Devotional for June 1

Blessing and Favor of the Lord

8 Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.
11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
12 For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. Psalm 5:8-13 (KJV)

The Morning Exhortation

Getting started is hard because it means overcoming the inner resistance that comes with establishing good habits. Eat better, stand up more, get busy, move, and sweat just to name a few. Will power is the spark needed to get things started, but it is the fire of desire that keeps things running for the long game. Regardless of the type of seed sown with repetition, it can only produce the fruit of its kind. Good reps build strength and bad habits only weaken the soul. Conformity to the world fills the heart with desires for things that bred bad habits. The heart is a tinderbox and whatever sparks evil desires is playing with strange fire. Watch and pray. Guard the heart by recognizing when to turn it off, when to avert the gaze, and when to walk away. (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Isaiah 61:3; Proverbs 4:23; Mark 14:38; Genesis 4:7; 1 John 2:15-17; Matthew 7:15-20; Galatians 6:7; Romans 12:1-2; Leviticus 10:1-2; 1 Samuel 15:22; Matthew 5:29-30; Matthew 13:45-46; Luke 11:27-28; John 4:24; Psalm 119:1-3; Proverbs 6:23-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5; Philippians 4:8-9, 20)