Verse of the Day 3/27

Through the Bible - Joshua 20-22, Luke 6:27-49

Good morning,
After using Romans 8:28 for the verse of the day yesterday, this morning I read a devotional that referenced the same verse.
J.R. Miller had this to say back in 1906:
Our days are full of disappointments, and our
night's rest is broken by anxieties. Yet it is the
Christian's privilege to commit all life's tangles
into the hands of Jesus Christ. He can take our
broken things—and build them up into beauty.

One of the finest windows in a great cathedral is
said to have been made out of the fragments of
broken glass which the workmen had thrown away
as worthless. A skillful hand gathered them up—
and wrought them into lovely form.

Just so, Jesus Christ can take . . .
our failures,
our mistakes,
our follies,
our broken fragments of life,
even our sins, and
make them into beautiful life and character!

Today's verse will come from Psalm 37 :
Psalm 37: 5 Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
Three times in the first 8 verses the psalmist tells us "do not fret".
Over the last couple of weeks I've heard the events of 911 mentioned twice in sermons. One was all over the news referring to it as our governments actions and the chickens "coming home to roost."
The other was from Pastor Bob who spoke of the devotion of the firemen and police, the compassion of doctors who came from across the country to help. People giving of themselves. This message lead to a call for people to commit themselves to the Lord.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote "it is easy to criticize governments and much that is happening in the world today. And while you and I are doing that, we think we are all right, we are not considering ourselves. But this Gospel (the Gospel of Christ) is primarily personal, and it comes to us individually, and it gets us to face ourselves.
If I had no other reason for believing this book called the Bible, I would believe it for this reason: it is the only book I know of that tells me the plain, unvarnished truth about myself- the only one. Nothing else does. The world around me tells me lies about myself. It always tells me that I am really a very good fellow. If only the world were a better place, if only other people were all right and behave decently, especially governments, what a perfect fellow I should be. What a lie it is!! I know that the trouble is not so much in the world as in myself."
If we are looking for change, in ourselves, in our churches, neighborhood, and country it starts with Jesus Christ. Trust and delight in the Lord in all these circumstances. This trusting and delighting will produce fruit in helping, encouraging, comforting, and spurring on others, all for the glory of God.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Are you "feeding on His faithfulness"?
I've posted the first 11 verses of Psalm 37 below. If you have the time, look it up and read the entire chapter today. Let His Word speak to you.
In Christ,
Mike
Psalm 37 (New King James Version


Psalm 37
A Psalm of David.
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD,
; Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
< BR> 9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.