHWH your God; walk in His ways; fear only Him! For YHWH your God is bringing you into a good land of plenty, where you will lack no good thing. You will be filled with good things, and you will bless YHWH your God for the good home He has given you.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus the Messiah wrote to the Jews in the Diaspora: Greeting! Count it all joy, brothers and sisters, when you meet various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness; let that lesson take root, and in its fullness you will be perfect and complete, lacking no good thing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, Who gives to all mortals generously and without reproach, and wisdom will be given to him. Only let him ask in faith, with no doubt; for those who doubt are like wives of the sea, driven and wind-blown. Such a person must not suppose that anyone who is double-minded will receive anything good from the Lord. Likewise, let those among us who are lowly boast of their exaltation, while the rich boast of their humiliation—our worldly condition is as fragile as a wild flower, and the self-righteous pass away. The sun rises with scorching heat; the grass withers; the flower falls; its beauty perishes. So will the rich man fade in the midst of his preoccupations. Blessed is the person who endures trial; for when s/he has stood the test, s/he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him. And if anyone is tempted, far be it from them to say, 'The Lord is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted with evil, and He tempts no one. Each mortal is tempted when we are lured and enticed by our own desires. Desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and sin when full cr-grown brings forth death! Dear brothers and sisters, don't be deceived. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down form the Father of lights, in Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. By His own will, God brought us forth by the word of His truth, so that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Jesus had been praying alone; some disciples were with Him, and He asked them, 'Who do the people say that I Am?' They answered, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; others, that another of the old prophets has risen.' And Jesus said, 'But Who do you say that I Am?' And Peter answered: 'The Messiah of God.' Then Jesus charged them not to tell this to anyone; He said, 'The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.' And Jesus said to them all: 'If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. What does it profit a person if s/he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits oneself? Whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words, of that person the Son of man will be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. I tell you truly: some are standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.'