mercy

A Sheep’s Journey Through Psalms -31

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A Devotional on Psalm 31: Trusting in God’s Unfailing Refuge

“In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.” (Psalm 31:1, NIV) Psalm 31 is a heartfelt cry of David, a man who knew both the heights of God’s favor and the depths of human struggle. This psalm is a powerful reminder that, in every season, God is our refuge, our strength, and our deliverer. As Christians, we can find inspiration in David’s unwavering trust in God amid trials, and we can draw wisdom from early Christian leaders who echoed this trust in their own lives

.A Cry for Refuge

David begins with a declaration of trust: “In you, Lord, I have taken refuge.” He seeks God as his safe haven, a fortress against life’s storms. Whether facing enemies, personal failures, or overwhelming circumstances, David’s instinct is to run to God. This resonates deeply with the words of Clement of Alexandria, who wrote in the 2nd century, “The Christian’s refuge is not a place but a Person—God Himself, who shelters us in His love.” Like David, we are invited to make God our first response, not our last resort.When life feels chaotic—whether it’s a health crisis, a fractured relationship, or a season of doubt—Psalm 31 reminds us that God is near. He is not a distant deity but a loving Father who hears our cries. As Augustine of Hippo reflected, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” Take a moment to pause and consider: Where are you seeking refuge today? Is it in your own strength, or are you leaning into God’s unshakeable presence?

Trust Amid Suffering

David’s honesty in Psalm 31 is striking. He doesn’t shy away from expressing his anguish: “My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning” (v. 10). Yet, even in his pain, he affirms, “But I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God’” (v. 14). This tension between suffering and trust is a hallmark of the Christian life. Early Christian martyr Ignatius of Antioch, facing death, wrote, “I am God’s wheat, ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become the pure bread of Christ.” Like David, Ignatius found strength in surrendering to God’s sovereignty, even in the face of persecution.

When we encounter trials, Psalm 31 encourages us to trust that God holds our times in His hands (v. 15). This trust isn’t blind optimism but a deliberate choice to believe that God’s purposes prevail. Reflect on a challenge you’re facing. Can you echo David’s words, declaring, “You are my God,” even in the uncertainty?

God’s Goodness Prevails

The psalm crescendos with praise: “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you” (v. 19). David’s confidence in God’s goodness is not diminished by his trials but magnified through them. He sees God’s faithfulness as a treasure, a promise for all who seek Him. Early Christian writer Tertullian echoed this, saying, “The Lord’s mercy is not exhausted, nor has His compassion failed. It is new every morning, for His faithfulness is great.” God’s goodness is not a one-time gift but an overflowing storehouse, available to us daily.

As we meditate on Psalm 31, let’s remember that God’s love is our ultimate security. David concludes, “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (v. 24). This is a call to courage, rooted in hope. Whether you’re in a season of joy or sorrow, God invites you to take refuge in Him, to trust His timing, and to rest in His abundant goodness.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are our rock and refuge. Like David, we bring our fears, our pain, and our hopes to You. Teach us to trust You in every season, knowing that Your love never fails. Strengthen our hearts to rest in Your goodness, and may we, like the early Christians, proclaim Your faithfulness in all circumstances. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reflection Questions

  1. What “storms” in your life make it hard to trust God as your refuge? How can you surrender those to Him today?
  2. How does David’s example of honesty in suffering encourage you to approach God with your own struggles?
  3. Inspired by Psalm 31:19, take time to thank God for one specific way His goodness has been evident in your life.

May Psalm 31 inspire you to cling to God as your refuge, trusting that His love will carry you through every trial, just as it did for David and the early Christians who followed in his footsteps.

A Sheep’s Journey Through Psalms -28

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A Devotion on Psalm 28: Finding Strength in God’s Response

As I sit with Psalm 28, I feel David’s heart beating through the words—a raw, honest cry to God that resonates with my own moments of desperation and hope. This psalm is like a lifeline, reminding me that when I call out to God, He hears, He responds, and He becomes my strength.

David begins with a plea: “To you, Lord, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me” (Psalm 28:1, NIV). I can picture him, maybe in a quiet moment of fear or surrounded by chaos, begging God not to be silent. I’ve been there—those times when life feels overwhelming, when I wonder if God is listening. Maybe you’ve felt it too: the weight of unanswered prayers, the fear that God might be distant. But David calls God his Rock, a steady, unmovable refuge. It’s a reminder that even when I don’t feel God’s presence, He is still my foundation, solid and sure.

As the psalm unfolds, David’s tone shifts from pleading to confidence: “Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy” (Psalm 28:6). This shift hits me deeply. It’s not just that God hears, but that He responds with mercy. I think of moments in my life when I’ve cried out—during a season of loss, a struggle with doubt, or even just a day when everything seemed to go wrong. Time and again, God has shown up, sometimes in a quiet peace, sometimes through a friend’s encouragement, or even in a sudden clarity that only He could give. Like David, I’ve learned that God’s mercy isn’t just a distant promise—it’s personal, active, and real.

Verse 7 may be my favorite: “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” This verse feels like a deep breath after a long climb. God doesn’t just hear; He strengthens. He doesn’t just protect; He shields. I can trust Him, not because life is always easy, but because He’s proven Himself faithful. I remember a time when I faced a decision that felt impossible. I prayed, unsure of the next step, and God provided not just direction but a sense of joy that carried me through. That’s what David’s singing about—a joy that bubbles up when we realize God’s got us.

Psalm 28 ends with a broader prayer: “Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever” (Psalm 28:9). David’s heart expands from his own needs to God’s people, and it challenges me to do the same. When God lifts me up, I want to lift others up too, to pray for my community, my church, and those who need His shepherding care. It’s a reminder that my faith isn’t just about me—it’s about being part of God’s family, carried by Him together.

Today, if you’re feeling like David in verse 1, crying out and wondering if God hears, hold onto this: He is your Rock. He hears your cry for mercy. He is your strength and shield. Take a moment to tell Him what’s on your heart—He’s listening. And when He answers, let your heart leap for joy, knowing you’re carried by a Shepherd who will never let you go.

Prayer:

Lord, my Rock, thank You for hearing my cries, even when I feel alone. Be my strength and shield today. Fill my heart with trust and joy as I lean on You, and help me lift up others to Your care. Thank You for being my Shepherd, now and forever. Amen.

A Sheep’s Journey Through Psalms -25

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Devotional on Psalm 25: Trusting in God’s Guidance and Mercy

Psalm 25, a heartfelt prayer of David, resonates with Christians across centuries as a cry for divine guidance, forgiveness, and deliverance. From a Christian perspective, this psalm reflects the soul’s deep dependence on God’s mercy and truth, a theme echoed by great Christian thinkers and theologians throughout history. Let us explore this psalm’s timeless truths, drawing inspiration from its verses and insights from revered figures- from across Church history.

A Heart Lifted to God (Psalm 25:1-2)
David begins, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame.” This opening sets the tone of humility and trust, a posture Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD) emphasized in his Confessions. Augustine wrote, “Our heart is restless until it rests in You.” Like David, Augustine understood that true peace comes from entrusting our souls to God alone, not to fleeting worldly hopes. This trust is not passive but an active surrender, a lifting of the soul to God amidst life’s uncertainties.

A Plea for Guidance (Psalm 25:4-5)
David prays, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.” This yearning for divine instruction finds resonance in the writings of Thomas à Kempis (1380–1471), whose The Imitation of Christ urges believers to seek God’s will above all. “Let Your truth teach me,” Thomas wrote, “let it guard me and keep me safe.” For David and Thomas, God’s paths are not mere rules but a way of life rooted in His covenant love, guiding us through the wilderness of the world.

The Mercy of God (Psalm 25:6-7)
David appeals to God’s compassion: “Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love… Do not remember the sins of my youth.” This plea echoes the theology of John Calvin (1509–1564), who emphasized God’s grace as the foundation of salvation. In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin wrote, “God’s mercy is so great that it covers even the vilest sinner who repents.” David’s confidence in God’s forgiveness prefigures the gospel, where Christ’s sacrifice assures us that our sins, though many, are blotted out by God’s boundless mercy.

The Character of God’s People (Psalm 25:8-10)
The psalm declares, “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.” This truth inspired figures like John Bunyan (1628–1688), whose Pilgrim’s Progress portrays the Christian journey as one of divine guidance through trials. Bunyan saw God as the faithful guide who leads the humble, teaching them to walk in His ways despite their weaknesses. For Bunyan, as for David, humility and reverence are the marks of those who receive God’s instruction.

Deliverance Through Trust (Psalm 25:15-20)
David’s plea, “My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net,” reflects a trust that sustained Christians like Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983). In The Hiding Place, Corrie recounted how, during Nazi imprisonment, she clung to God’s promises, finding strength in verses like these. “God is our refuge,” she wrote, “even when the world seems to crumble.” David’s hope in God’s deliverance mirrors the faith of countless believers who, through persecution or trial, found God faithful to rescue.

A Call to Wait on God (Psalm 25:21)
The psalm closes with a resolve: “May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.” This call to patient trust inspired Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892), who preached, “Waiting upon God is the way to grow strong in faith.” In his commentary on Psalm 25, Spurgeon noted that waiting is not idleness but an active hope, rooted in God’s unchanging character. David’s waiting is a model for us, teaching that God’s timing is perfect, even when answers seem delayed.

Application for Today
Psalm 25 invites us to emulate David’s faith, trusting God’s mercy, seeking His guidance, and waiting with hope. From Augustine’s restless heart to Corrie’s wartime trust, the saints of old remind us that God is faithful. As we navigate life’s uncertainties, let us lift our souls to God, confess our need for His mercy, and walk humbly in His truth. In the words of Martin Luther (1483–1546), “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace.” May we, like David, live with that daring confidence, knowing that the God of our salvation will never fail.

Prayer
O Lord, our God, we lift our souls to You, trusting in Your mercy and truth. Forgive our sins, guide our paths, and deliver us from every snare. Teach us to wait on You with hope, as David did, and may Your steadfast love lead us all our days. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen.

A Sheep’s Journey Through Psalms – 6

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Devotional on Psalm 6: A Cry for Mercy and a Song of Deliverance
Scripture Reading: Psalm 6 (ESV)
“O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?” (Psalm 6:1-3)


Reflection: A Heart in Distress, Yet Hopeful
Psalm 6, one of the penitential psalms, captures the raw emotion of King David as he pleads for God’s mercy amidst overwhelming sorrow and affliction. Historically, Christians have turned to this psalm in times of personal distress, illness, or spiritual turmoil, finding in it a mirror of their own struggles and a pathway to hope. The early church fathers, such as Augustine, saw in David’s cry a universal human experience—a soul wrestling with sin, suffering, and the longing for God’s deliverance.


David begins with a desperate plea: he fears God’s judgment and begs for grace instead of wrath. This resonates with the Christian understanding of God’s holiness and justice, tempered by His boundless mercy. Augustine, in his Expositions on the Psalms, notes that David’s cry reflects the heart of one who acknowledges sin’s weight and seeks reconciliation with God. For the early Christians, this was a reminder that repentance is the doorway to restoration. Like David, we are invited to approach God honestly, laying bare our fears and frailties.


The psalm’s vivid imagery—“I am languishing,” “my bones are troubled,” “my soul is greatly troubled”—paints a picture of total affliction, body and soul. Early Christian writers like John Chrysostom saw this as a reflection of humanity’s fallen state, where sin and suffering intertwine. Yet, David’s question, “How long?” is not despair but a bold act of faith. He trusts that God hears, even when deliverance seems delayed. This resonates with the historical Christian experience, from the martyrs of the early church to believers enduring trials today, who cling to the promise that God’s timing is perfect, even when it feels prolonged.


By verse 8, the tone shifts: “Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.” Here, David’s confidence surges, a testament to God’s faithfulness. The early church saw this as a foreshadowing of Christ’s victory over sin and death—a reminder that God not only hears but acts. As Gregory of Nyssa wrote, the psalms teach us that God transforms our mourning into joy, our weakness into strength. For the believer, this is a call to trust that God’s mercy will prevail, no matter the depth of our distress.


Application: Trusting God in the Dark Night
Psalm 6 invites us to bring our whole selves before God—our pain, our sin, our questions. Like David, we may feel overwhelmed, but we are never abandoned. The historical Christian perspective reminds us that God’s mercy is not a distant hope but a present reality, seen most fully in Christ’s cross and resurrection. When we cry out, as David did, we can trust that God hears and will deliver us in His perfect time.


Prayer:
Merciful Father, in our weakness, we cry out to You, as David did, pleading for Your grace. Heal our troubled hearts and bodies, and renew our trust in Your unfailing love. Thank You for hearing our weeping and turning our sorrow into joy. May we rest in the assurance of Your deliverance, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


For Further Reflection:
• Reflect on a time when you felt “languishing” like David. How did God show His mercy?
• Read Augustine’s Expositions on the Psalms or Chrysostom’s homilies for deeper insight into Psalm 6’s historical interpretation.
• Spend time in prayer, bringing your own “How long?” questions to God, trusting in His faithful response. 

Wednesday’s Words

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Some random thoughts on this first day of July:

  1. If you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, where is He leading you?
    1. How well are you following – reluctantly, enthusiastically or not at all?
    2. If you don’t know where He is leading you, why not?
  2. Do you love Jesus Christ for who He is, or what He does for you?
    1. If He withdrew His blessings, would you still praise, worship and honor Him or withdraw yourself?
      1. He is worthy to be honored, praised and worshiped because He is the King of Kings, not a genie.
      2. We owe Him all, He owes us nothing.
      3. Any blessing He gives is out of mercy and grace but not because we somehow deserve it.
    2. Peter’s declaration should ring true with us. In John 6:68, when the crowds stopped following, Jesus asked the disciples if they would leave also. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
  3. Is Jesus, alone, enough for us or are we still looking for something extra?

Burning Bridges Instead of Reaching Out

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There are many church signs with cute sayings. There are many with profound sayings, some with ones that are witty and some that show great creativity. Then there are those that are offensive or just downright rude, like the one I saw while taking my daughter to school this week.

What was on the sign? “If Christmas offends you than go to Thailand for 30 days. They don’t like it there either. Grow up or shut up.” I don’t really know why poor Thailand was singled out, as far as I know they have never gone out of their way to ruin anyone’s Christmas in south Georgia, but what bothers me is the attitude portrayed in the sign from a church  with the word “grace” in their name.

The unsaved are not the enemy. They are our mission. To unnecessarily offend them makes it ten times as hard to witness to them of God’s love. Christmas is God showing love to man by coming down and becoming one of us. It was for dirty, sinful, lost mankind that He came, not for the smug religious crowd. As a minister, this sign offends me. It also offends the unchurched in our community.

Wouldn’t it be better to hold a community party to celebrate Jesus’ birth? Maybe they could be proactive and do a food drive or help gather presents for the poor that would show God’s love in action instead of belittling those who have not yet experienced the grace of God. Come on church, live up to your name — show grace, the giving of a gift to someone undeserving of it this holiday season instead of being snarky and strident.  Telling a large segment of your community to “Grow up or shut up” simply shows them how childish and immature you are. Why would they come to your church for answers when their life falls apart?

Lost people act lost because they are spiritually blind and without hope. They are spiritually dead and incapable of acting any other way than what they do. So-called Christians acting the way this church did just shows stupidity. I know that is harsh but it is true. The sign may play well to the frozen chosen inside her walls but it embarrasses those of us going out and meeting people in the marketplace and introducing them to a Jesus who offers grace, mercy and new life. I truly wish that this church would grow up and until that happens, please – shut up so the rest of us can give a message of hope to our town. It desperately needs it.

Hymn Devotions Day 34 – Must I Go, And Empty-Handed?

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DAY 34 – MUST I GO, AND EMPTY-HANDED?

 

What a haunting thought, to meet Jesus in heaven and have nothing to show Him. To waste the talents He has given us, to squander the time allotted to us, to waste the opportunities to reach others for His kingdom, what a tragedy. We must work now, before He returns, to reach as many people as we can with the gospel, for when He comes again it will be in judgment and not mercy.

Jesus will not lie to us. He will not say, “Well done my good and faithful servant” if we have not done well nor been good. If we have hidden our talent, as the man in the parable did, if we have refused to live our life for His glory, it will be in shame that we stand before Him.

To live a life with no regrets, to make the most of every opportunity given, to use every minute of every day seeking His will, that should be our goal. Oh if we could have time back. Time to witness once more to friends that have passed away. Time to speak, once again, to family members that have died without Christ. But there is no turning back the clock, we must make the most of every opportunity, redeeming the time we have.

This is a good resolution to make: to seize the time, to earnestly seek after souls and ferret out opportunities to share the gospel. Will we have people in heaven come up to us, thanking us for sharing the gospel with them or will we have people in hell shrieking, asking us why we cared so little for us that we kept our gospel to ourselves? Will we meet Jesus empty-handed?

 

Lord Jesus, help me redeem the time You have allotted to me to work for the kingdom. Give me souls to witness to, give me opportunities to share. Let me lead others to You so You can save them by Your grace.

MUST I GO, AND EMPTY-HANDED by Charles Luther

 

Must I go and empty-handed

Thus my dear Redeemer meet

Not one day of service give Him

Lay no trophy at His feet?

 

Not at death I shrink nor falter

For my Savior saves me now

But to meet Him empty-handed

Thought of that now clouds my brow

 

O the years in sinning wasted

Could I but recall them now

I would give them to my Savior

To His will I’d gladly bow

 

O ye saints, arouse, be earnest

Up and work while yet ’tis day

Ere the night of death o’er-take thee

Strive for souls while you still may

 

REFRAIN:

 

Must I go and empty-handed?

Must I meet my Savior so?

Not one soul with which to greet Him:

Must I empty-handed go?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hymn Devotions Day 11 – Come Thou Fount

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DAY 11 – COME THOU FOUNT

Prone to wander – yes, that is me. Prone to leave the God I love. Why? That is the question, isn’t it. Why do we leave the place where we are safest? Why do we leave the One who has given us everything we need to live a godly life?

O, the depths the human soul has sunk to! Even when brought into a transforming relationship with the God of the Universe we still seek to go our own way. Yes, I will raise my Ebenezer, knowing full well it is only by His help, His grace and power that I have come as far as I have. Only by His help, grace and power will I arrive at the destination He has planned for me. I need to pray for Him to daily bind me to Him. Not to keep me from experiencing a wonderful life, but to keep me from danger and harm. To keep me close to Him, the Savior of Life and every good blessing.

If I cannot keep myself close to Him, and I have proven over and over that I cannot, I can ask Him to keep close to me.

Bend my heart to Thee Lord, I pray. Fetter my wandering feet so they do not leave Your path. You have said you will never leave me nor forsake me and I appreciate that very much. Forgive my sins, I pray, and draw me close to your side.

 

COME THOU FOUNT by Robert Robinson

Come, thou fount of every blessing

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

Streams of mercy, never ceasing

Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet

Sung by flaming tongues above

Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it

Mount of Thy redeeming love

Here I raise mine Ebenezer

Hither by Thy help I’m come

And I hope by Thy good pleasure

Safely to arrive at home

Jesus sought me when a stranger

Wandering from the fold of God

He to rescue me from danger

Interposed His precious blood

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter

Bind my wandering heart to Thee

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love

Here’s my heart Lord, take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above

Is Jesus Enough? Excerpt

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One of the songs we often sing at our church has a line that goes like this:

He gave His life, what more could He give?

 Oh how He loves you, oh how He loves me, oh how He loves you and me!

When we come to Jesus Christ in saving faith, we are acknowledging that He gave His life to pay the penalty for our sin. That act of supreme sacrifice makes Jesus worthy of our love and worship. Even if Jesus never does anything else for us, His procurement of salvation for our souls is more than enough. Any other blessing we receive from Him is simply extra gravy on an already overfilled plate.

When we start to live our lives based on conditional requirements rather than on the finished work of Jesus Christ, we are, in effect, saying that His death was not sufficient for all our needs. We are saying that we need more proof, more tangible benefits before we will give Him the honor He is due. Can you see how arrogant that way of thinking is? Can you see how are attitude has shifted from gratefulness of being a recipient of God’s mercy to one of an expectation of God existing to serve our wants?

We all know of people who started out on fire for the Lord and who dropped out along the way. Many became angry with God for His not answering their prayers a certain way or for not protecting a loved one from harm. If we are honest we must admit that we, too, have become disappointed in God for failing to meet our expectations.

Discouragement sets in when we become disappointed. Disappointment comes from unmet expectations. Our expectations and reality often collide and rarely do we blame ourselves as having expectations that were misguided, ill-founded or unreasonable. We blame either the reality around us or God for not changing the reality to suit our needs.

When pressed by adversity our hearts reveal the truth about us and about our relationship with God. Many believers are in love with the things of the Lord but not the Lord Himself. Despite what our lips may profess, our hearts show the shallowness of our faith. We act more like the crowds who followed Jesus for the miracles of food than the disciples. After all, when one becomes disappointed in God, is it His fault for not catering to our whims and desires or ours for not understanding His ways and trusting in His goodness?

God is good. When we cease to believe that foundational principle we open ourselves up to despair and hopelessness. Even when we do not understand the reasons why things are happening to us, we must cling to that one assurance. Job did. Job was greatly disappointed. Job could not understand why all those calamities had occurred in his life. Job, though, held onto his faith that God was good. Through everything Job never lost his faith in that aspect of God’s character.

One of the ironies of the Christian life is that so many of our prayers center on God healing or delivering us from a life-threatening situation – in effect delaying our arrival at the very place of our reward! How angry people get at God for transporting their loved one to glory instead of leaving them here to endure this sinful, broken earth. It seems that we have lost sight of heaven, that death has somehow regained her sting. Dying has become less than an entrance into eternity and our selfish desires to cling to more time on earth with our loved one trumps our desire to let God determine what is best for them.

The ultimate healing, the ultimate deliverance is from this body of decay and sin and to be with the Lord in heaven. When we take a lesser view on this it diminishes our faith and trust in a God who is good. This lesson was driven home to me in a dramatic way.

The day before my son, then 17 months old, was to have open-heart surgery, my wife and I were passing through the halls of the Ronald McDonald house where we were staying. People in those places get close to each other since all there are in similar situations. One lady we had spoken with quite often was packing her clothes. “I’m going home”, she said in response to our inquiry.  Knowing that her little boy was very ill and could not have possibly been released, we asked her why. “My boy died last night”, she answered. Seeing our hurt, embarrassment and shock plastered on our faces, she took us aside and said, “You’re not ready for your child to die, are you?” We shook our heads no.  “You need to be. Come in here and let me tell you something.” For over an hour she talked with us about how she knew her boy was in heaven, “doing that little shuffle-step dance for Jesus like he did in church on Sundays.” She told us that she was thankful for the years Jesus had loaned her boy to her and that he wasn’t suffering anymore. She thanked Him for His deliverance and healing of her boy. She praised Him for His goodness and mercy. At that Ronald McDonald house I learned that God loves my children even more than I do and that when we pray for complete recovery and healing it may be that God takes our loved ones to heaven to accomplish just that. God is good in all He does because goodness is a central characteristic of Himself.

Our faith grows deeper when we mature enough to understand that our belief at how God can best answer our prayers is different than His knowledge of how best to answer our prayers.

To be honest, even the depth of a faith that acknowledges that God is worthy because He made a way to provide for our salvation is not deep enough. You see, God is worthy because He alone is God. Even if He had not made provision to save mankind, if He had allowed us to enter eternity forever separated from Him because of our sin, He would still be worthy of praise. He did not have to save us. He made us. He made the earth for us to live on. He made colors and sounds and our senses to enjoy them. God made a universe and populated it with myriads of wonderful and incomprehensible things. He is God. He is the Creator and Maker of All Things. He is Good and Holy and this makes Him worthy to be praised.

Now, the fact that He made us with a redeemable soul and sent His Son precisely to redeem that soul is, indeed, good news. The character of who God is, though, is what makes Him worthy of praise and adoration. His holiness is the reason that He is worthy.  A faith that worships God and gives Him praise and adoration based only on what He has done for us, whether it is a family, a job, a car or even salvation is a deficient faith. God is worthy because He is God.

This was a critical point in my walk with Christ. I loved the fact that He had sent people into my life to share the gospel with me. I loved the fact that His Spirit had drawn me to saving faith in His redemptive act.  I loved the family He had given me. I loved being a minister of the gospel and leading others to faith in Jesus. But I had to ask myself if my love for Him was deeper than even that. Did I love Him just because He is?

In his book, The Painful Side of Leadership, Jeff Iorg makes this profound statement:

Most leaders easily forget their primary reason for being placed in their leadership role. The primary reason isn’t for you to do things for God. It’s so God can use your leadership setting as a laboratory for shaping the image of Jesus in you. (Iorg, 2009)

 

Excerpt from Is Jesus Enough? available in print and Kindle editions from Amazon.com and our sister site, http://www.discernmentministries.webs.com

Thoughts on Salvation

/ taethne

Many times I have people ask me, “When were you saved?”. While they are well meaning, I fear that they do not know exactly what they are asking. You see, I am still being saved. In a very real sense, I was set apart before the foundation of the world in Christ Jesus. God knew whom He would call to be one of His. Yes, on March 26, 1973 I surrendered my life to His control, His Lordship, begging His forgiveness, seeking His mercy, grace and forgiveness. I am still being saved – from this world, our adversary, my own foolish desires and actions. Jesus is alive and active through His Spirit in my even now and He Himself makes intercession for me before the Father continually. I will be saved. He is coming for me (or sending angels to escort me to Him) where I will continue to be saved for all eternity.

When was I saved? A long time ago, today and tomorrow. I know in whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that He is able to keep my soul, which I committed to Him, against the day of judgment. I know He called me and made me His own and that He has the power to keep, sustain and guide me. Jesus isn’t just One who can save, He is the One who does save.