Devotional for March 11

God is My Strength and Portion Forever  

73 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.
2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.
3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
21 Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.
22 So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee.
23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.
24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.
26 My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
27 For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works. Psalm 73:1-3, 21-28 (KJV)

The Prayer Appointed for This Week

O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant that I, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear my cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. from the Book of Common Prayer

The Morning Exhortation

Some live fast and want to die young. Ask them and they will tell you they don’t want to live long enough to get old. For those who choose to saddle that horse, it may very well take them to an early grave. It is just as likely to leave them alone in a nursing home. Everyone gets gray hair, but some end up suffering much more pain than they would have otherwise had it not been for their past years of reckless living. No one knows what specific things tomorrow will bring us, but that’s a good thing. If we knew the beginning to the ending with complete certainty, life would be extremely boring and we would never learn to trust the Lord. It is enough to have the sure hope of everything working out for good for those who love the Lord. This life is a spiritual war. The fact the God has already won is not even a question. It is only a matter of when the second coming of Christ will be. We are to fight against the present darkness of this world until He comes again. He who called you is faithful, and He will complete the new creation He began in you when you were born again. God will surely make of you a fully mature Christian soldier. Be attentive and take these commands: submit to God and resist the devil; watch and pray.

Question

What of the middle part of life?

Answer

The beginning is history. The end is certain. Today represents the middle part of life in which we have another opportunity to glorify God.