31st. August. 2021. Daily Devotion.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save;
Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. ~ Isaiah 59:1-2

Isaiah spoke the words of God to his people, who found themselves separated from him over and over. They presumed his blessings despite their disobedience. He is a holy God and cannot have communion with sin. The consequences, for them, were a loss of his blessings and defeat at the hands of others. It’s the same for his people today.

If you envision that Christianity is about having a safety net after you die, you can rationalize sin. If Jesus has paid for our sins, what does it matter if we obey or not? We all make mistakes, after all. So we depend on the safety net and don’t worry too much about the present. We do the things that make us happy but try to direct them in a positive and moral way, whenever possible. We go to church, we tithe, we join a small group. We may sit on a church board or assist with the childcare during morning services. Everything seems fine, but there is a problem. We don’t actually know Christ. Knowing him and obeying him are the same thing. We are separated from him.

God doesn’t want to hide his face from us, but he is holy. He cannot bless what is in defiant contradiction to who he is. If things are going wrong in your life, one reason might be the choices you’ve made. There is a simple solution—turn from them. If we know him, we walk the path he walked. We hear his words and obey. We may fail, but when we do, we turn from it and seek his face. When we do, we find that he is not far from us.

The grace that covers our sins is offered to those who turn from their sins and live out his values. Justifying any kind of intentional, unrepentant sin means we are not following him. Christianity is not a safety net irrespective of how we’ve lived our lives; his blessings, now and on that coming day, are for those who turn from their sins and seek him. Michael Cranford.

Lord, forgive me for the times I have turned away from you. Whatever is in my life that is separating me from you, I want to give it up and draw near to you. Help me to live differently than the world around me and to be a light in the darkness. Amen.

A Prayer of Entreaty

Compassionate Lord, give me a thankful sense of the Blessings in which I live, of the many comforts of my lot; that I may not deserve to lose them by Discontent or Indifference.

Be gracious to my Necessities, and guard me, and all I love, from Evil this day. May the sick and afflicted, be now, and ever thy care; and heartily do I pray for the safety of all that travel by Land or by Sea, for the comfort & protection of the Orphan and Widow and that thy pity may be shewn upon all Captives and Prisoners.

Above all other blessings Oh! God, for myself, and my fellow-creatures, I implore Thee to quicken our sense of thy Mercy in the redemption of the World, of the Value of that Holy Religion in which we have been brought up, that we may not, by our own neglect, throw away the salvation thou hast given us, nor be Christians only in name. Hear me Almighty God, for His sake who has redeemed me, and taught me thus to pray. Amen.  Adapted from Jane Austen.

A Prayer for the Leaders

Lord, we lift up our leaders, both here and abroad, who are tasked with making difficult and quick decisions. Give them the clarity to approach each decision with wisdom and care. We know that being a leader in this situation will be no easy task – give us understanding and patience for their decisions, even when we may not agree with them.

Each leader was placed in their position for a reason, and we pray that you will guide them to choose what is best for the troops helping, as well as the citizens looking for help. Give our leaders humility and knowledge to negotiate and deliberate. Help them ultimately look to you for guidance and allow the Holy Spirit to nudge them to pray over each decision that is made, in Jesus’ Name, Amen