Saturday,
October 25, 2014
Devotions:
Ps 30, 32, 42, 43; Sir 15:9-20; Rev 10:1-11; Lk 11:1-13
YHWH,
I will extol You for You have protected and blessed me, rescuing me
from my enemies. You have healed me in every way. Let all God's
people praise His holy name! His anger is momentary; His mercy and
love are eternal. Weeping lasts for a night, but joy comes in the
morning. Let God be my Helper, and I will stand! You have turned my
mourning into dancing; You have girded me in gladness. YHWH my God,
I will thank You for ever. Happy are they to whom God imputes His
righteousness and whose own iniquity the Almighty One forgives.
Lord, I yield my stubbornness, and take up Your kindness. Steadfast
love surrounds me as I trust in YHWH; and I shout for joy! Lord, I
thirst for You as a stag pants for water during a drought. I get
homesick for heaven; this world is not my home, and I wait for my
Savior to come or to call me to Himself. Lord, vindicate me. I am
constantly challenged and hassled; but I trust in You alone, and
rejoice in my Redeemer and Lord!
Yeshua
ben Sirach wrote: It is not fitting for sinners to act holy and sing
hymns of praise to the Holy One. God has no part in our
transgressions! He tempts no one. If you will, you can keep the
commandments; to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. God
protects my free will—I can grasp what blesses or what burns; I can
choose life or death, holiness or sin—and God delivers what I
freely choose. We are without excuse when we choose to sin.
John
the Revelator wrote: I saw a mighty angel descending from heaven,
wrapped in cloud, rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun,
and his legs like pillars of fire. He put one foot on land and one
on the sea; He cried out in a voice like a lion's roar, and seven
thunders sounded in reply. A voice from heaven commanded me not to
record what the angel and the thunders said. The angel straddling
earth and sea lifted his hand and swore by Him Who lives forever, the
Creator of all things, that there should be no more delay, but rather
that God's mystery would be fulfilled in the days of the trumpet to
be sounded by the seventh angel. Next, the Voice commanded me to
approach the angel and take the scroll from his hand. I did this,
and he gave me the little scroll, saying, 'Eat this; it ill be sweet
as honey in your mouth, but bitter in your stomach.' And so it was.
And I was told, 'Prophesy about many peoples and nations and tongues
and kings.' So be it, my Lord!
Jesus
was praying, and when He ceased, a disciple asked Him, 'Lord, teach
us to pray, as John taught his disciples.' Jesus said, 'When you
pray, say this: Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread and forgive our sins, for we
ourselves forgive those who are indebted to us; and lead us not into
temptation.' Then Jesus said 'Imagine that unexpected guests arrive
and you have no bread in the house; so even though it is late, you
hurry to a neighbor's house and bang on his door, asking for bread.
Even though he protests that he is in bed with his children, you keep
on and get the bread you need, not from friendly feeling, but through
perseverance. Now I tell you this: Keep on asking, and you will be
given; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it
will be opened to you. Everyone who persists in asking receives;
everyone who seeks without ceasing finds; and to each who keeps
knocking it will be opened. No parent among you would give your
child a serpent instead of a fish; you would not give the child a
scorpion who asked you for an egg. So if you, though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!'
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