Upright in heart

Psalm 32:11

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous;
    sing, all you who are upright in heart!

I’m sure each and everyone one of us can think of a time when life was just full of stresses.  For me, this past week has been like that.  I was putting in extra hours at the beginning of the week to meet some deadlines, we had lots of things going in the evenings that still had to be taken care of like vet appointment, a CPR class that my husband had signed up for, and more. 

Top things off with my son complaining every day about having to go to day camp.  He kept saying he was being picked on and then yesterday some things happened and he ended up in some trouble. 

This just topped my stress levels off.  This morning, I sat down to read from my Bible and Psalm 32 was put before me.  It talks about David going through various things and the Lord protecting him.  Verse 11 is what really stood out to me, if we are upright in heart, we have reason to rejoice.  Even through all of the stresses of life, our God is always there, always giving us strength and protecting us. 

For that, today I will rejoice.  My prayer for you today is that even if you’ve been dealing with various stresses and trials, rejoice in the Lord as you are still upright in heart.

Thursday Devotional - Who Has Power and Control?

Last year Sarah enjoyed “riding” a tricycle at my parents’ house that had a long pole out the back. At 2, she felt independent steering and pedaling, all the while someone was giving her power from behind.

Like Sarah, Pilate thought he had power and control, but the only power and control he had was given to him by God.

John 19:5-11 ⁵ When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

⁷ The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

No one has power or control unless God allows it. Like Pilate, you and I might think we are in control, but God is the only Almighty One who has absolute and unlimited power over all.

And when things seem out of control, we can remember that God’s purposes will prevail in spite of the chaos and evil. What comfort does that give to you and me today?    

Alice

Tues Devo: Glory

John 17:1-5 “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” (NASB)

Hello,

As Jesus prepares to be betrayed and crucified, he spends some time with His disciples and begins to talk more directly and in less parables (we see this mentioned in the end of John 16:29 “His disciples said, ‘Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using figures of speech.”) This prayer starting in chapter 17 comes right on the heels of that comment. (*the prayer goes for the entire chapter)

What stood out to me in this prayer was the amount of times Jesus uses the word glorify. The word glorify means to cause to be or treat as more splendid than normally considered. It also means to praise or admire. Jesus asked that He Himself be glorified – a request that normally we would see as selfish and self-serving. But, He immediately puts the purpose behind it – so that the glory of the Son would reflect right back and bring glory to God the Father. Jesus looked at His role as being in a position to glorify and point to the Father. The accomplishment Jesus points to was not about Himself (despite being perfect) but was about doing what was laid out and instructed by the Father – this brought the Father glory.

I hope this is a challenge for each of us. How are we bringing the Father glory? Are we doing what is laid in front of us by Him? Is our glory found in Him getting glory?

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill