Devotional for January 4

Ascribe to the Lord Glory and Strength

29 Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
10 The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.
11 The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. Psalm 29 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Book of Common Prayer

The Morning Inspiration

We will limit what is possible without adequate belief in the truth. There are two types of believers. There are those who believe the truth, and then there are those who sincerely think they believe the truth. The first can be known by the fruit of the Spirit manifested in their life. Blindness of the unbelief in their heart keeps the second type from seeking the very mercy they need from God. The righteous are called to live by faith. From faith to faith is a chain of belief that weakens with any link of unbelief allowed to remain in the heart. It is so easy to convince ourselves to spare the best of the sheep like king Saul. He turned back from following God with his whole heart. Saul’s example serves to warn us that we are often in danger of being led astray by unbelief to follow our own limited reasoning, our own feelings about what is true, and/or the worldly wisdom without God taught in our secular educational institutions. Believe God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. Jesus has said that the one who obeys Him is the one who loves Him. To obey Him, we must believe Him. To believe Him, we must know Him. There is no substitute for knowing God. We come to know God just as we come to know anyone. We come to know any person we live with by watching what they do and listening to what they say. In time, learn what they like and dislike. We are able to recognize their voice by its tone and manners of speech. Intimate relationship allows us to understand how a person thinks and what they are likely to do and not do. We can have such an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. It starts with the plain matter of fact getting to know Him that comes from watching and listening to Him in the four gospel books of the Holy Bible. Dare to believe that Jesus is Christ, and you will come to know Him without doubt. Almighty God, infinite in wisdom and goodness, can certainly turn any weak link into strength. He will not break a bruised reed that calls upon Him with sincerity. Therefore, pray my brothers and sisters. Pray for His help to overcome all unbelief. All things are possible to the one who believes. Therefore, pray and believe.

Today’s Question to Consider

Can you share an example of a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) displayed in everyday life?