Category: Devotional

Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 15

July 15, 2020

Over the next 16 days we will be reading through the book of 1 Corinthians together. The church in Corinth was an absolute mess! They were plagued by serious issues of arrogance, division, sexual immorality, and confusion concerning doctrine as well as the particulars of their moral living under the gospel. This church needed a wake-up call, a call to repentance and purity, to renewed devotion to Christ, to love and unity, and to zeal for the gospel. The church has changed little over the last 2,000 years, but praise God that there is abundant grace for the mess! Each of us needs this same call to humility faithfulness, unity, and fervor today as much as they needed it then. Let’s heed this call which God gave the church at Corinth through the apostle Paul and let it shape the way we live as Christ’s body!

In this chapter Paul continues to challenge the worldly perspective of the Corinthians and their proclivity to trust in earthly wisdom. He reminds them of how he had first preached the gospel among them, not using persuasive language or wise speech but demonstrating the power of the Spirit, in order that those who came to faith would put their trust in the power of God rather than in the wisdom of men. 

He goes on to explain to them that the wisdom from God is not like the worldly wisdom because it is a spiritual understood only by means of the Holy Spirit. He goes so far as to tell us that, because who believe have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we have the mind of Christ available to us! We can think the way that Jesus thought through the power of the Spirit, and thinking the way that Jesus thought necessarily leads to us living the way that Jesus lived. 

“The natural person”, Paul says, “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to comprehend them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). Apart from the gift of the Holy Spirit and His work and ministry in our lives, we would be just like the rest of the world, totally unable to comprehend the truths of the gospel and considering Christianity to be the stuff of fools. 

Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, that He has made a way for us, who were dead in our sins and spiritually blind, to be made alive and to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened to the truth! Celebrate the wisdom that comes from God today, and that He has given you the means, by His Spirit, to comprehend it!

1 Corinthians 2

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • How does having the mind of Christ available to us through the Holy Spirit work itself out practically in our day to day lives?
Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 14

July 14, 2020

Over the next 16 days we will be reading through the book of 1 Corinthians together. The church in Corinth was an absolute mess! They were plagued by serious issues of arrogance, division, sexual immorality, and confusion concerning doctrine as well as the particulars of their moral living under the gospel. This church needed a wake-up call, a call to repentance and purity, to renewed devotion to Christ, to love and unity, and to zeal for the gospel. The church has changed little over the last 2,000 years, but praise God that there is abundant grace for the mess! Each of us needs this same call to humility faithfulness, unity, and fervor today as much as they needed it then. Let’s heed this call which God gave the church at Corinth through the apostle Paul and let it shape the way we live as Christ’s body!

In the opening chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul jumps right into the problems he has heard rumor of going on in Corinth. The people were arrogantly one-upping each other by claiming to be followers of whatever gospel preacher they considered to be most eloquent or wise, and it was causing the church to be divided into factions. 

Paul here exposes the foolishness of such thinking: the power of the gospel does not lie in eloquent speech or in worldly wisdom but in the cross of Jesus Christ! Paul is telling the Corinthians that they are thinking in a worldly way when they are divided like this, and the gospel itself sounds like lunacy from a worldly perspective!

Think about it: the gospel flips all of our worldly expectations upside down. The God of all glory was meek and humble. The way He conquered was by allowing Himself to be unjustly betrayed, tortured, humiliated, and murdered. In order to live we have to die with Him. Nothing about the gospel makes sense from the perspective of the world, but that’s the point! The gospel is folly to the world, but to us who have been saved it is “the power of God” (v.18)!

The upside-down gospel reminds us that we live in an upside-down kingdom. The weak in the eyes of the world are strong. The foolish in the eyes of the world are wise. The poor in the eyes of the world are rich. Those who put others before themselves end up on top in the end. We need to be reminded of this, and that it is never our own wisdom, our own power, our own righteousness that does anything. It is only in Christ, His power, His wisdom, His righteousness and His grace that we have anything at all! 

Though it looks like foolishness and weakness from a worldly point of view, to us Jesus Christ is the very wisdom and power of God! Today, instead of seeing your faith from a worldly perspective, be reminded of your own powerlessness and your absolute dependence upon the power and grace of Jesus!

1 Corinthians 1

Greeting

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.16 (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • Why is it so important for us to remember that the gospel does not depend on human power and wisdom, but on the power and wisdom of God? How does it change the way we understand and live out our faith?
Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 13

July 13, 2020

For the next 15 days we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent together as a church! The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together!

In the final song of ascents, the pilgrim disciple has finally arrived at their destination: the Temple in Jerusalem, the place of God’s presence with His people. Having worshipped the Lord at the Temple, the pilgrim calls others to bless the Lord and then receives a blessing as well!

As sojourners on the earth, we too are on a journey to the place of the Lord’s presence with His people. We have His presence with us now via the Holy Spirit, but we journey toward a destination where He will dwell with us fully and completely, where we will experience the fullness of His glory and worship Him forever!

As you journey along today, let this psalm remind you of the immensity of the blessing that is God’s presence with His people, and let it fill you with great joy in the hope of the eternal future with Him that is still to come!

Psalm 134

Come, Bless the Lord
A Song of Ascents.

134 Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
    who stand by night in the house of the Lord!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place
    and bless the Lord!

3 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
    he who made heaven and earth

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • How does the hope of being in the direct presence of God for all of eternity encourage you to bless His name through worship in the here and now?
Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 12

July 12, 2020

For the next 15 days we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent together as a church! The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together!

This psalm pictures the pilgrim disciples gathered together to worship at Jerusalem in total solidarity and unity. The pilgrim sings this song to be reminded of the joys and the blessing that come from a unified community of the Lord’s people, and it is an ideal to which the church is called as well!

The psalmist uses two similes to describe the blessing that comes from this kind of unity among God’s people. The first is the oil on Aaron the priest’s head at his ordination (Ex. 30:22-33). This oil set him and his descendants apart, consecrating them as holy. In the same way, unity in the body of Christ sets us apart as holy as we live in the world but are not of the world!

The second simile is of the “dew of Hermon” (v.3), a mountain in the far south of the land of Israel. The rains the psalmist is here describing were essential for the survival of Israel’s vegetation during the dry season. In the same way, unity among brothers and sisters in Christ is a catalyst for growth in the sense of bearing fruit in discipleship!

Let’s not neglect to strive for absolute unity in the body of Christ. It sets us apart from the world and is essential to our growing in our walk of faith!

Psalm 133

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • What are some ways you have experienced disunity in the body of Christ? What were the results of that? How can you be a person who strives for unity among your brothers and sisters in the faith?
Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 11

July 11, 2020

For the next 15 days we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent together as a church! The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together!

This is a royal psalm in which the pilgrim disciple expresses confidence in the Lord’s faithfulness to his covenant with David. They would sing this song, saying outright that they were on their way to Jerusalem to worship (v.6-7), and ask the Lord to fulfill His purpose in His people. They reflect on the promises that God made to David (v.11-12) and rejoice in the hope that He will restore the Davidic line (v.17-18).

As we reflect on this psalm, we remember that God’s promises to David were fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ! Jesus is our Davidic King; He has clothed His priests with righteousness and salvation, His saints with joy; He has made His dwelling place (the church) to prosper!

This psalm is a testament to the faithfulness of God to His promises. Every one of His promises to His people are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. Let’s celebrate that truth and trust Him in every circumstance as we worship Him!

Psalm 132

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of Ascents.

132 Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,
    all the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to the Lord
    and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
    or get into my bed,
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
    a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
    we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
    let us worship at his footstool!”

8 Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
    and let your saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
    do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

11 The Lord swore to David a sure oath
    from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body
    I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
    shall sit on your throne.”

13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
    he has desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
    here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;
    I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
    and her saints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
    I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
    but on him his crown will shine.”

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • How does God’s faithfulness to His promises encourage you to live for Him? How does it change your outlook on life to know that not only is God willing and able to deliver on His promises, but He actually does it?
Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 10

July 10, 2020

For the next 15 days we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent together as a church! The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together!

This is a psalm simply expressing joy and contentment in the presence of God! The pilgrim worshipper is reminded and reminds his companions of the rest and the delight that are to be found simply by being in the presence of the Lord. 

The psalmist begins with expressions of humility, saying that he is not proud or arrogant nor does he occupy his time attempting to understand things beyond his comprehension. The psalmist knows well his own limitations but, just as a weaned child is content merely with the presence of its mother (v.2), he is content merely to be in the presence of the Lord! This contentment and posture of heart towards God is reason for all of God’s people to have hope! 

How many of us waste our time seeking to gain things we will never obtain, be fulfilled in things that will never fulfill, or understand things we will never understand? This song is a reminder and an invitation to simply rest and delight in God’s presence! There is hope and grace and rest to be found when we make God our contentment.

Psalm 131

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

131 O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
    my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
    too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • What things stop you from being content in the presence of God, from having a soul that is calmed and quieted in His presence? How might you take steps towards this kind of joy and contentment?
Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 9

July 9, 2020

For the next 15 days we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent together as a church! The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together!

This psalm is a song of penitence for sin and confidence in the sufficiency of God’s mercy. The pilgrim disciples on their way to worship remind themselves with this song that the only right they have to enter God’s presence at all lies in His mercy and grace towards them. We are no different than they in this regard!

This psalm represents the movement from brokenness and conviction over one’s own sin to confession of that sin, and finally to confident hope in the Lord’s promises of mercy towards His people. Because God is a God of forgiveness and grace, we can always run to Him and not away from Him when we have stumbled and fallen into sin!

The psalmist expresses an eagerness to worship the Lord and receive His mercy that surpasses the longing a watchman who had been standing at his post all night would have for the morning to come (v.6). This eagerness to be in the presence of God and to worship Him among His people should characterize every believer because, when we do, it shifts from an individual focus to a corporate one, in which we are all encouraging one another to trust in the Lord and in His mercy!

God has visited His mercy on His people and redeemed them from all their iniquities (v.8) once and for all in the person and work of Jesus Christ. When we fail, let us run to Him and receive mercy, and let us ever be encouraging one another to do the same with confident hope!

Psalm 130

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

130 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2     O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
    that you may be feared.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
    from all his iniquities.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • Do you ever find it difficult to trust in the mercy of God when you have done something sinful? How can you know that His mercy is always enough? How can you encourage your fellow believers to rest in His mercy with confident hope?
Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 8

July 8, 2020

For the next 15 days we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent together as a church! The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together!

In this psalm the pilgrim disciple recalls the faithfulness of the Lord, that He has not allowed Israel’s many oppressors and enemies to ultimately prevail over them. He then turns and asks God that no such oppressor would ever prevail over Israel but would instead be put to shame in their purposes against God’s people.

This is the story of God’s people! There are many who have come against the church throughout the course of history. Though it is easy for us to not see it in our culture and context, there are many in the world coming against God’s people even now, and there will yet be more in the future. We may be afflicted, but we have assurance that they will not prevail against us in the end. Victory is ours in Jesus Christ because He has gone before us and has already conquered!

The Lord is righteous and He has set us free from the oppression of the wicked. Let’s rejoice in that fact and remind ourselves of this victory no matter what may come against us!

Psalm 129

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of Ascents.

129 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth”—
    let Israel now say—
2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
    yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
    they made long their furrows.”
4 The Lord is righteous;
    he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion
    be put to shame and turned backward!
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
    which withers before it grows up,
7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand
    nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
8 nor do those who pass by say,
    “The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
    We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • How does the victory and freedom that have been given us in Christ change the way that we see opposition or oppression against us on account of our faith?
Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 7

July 7, 2020

For the next 15 days we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent together as a church! The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together!

This is a wisdom psalm which presents us with the blessedness of all people who fear the Lord and walk in His ways. The pilgrim worshipper sings this song as a reminder both to himself and to others of the divine blessing that comes from living in the blessed way which God has called us to!

In the song the psalmist paints a picture of the man who fears the Lord having an aura of divine blessing which surrounds both his work and his family. Not only is the man himself blessed, but the land he works is blessed with fruitfulness and his family is blessed too! 

The ending of the song extends the reach of this blessing even further: the psalmist proclaims a blessing asking that all of God’s people might walk in this way and experience this blessing, which would lead to prosperity for Jerusalem and peace for Israel. The blessing that the individual experiences as a result of fearing the Lord and walking in His ways extends to his work, his family and his entire community as well!

We see the opposite effect in the Scriptures as well: sometimes the sin of the individual can be the blight which is bringing down the entire community of God’s people (see Joshua 7). Our faithfulness or faithlessness has far-reaching consequences beyond our own lives, and we must remember that our walk with Christ is in some ways communal even more than it is personal!

Psalm 128

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

128 Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
    who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
    you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
    around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
    who fears the Lord.

5 The Lord bless you from Zion!
    May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children’s children!
    Peace be upon Israel!

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • Have you ever considered that your faithful obedience could be affecting the health of the entire church? Have you ever considered that your sin could be affecting it too? How can we respond to take hold of the blessing God promises to those who fear Him and walk in His ways, for the sake of the entire community of faith?
Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 6

July 6, 2020

For the next 15 days we will be reading through the Psalms of Ascent together as a church! The Psalms of Ascent are a collection of 15 psalms (Psalms 120-134) that pilgrims would sing on their way up to Jerusalem to worship. These songs are meant to instruct and prepare the hearts of the traveler to worship the Lord! As sojourners and aliens in this world, we too need to have our hearts prepared for and instructed in the worship of our God. Let’s meditate on these psalms and allow the Spirit of the Lord to move us to true worship as we seek Him together!

This psalm expresses the idea that, apart from the Lord’s providence, all human effort is in vain. The pilgrim worshipper reflects on the fact that, though His people are certainly required to be diligent in their work, they must also do it in faith. Apart from the Lord making our efforts useful and beneficial, all human effort is ultimately pointless.

Verse 2 paints a picture of a man working tirelessly and anxiously to establish his efforts, yet it is clear that all his efforts are vain because they are not done in faith. In contrast, the Lord gives rest to those He loves; to practice diligence in faith means to rest when rest is needed rather than anxiously toiling away, to trust in the Lord to provide for us instead of bending over backwards in our efforts to provide for ourselves. This is why God commanded the Sabbath for His people: to cease from work and rest for an entire day is an act of faith in God’s provision!

We need this reminder today as well. So many of us spend our time anxiously trying to prepare for every possible scenario. We work ourselves to death, worry ourselves to death, and labor and toil all in vain when the Lord is calling us to rest! He is calling us to trust that He is enough for us and that He will come through for us. We are called to diligence, yes, but diligence must never be divorced from faith!

Let’s give ourselves, our efforts, and our anxieties over to God, and rest in His provision and care for us. He is faithful and He will cause our efforts to bear fruit according to His purposes!

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord Builds the House

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
    those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
    the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
    and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
    for he gives to his beloved sleep.

3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
    the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
    are the children of one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
    who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
    when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Family Discussion Question:

  • What are some ways that it is tempting for you not to trust in God’s provision and care, His sufficiency? How is the Lord calling you to rest in Him?