Devotional for August 4

My Help Comes from the Lord

121 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

Inconvenience is a rubber bumper that helps to keep us in the will of God. Prayer and rejoicing is called for when faced with difficulties and trying times, because only then can faith in God be exercised. Faith will praise and thank the Lord after prayer and before any evidence of deliverance can be seen. This is how our elders were able to obtain a good report, by trusting the Lord and rejoicing before seeing His blessings. They reasoned and agreed with God. Complainers unwittingly agree with the devil. Broken plans are a part of life. Get over it, let go of what you can’t and make the best use of what you’ve got. God will always provide you what you need. Realize if you always have what you think you need before you start, you would never learn to trust God. The counsel of the ungodly is to make it happen for yourself, and the world will applauded those who appear to do just that. This illusion of control is a house built on the sand though. The righteous cling to the truth that God alone is in control of all things. They stand in the readiness that comes from the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, praying for every need and waiting on the Lord with joyful expectation. God has predestined us to bear the appointed fruit in the appropriate season. Not one second early, not one second late, but precisely at the proper time. Do you believe the Scriptures? 

Question

What does faith do?

Answer

Faith must follow-through (Scripture). Faith is the eye that sees (Scripture), and the hand that receives (Scripture). Faith starts and ends with love (Scripture). Faith is the surety and assurance for confidently taking the 3-point shot (Scripture), and glorifying God with praise and thanksgiving is like the follow-though motion that completes every successful 3-pointer (Scripture), which ensures faith doesn’t end before the ball passes though the spiritual hoop called hope and sinks into the net of this physical world (Scripture).

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

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.