Devotional for January 11

The Lord is My Strength and My Defense

8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
12 They compassed me about like bees: they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Psalm 118:8-16 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into His Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. The Book of Common Prayer

The Morning Inspiration

First seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness in all things. Stay on the narrow way that leads to eternal life. Keep to the fundamentals of good health, and fitness will improve steadily. Put away all that weakens and fight the good fight of the faith against the inner tempter. Practice denying self rather than giving into the inner tempter and its emotionally charged appeals to gratify self. Pick up your cross daily by refusing to live by the burger kingdom’s maxim to do things your own way. Follow Jesus by doing all to the glory of God, and all that is necessary will be added to you.

Truth is a fact that is known to be right. Things are not true because they are written in the Bible, they are written in the Bible because they are known to be true. “I feel this” or “I feel that”  may or may not be valid, as feelings are not facts. Feelings are just the brain’s best guess of what’s true based off the facts that it sees. To walk by sight means to ascribe truth based on the brain’s best guess of the proper interpretation of the facts. To walk by faith on the other hand, is to ascribe truth base on trust in God. The opposite of a fact is a falsehood, but there is an even more important truth to understand here. This more important understanding has to do with facts that contradict the word of God. Such facts, no matter how real they look and feel in this present physical world, are only what Jonah called “lying vanities” (Johan 2:8). Glory to God is all that can be said when this understanding is granted. Blessed rest for the soul. 

Today’s Question to Consider

What feelings based lying vanities trouble us most?