Devotional for July 16

Precious Is the Steadfast Love of the Lord

5 Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
6 Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast.
7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
10 O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. Psalm 36:5-10 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

Pray like everything depends on God, and work like everything depends on you. Self-effort for a Christian is an oxymoron like a free rental. Absolutely everything depends on God, the only true sovereign. And absolutely everything depends on our response to the grace of God, as moral agents given free will. These are not contradictory statements. They are merely opposite sides of the same profound truth. Knowledge and Will are the Wonder Twins that activate Faith. Faith begins with the knowledge of God that comes from reading and hearing His Word. Both the knowledge of God’s ability and His good will are required to produce a mature faith. God has given us such precious promises and we only need to believe that He will fulfill them. The Holy Bible is full of the countless testimonies of how God has fulfill all of His promises over thousands of years. There is sufficient reason to trust God on the bases of His past performance alone, even though His blessings may sometimes be delayed. So much better than an economic stimulus package from the government, this is a guaranteed life stimulus package from God Almighty! The promises of God are much surer than any human enterprise will ever be. All who repent and come to Christ Jesus are redeemed, all are forgiven in Christ, all are saved by Christ, all are healed by Christ, all are adopted in Christ, and all are given the Holy Spirit in Christ.

Question

What is a proper response to the grace of God?

Answer

Faith in God is the only proper response to grace of God (Scripture). Self is chief among those who would rob and steal glory due to God alone (Scripture). Thus, denying self is essential if we are to run the race set before us (Scripture). The testing of your faith will cause it to grow stronger (Scripture). It has been said by those of old that prayer will end sinning, or sinning will end prayer (Scripture). Temptations and trials are permitted by God in order to mature your faith and increase the fruit of the Spirit in your life to the benefit of this perishing world (Scripture). The choice is yours (Scripture). Believe the gospel, go to our Great Physician, and He will heal all impotent men and women (Scripture).

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

O Lord, receive the prayers of your servant who calls upon you, and grant that I may know and understand what things I ought to do, and that I also may have the grace and power to faithfully accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.