Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with lyrics of Kristian Stanfill leading a large audience in worship singing a new version of the old Christian standby … In Christ Alone … powerfully singing of the of the only hope we have in this sorry world … IN CHRIST ALONE!!
=============
Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 146:5 [NLT] … 5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel[a] as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.
… Our joy - our hope - is in our God!!
==============
Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 146 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… The unknown Psalmist declares his praise, his trust, and his hope in Yahweh.
=============
Reference Passage : … Psalm 63:1-5 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… King David, even when he was in trouble, knew to seek and trust the presence and power of his God.
Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Solomon knew that the only hope he had was to trust in God.
Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 12:9 [NLT] … 9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
…Paul had learned from Christ’s own words that in times of weakness, his only hope was to seek and receive God’s grace.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 13:5b [NLT] … 5b For God has said, … “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.“
… God repeats His promise (also in Deut. 31:6,8) to never forsake us - no matter what!!
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Xochitl Dixon, used a moment of weakness and grief to show how her (our) only hope is in the strength and grace we receive from our relationship with Christ. The ODB author wrote: The week before Christmas, two months after my mom died, holiday shopping and decorating sat at the bottom of my priority list. I resisted my husband’s attempts to comfort me as I grieved the loss of our family’s faith-filled matriarch. I sulked as our son, Xavier, stretched and stapled strands of Christmas lights onto the inside walls of our home. Without a word, he plugged in the cord before he and his dad left for work.
As the colorful bulbs blinked, God gently drew me out of my darkness. No matter how painful the circumstances, my hope remained secure in the light of God’s truth, which always reveals His unchanging character.
Tho I’m not a gambler, I think I could safely wager that we’ve all, as Christians, been in a place where we were so weakened or broken that the only hope we could hold on to was our hope in Christ. … Can I get a witness? …
Yeah, we’ve all been there, felt that, … got that T-shirt, haven’t we? Perhaps you’re there now, feeling like God is way far away and you’re having trouble trusting … maybe even hoping? But I would hope, … and I will pray today below, … that using the song link above and meditating on the powerful - AND TRUE - passages provided, your faith and trust in God will be buoyed and bolstered to a point where you see/feel a glimmer of hope and at least another glimmer of trust in a God … our God … Who will never leave us, nor forsake us.
So, let’s trust Him enough today to even praise Him and to seek His empowering grace to lead us thru any troubled times we may be experiencing. Yes, dear one, He is our ONLY HOPE!!
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … O Lord, lift us all up today as we trust you, … seek You, … and praise Your Holy Name! … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
No comments:
Post a Comment