Thursday Reading: Psalm 73:3-17
Key Verse: Psalms 73 17
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.
Devotion:
One of the biggest questions that are asked of Christians is “if there is a God then why does He not care about Christians” or some other variation of that question. People look at non-Christians and Christians and see that more non-Christians seem to be successful and live a “better” life than most Christians. They then make the assumption that non-Christians are better off because of the pleasures that surround them. That is how we judge people, we look at their physical wealth and their social positions and judge their success based on how they compare with others in the same fields.
The Psalmist listed many ways in which he was tempted to envy the prosperity of the wicked; seeing how they were seemingly at ease with life and wanted for very little. This is something we face all the time because we are thrust into a world where physical wealth and well-being means so much. But as he looks through the things that they have he sees the ungodly vices that go along with their lives. He sees the pride which surrounds them and traps them further into their lifestyles. He sees their ungodly ways which are normal living to them. He sees the covetousness that entraps them too and how they want for more and more as they get more.
He sees how they speak against God because they cannot see any need for Him in their lives. He sees how they ignore God’s Word and His will and plough on through their lives as if they are in charge. He sees how they question whether God is real and whether He does know what is going on. He sees how they seem to be at ease in this world of theirs... Should we question whether God is real? Should we doubt His omniscience? All it takes is a good long look at God’s will and His Word before we too can see just how far short of the mark we are all. When we see how far short we are, we can only imagine how far short others may be who question God...
Points to Ponder:
What do you think of your life?
Is it anything like that which God would like you to have?
Key Verse: Psalms 73 17
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.
Devotion:
One of the biggest questions that are asked of Christians is “if there is a God then why does He not care about Christians” or some other variation of that question. People look at non-Christians and Christians and see that more non-Christians seem to be successful and live a “better” life than most Christians. They then make the assumption that non-Christians are better off because of the pleasures that surround them. That is how we judge people, we look at their physical wealth and their social positions and judge their success based on how they compare with others in the same fields.
The Psalmist listed many ways in which he was tempted to envy the prosperity of the wicked; seeing how they were seemingly at ease with life and wanted for very little. This is something we face all the time because we are thrust into a world where physical wealth and well-being means so much. But as he looks through the things that they have he sees the ungodly vices that go along with their lives. He sees the pride which surrounds them and traps them further into their lifestyles. He sees their ungodly ways which are normal living to them. He sees the covetousness that entraps them too and how they want for more and more as they get more.
He sees how they speak against God because they cannot see any need for Him in their lives. He sees how they ignore God’s Word and His will and plough on through their lives as if they are in charge. He sees how they question whether God is real and whether He does know what is going on. He sees how they seem to be at ease in this world of theirs... Should we question whether God is real? Should we doubt His omniscience? All it takes is a good long look at God’s will and His Word before we too can see just how far short of the mark we are all. When we see how far short we are, we can only imagine how far short others may be who question God...
Points to Ponder:
What do you think of your life?
Is it anything like that which God would like you to have?