Devotional for February 4

Restore Us, O Lord God of Hosts

80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us.
3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
18 So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
19 Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. Psalm 80:1-3, 17-19 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Book of Common Prayer

The Morning Exhortation

The conscience confirms the rightness of obedience to God. The inner tempter seeks to steal many small victories though. Allow the enemy no foothold. The regenerated conscience provides good counsel for willing decisions to turn from the sinful ways of this world, and to put on ways of the new man created to be holy in Christ Jesus. If you say in simple child-like faith, “I have put off the old man and I put on the new,” it will be done for you. Pray in faith. Understand this is the way. Conscience confirms it. Mentally we must choose it. Now set the will to obey God by faith. God is good seems an understatement. Perhaps that’s why the Master has said that God alone is good. All power and might are in His hand. He strengthens all who are determined to do His will in the way He has prescribed it to be done. Know that God is….regardless of how things look or how we feel at any given moment. Know this is true as surely as you know that 1 + 1 = 2. It then becomes a reality for us to consider it all joy when our faith is tested. Faith is often tested in fogs of doubt and clouds of unknowing. Faith is also tested in difficulties and heavy burdens. Faith thus tried is more precious than gold that has been refined seven times in the fire. Though it all, God waits for us to cultivate our dependence on Him. It is only when we are weak in ourselves, that God makes us strong in Him. Don’t wait to see if it is so. Sight always follows the testing of faith, and never precedes it. From beginning to end, from faith to faith, all good things are to the praise of the grace of God. Air to breathe and food to eat, every creature needs the rest of creation. If we are to know peace, however, we need more. We need faith to know Christ and this truth shall set us free.

Today’s Question to Consider

What does it take to make faith in God easy?