Devotional for July 14

My Help Comes From the Lord

1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Psalm 121 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

It is not the one who knows the most, who studies everything inside and out, that reaches the highest levels. Knowing more and studying more are good things, but excellence takes something more still. It is only the one who knows enough, who has studied enough, and then does what he or she knows that reaches their best. So too must faith in God be exercised according to our understanding of the written word. It is only by living in obedience to the light that we have already received that the heart is prepared to be given more. For those who can accept it, the Jezebel of old is the scientific worldview of our modern day. It is the will of God for all believers to obtain a fullness in Christ Jesus. He knows exactly what He has called us to do. Therefore, trust Him completely and do the work of God. We must make the first move in faith, and then God answers our prayers with the moving of mountains big and small.

Question

What is the one thing needful?

Answer

When we can’t breathe, all we need is air (link). When we are hungry, we need food (link). When we are thirsty, we need water (link). Few things are needed for life, and the one need above all others is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (link). What He wants is that we have faith (link). Love is the spiritual equivalent of air, faith like food, and hope like drink (link). Blessed are they who come to Christ to satisfy the hunger and thirst for righteousness (link). God is faithful and He has made the way simple and plain (link).

The Prayer Appointed for This Week from the Book of Common Prayer

O God, you have taught me to keep all your commandments by loving you and my neighbor: Grant me the grace of your Holy Spirit, that I may be devoted to you with my whole heart, and united to others with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.