Saturday, February 1, 2020

Strengthened by Grace Devotional: 2/1/20


Prayer for Saturday: Eternal Father of my soul, let my first thought today be of You, let my first impulse be to worship You, let my first speech be Your name, let my first action be to kneel before You in prayer. For You are perfect in every way, in wisdom, goodness, love, and a whole host of perfections. I praise and worship You, Lord. Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said, think my worship ended and spend the day forgetting You. Rather from these moments of quietness, let light go forth, and joy, and power, that will remain with me through all the hours of the day. Keep me pure in thought, restrained and truthful in speech, faithful and diligent in my work, humble in my estimation of myself, honorable and generous in my dealings with others, mindful of my eternal destiny as Your child.God, be my Refuge today in every time and circumstance of need. Be my Guide through all that is dark and doubtful. Be my Guard against all that threatens my spirit's welfare. Be my Strength in the time of testing. Gladden my heart with Your peace; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen. 

Scripture Reflection for Saturday: Today's journey "Through the Bible" visits Exodus 39-40.

In Exodus 39, we see that God’s church must be built “as the LORD commanded.” Whether we are considering the officers who govern the church, the church’s worship, its evangelism, or any other aspect of church life, we must order the church according to the will of its King, Jesus Christ. Scripture warns against “will worship,” forms of religion and spirituality invented by people according to their wisdom, but powerless to please God or conquer sin. The Bible is sufficient in every way to guide God’s ministers to order the house of God.

In Exodus 40, we see that God’s purpose is to fill His people and the new creation with His glory. Christ has purchased our enjoyment of the fullness of God by His obedience and is building God’s dwelling now of godly people. The church should be filled with the Holy Spirit, but the riches of spiritual experiences are a mere foretaste of glory. One day Christians will enjoy the glory of God in a way that would kill us now (if we were to see God face to face). Our hope is to see His glory and be filled with Him.

Spiritual Meditation for Saturday:
It is Satan’s tactic to convince us to make small concessions and compromises, until we take them for granted.
May God help you to grow in Christ today,