Bible League: Living His Word Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For You are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually of You. We live in a world full of sin and evil. We live in a world full of wicked people. There are threats and dangers everywhere and all the time. There are threats and dangers to ourselves and to those we love. Even when things seem safe and secure the possibility of an attack is ever present. Whether we like it or not, we must live and walk amidst the wicked of the world. Given the threats and dangers, we need protection. We need the kind of protection only the Lord God can give. We need the Lord God to deliver us from the hand of the wicked. We need Him to walk with us and our loved ones through life and keep us from falling in to the snares of the wicked. Indeed, "Let the wicked fall into their own nets," while we "escape safely" (Psalm 141:10). There is a reason why we can expect the Lord God to walk with us and help us. The reason is that we trust Him. Like the psalmist, who writes from the perspective of old age, some of us have trusted the Lord God from youth. However long it's been, the Lord God has provided us with protection thus far and there's no good reason to believe that He will stop now. We can count on Him. The Lord God even saw to our safety from birth. Even before we were able to trust Him He was taking care of us. Although we may have had to go through some difficult times, although there may have been some enemy attacks, the Lord God has upheld us and delivered us. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19). When we think of all the threats and dangers in life that could have destroyed us or our loved ones, when we think of all the times disaster could have taken us out but didn't, we turn to the Lord God with gratitude. And our praise shall be continually of Him. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingZechariah 4, 5, 6 Zechariah 4 -- The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees Foreshow Success of Zerubbabel's Foundation NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Zechariah 5 -- The Flying Scroll; The Woman in a Basket NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Zechariah 6 -- The Vision of the Four Chariots; The Symbolic Crowns of Joshua NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Revelation 18 Revelation 18 -- Babylon Is Fallen; Lament over Her NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.Insight God may have seemed slow to these believers as they faced persecution every day and longed to be delivered. But God is not slow; he just is not on our timetable. Jesus is waiting so that more sinners will repent and turn to him. Challenge We must not sit and wait for Christ to return, but we should live with the realization that time is short and that we have important work to do. Be ready to meet Christ any time, even today; yet plan your course of service as though he may not return for many years. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Job 8:11 Can the rush grow up without mire?The rush is spongy and hollow, and even so is a hypocrite; there is no substance or stability in him. It is shaken to and fro in every wind just as formalists yield to every influence; for this reason the rush is not broken by the tempest, neither are hypocrites troubled with persecution. I would not willingly be a deceiver or be deceived; perhaps the text for this day may help me to try myself whether I be a hypocrite or no. The rush by nature lives in water, and owes its very existence to the mire and moisture wherein it has taken root; let the mire become dry, and the rush withers very quickly. Its greenness is absolutely dependent upon circumstances, a present abundance of water makes it flourish, and a drought destroys it at once. Is this my case? Do I only serve God when I am in good company, or when religion is profitable and respectable? Do I love the Lord only when temporal comforts are received from his hands? If so I am a base hypocrite, and like the withering rush, I shall perish when death deprives me of outward joys. But can I honestly assert that when bodily comforts have been few, and my surroundings have been rather adverse to grace than at all helpful to it, I have still held fast my integrity? then have I hope that there is genuine vital godliness in me. The rush cannot grow without mire, but plants of the Lord's right hand planting can and do flourish even in the year of drought. A godly man often grows best when his worldly circumstances decay. He who follows Christ for his bag is a Judas; they who follow for loaves and fishes are children of the devil; but they who attend him out of love to himself are his own beloved ones. Lord, let me find my life in thee, and not in the mire of this world's favor or gain. Daily Light on the Daily Path 2 Corinthians 4:18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.Hebrews 13:14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Hebrews 10:34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Luke 12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. 1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, Job 3:17 "There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest. 2 Corinthians 5:4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Revelation 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 2 Corinthians 4:17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
Click for Video Devotionals     |