Weekly Devotion

Psalm 51 was David’s direct plea to God for mercy. For this devotion, it’s good to know a little background about how David got to this point. David’s sins included: adultery with Bathsheba, murder of her husband Uriah, and in covering his sin from others. Of course, there is no covering any sins from God. He is aware of our transgressions and feels the pain from our behavior. Sometimes he breaks in on our lives to help us recognize the gravity of our sin in order to provide an opportunity for redemption.

After unpacking the “Lord’s Prayer” for several weeks, hopefully we’ve realized that Jesus wasn’t giving his disciples another ritual to follow, he was giving them a pattern of prayer to follow. Jesus exhorted his disciples to pray “in this manner” (NKJV) or “like this” (ESV). Jesus never asked his followers to memorize the words or to adopt another ritual to follow. He was showing his believers how to observe and how to pray.

This month, we’re going to study the “Lord’s Prayer” as many people call it. The label of “Lord’s Prayer” is a little bit of a misnomer. It’s actually a prayer that Jesus taught the disciples to use rather than a prayer Jesus made to God, the father (John 17:1-5). The disciples needed to see a proper example of humility and simplicity in prayer.

Since Jesus was both man and God, he knew our human needs, cravings, and longings. It is fair to say that he also knew how God would respond. Prayer is a way of asking God for things and for listening to his will. Good prayers present to God requests for specific needs. The Lord’s prayer suggest requests for daily provisions, forgiveness, and strength for resistance to temptation.

13 books in the New Testament are attributed to the Apostle Paul. Before his conversion to being a prolific and passionate Christian, he was a Jewish leader zealous for the persecution of Christians. What a twist. He hated followers of Jesus. He ordered the death and destruction of many of them. According to Acts, he approved the stoning of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

Probably, one of the most calming verses in scripture is from Numbers 6

‘”The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”‘

It doesn’t shout, sneer, or condemn. It lifts up. It is easy to understand and applies to all. People have asked me what does it mean to be a Christian and I always tell them that it’s about a man — Jesus Christ.

If you had to answer how you should live your life with so much anger and adversity surrounding you, what would you say? Would you point to others faults and blame them for what’s going on in the world? Would you blame government or our President who seems to polarize opinions about him? Or would you choose a different path?

Reading Exodus 32 this morning, I was dumbfounded when I came across Aaron’s reply to Moses about creating the golden calf in his absence. Moses had gone up the mountain to talk with God and to listen to God’s commands. Apparently, the conversation took too long for Moses’s people because they started complaining to his brother Aaron.

2020. What a year. Anxiety, stress, fear, and hatred are at an all time high. Just when we think things can’t get worse, we have a flashpoint event like what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis. More than ever, we need to reach out to each other and show love. We need to look at the light and fire in each other’s souls and embrace (from a distance) one another.

Did you know that God made 5,467 promises in the Bible? Since God made all these promises, by definition, He must keep them all. God’s promises are irrevocable, His word is trustworthy, and God has always been faithful in keeping His promises.