Daily Bible Devotionals

“Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me—until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.” Psalm 73:12-17 (NKJV)

When I lived in Southern California, my wife and I used to frequent a shopping area in Newport Beach called "Fashion Island."  Just driving into the parking lot of this high-end mall was an event.  Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens, Rolls Royce, and Bentleys were as commonplace as Toyotas and Chevys in the average American shopping center.  I admit it would have been easy to absorb myself into a culture like that.  And since we’re being honest, we all struggle with “affluenza” (chronic affluence attraction)!  My wife and I would ask each other, “Who makes that kind of money…and why can’t we do THAT for a living?”  

The problem is that we do not exist in order to fulfill our fleshly longings continually.  We exist in order to know God and make Him known.  Yes, we live pedestrian lives; we work jobs and raise families alongside everyone else in our culture.  But we Christians are called primarily to advance the Kingdom of God within the context of our respective cultures.  Ask yourself, are you influencing your culture, or is your culture influencing you?  If you feel the burden of “keeping up with the Joneses,” you are not alone.  Asaph, the author of Psalm 73, felt the same pressure.  And it almost did him in.  It was not until he separated himself from the culture of affluence and indulgence and visited the Lord in His temple that Asaph re-awakened to his purpose in life: Seek to know God and work to ensure his generation and the next, would seek the Lord, as well.   That is our purpose in life!

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NKJV)

“When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10 (NKJV)

“Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” 1 Samuel 3:1 (NKJV)

“For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry. But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Your works.” Psalm 73:27-28 (NKJV)

“His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.”  Psalm 72:17-20 (NKJV)

Psalm 72 ends somewhat with an esoteric statement: “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.”  It begs us to inquire as to the prayers of David.  Of course, throughout the psalms, David offered up many prayers.  The prayers that Solomon is referring to in psalm 72 concern David’s son, or rather, his “Son.”  

“Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, You have said to me, ‘I will make your family great.’ So I, your servant, am brave enough to pray to you. Lord God, you are God, and your words are true. And you have promised these good things to me, your servant. Please, bless my family. Let it continue before you always. Lord God, you have said so. With your blessing let my family always be blessed.” 2 Samuel 7:27-29 (NCV)

Solomon is making it abundantly clear that David’s prayer is only answered in Messiah and not in Solomon or any other fleshly heir.  Solomon was wise but not that wise.  Solomon’s kingdom had glory, but it could not shine to the extent that there was no need for sun and moon.  Nor would it have the degree of influence that all the nations would worship God because of it.

“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).  And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.” Revelation 21:22-26 (NKJV)

Not only does Messiah Jesus (the “Son of David”) command the respect of the earth’s kings, but He also rescues and cares for those disregarded by society.

“He will help the poor when they cry out and will save the needy when no one else will help. He will be kind to the weak and poor, and he will save their lives. He will save them from cruel people who try to hurt them, because their lives are precious to him.” Psalm 72:12-14 (NCV)

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:3-9 (NKJV)

“O God, You have taught me from my youth; and to this day I declare Your wondrous works. Now also when I am old and gray headed, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. Also Your righteousness, O God, is very high, You who have done great things; O God, who is like You? You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side.”  Psalm 71:17-21 (NKJV)

We cannot read today’s psalm without remembering the words of Caleb, who, along with Joshua, was one of only two men from his generation (those who left Egypt during the exodus) who were allowed to cross over the Jordan River and take possession of the Promised Land. You can’t have the “promised” land if you don’t believe the promise!  Because of unbelief among the Israelites of their generation, Caleb and Joshua had to wait 45 years before they could fight for the land they were promised by God to inherit.

“Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: ‘You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. So Moses swore on that day, saying, “Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.” And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.  As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.  Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.’” Joshua 14:6-12 (NKJV)

Did Caleb possess super-human strength? Absolutely not! Like David in today’s psalm, Caleb was not trusting in his own physical strength.  Rather, Caleb’s testimony is that his strength came from God’s promise and power, even at 85 years old.  When our trust is in the Lord, we do not rely in our youthfulness, nor are we crippled by old age.  The LORD is our strength!

“In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame. Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; incline Your ear to me, and save me. Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress. Psalm 71:1-3 (NKJV)

“Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Make haste to help me, O Lord! Let them be ashamed and confounded who seek my life; let them be turned back and confused who desire my hurt. Let them be turned back because of their shame, who say, ‘Aha, aha!’ Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified!’ But I am poor and needy; make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.” Psalm 70

Over the past few days (Psalms 66-68), we learned that God, even in the Old Testament, has never rejected people of any nationality who earnestly seek Him.  God’s grace is colorblind.  That being said, those who reject the Lord, even for so-called “friendly” reasons, are considered His enemies until they repent.

“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity (warfare) with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4

So, all human conflict is, in essence, a spiritual struggle between worldliness and godliness.  We struggle within ourselves over obedience to the Lord and following our fleshly desires.  We struggle with other believers who are themselves struggling within. And we struggle with non-believers who are governed completely by their flesh with no acknowledgment to the Lord.  Through it all, we believers must continue to seek the Lord, knowing He alone has the power to save us. Sometimes God defeats worldly-influenced enemies who are attacking us, and other times He defeats the worldliness within those people so that they become believers.  Once non-believers follow the Lord, they cease to be enemies and become brothers and sisters in Messiah.  Consider the story of Naaman, the Syrian military leader who was healed of his leprosy when he obeyed God’s Word through Elisha.

“And he (Naaman) returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, ‘Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.’ And Naaman urged Elisha to take it, but he refused. So Naaman said, ‘Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.’ Then he (Elisha) said to him (Naaman), “Go in peace.” So he (Naaman) departed from Elisha a short distance.” 2 Kings 5:15-19

When you pray for deliverance from worldly enemies who may literally seek you harm, remember to pray that God not simply destroy them but that He defeats the worldliness within them, as He has done in you.  Lose an enemy, gain a brother!

**All verses are NKJV

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Psalm 69. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him. A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.”  Psalm 68:1-6 (NKJV)

While Psalms 66 and 67 articulated God’s desire for the nations to worship Him, we are reminded in Psalm 68 that many people will reject God. Not everyone will choose to follow Him, even though He chooses to extend His grace and mercy to them.  Salvation comes only to those who would repent, believe in Him and receive His grace and mercy.  The rebellious should fear His presence, but the righteous will be glad at His return!  We serve a God Who resides on high, yet he defends the fatherless and widows.  Consider Jesus’ words:

“If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James 1:26-27 (NKJV)

You may have chosen to follow the Lord at the protest of your family.  Fear not, because God sets those who are “solitary” for His sake into “families.”

“Then Peter answered and said to Him, ‘See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?’  So Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.’” Matthew 19:27-29 (NKJV)

Again, while judgment awaits those who reject the Lord, Jew or Gentile, the Bible is very clear that even those from among the most wicked of nations will receive forgiveness if they turn from their idolatry and choose to follow Him!

“Envoys will come out of Egypt; Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God. Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth; oh, sing praises to the Lord, - Selah - to Him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which were of old! Indeed, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice. Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds. O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people. Blessed be God!” Psalm 68:31-35 (NKJV)

“God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, - Selah - that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. - Selah  Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” Psalm 67:1-7 (NKJV)

As was the case with yesterday’s psalm (Psalm 66), today we get another glimpse into God’s desire for all men everywhere to follow Him.  David begins the psalm by referencing the Aaronic blessing, which God gave through Moses in order to bless the children of Israel.

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, “This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.’”  Numbers 6:22-27 (NKJV)

In Psalm 67, David is communicating that God wants to bless the people of Israel so that the other nations would see God’s desire for His people and observe the blessed results of faithfully following God.  Of course, simply saying a prayer over unwilling people does not make them followers of God.  Every Israelite had to personally choose to follow or reject the Lord.  Furthermore, it is a sin to receive the blessing and benefits of God (claiming to follow Him and be called by His Name) yet never commit oneself to be “His people.”

“You shall not take (receive) the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” Exodus 20:7 (NKJV)

The purpose of the “chosen people” is so the nations would see God’s loving interaction with Israel, contrast their experience with evil idolatry, and choose God.

“But Ruth said: ‘Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.’” Ruth 1:16 (NKJV)

“Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant—even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “Yet I will gather to him others besides those who are gathered to him.” Isaiah 56:6-8 (NKJV)

“Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard, Who keeps our soul among the living, and does not allow our feet to be moved. For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; but You brought us out to rich fulfillment.” Psalm 66:8-12 (NKJV).

Today’s psalm carries the heading, “Praise to God For His Awesome Works.”  We would naturally be inclined to assume the audience was Israel.  After all, the psalm praises the awesome works of the God of Israel.  While Israel is an intended recipient, the psalm is also written to the nations, the “peoples.”  The intent of its message is for the nations to observe how God deals with Israel (and how Israel responds to God) and for the nations to respond by praising the Lord.  You see, the God of the Old Testament was not against foreigners.  He was against foreign gods!  God’s reason for raising up a people unto Himself was not so He could isolate the nations but so He could gather the nations.  Israel was to be a nation of priests, each pointing the way to the one true God.

“And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.” Exodus 19:3-6 (NKJV)

This Israelite “priesthood” is not speaking solely of the Levites, although they acted as priests within the “nation of priests.”  Rather, every Israelite was to represent the Lord in such a way as to convince foreigners to leave their idols and worship the one true God alone.  It is also the primary calling of every believer in Jesus.

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV)

“To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5b-6 (NKJV)

As God tests and refines His people, the world is intently watching.  God makes priests out of ordinary sinners…you and me.  Does your response to His refining testify to His extraordinary ability to transform a person?  (Romans 12:2)

“By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the far-off seas; Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power; You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples. They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.”  Psalm 65:5-8 (NKJV)

Could we ever fathom the awesomeness of God?  I have been blessed to have traveled to all 50 of the United States, as well as to many wonderful places overseas.  I have sailed on the Sea of Galilee, surfed South African waves with whales slapping their tails in the distance, feasted on fresh lobster cooked on the pier where the lobstermen empty their boats in Bangor, Maine, thrown open the drapes at the Prince of Wales Hotel and been in awe of the Canadian glaciers…and the list goes on.  But all those experiences together do not come close to trying to fathom the beauty of the One who made it all!  He made the world, and He controls it at His will.  

Who could stand face-to-face in God’s presence? I am still blown away by the fact that He desires to commune with us.  Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be one of Jesus’ disciples who traveled with Him during His earthly ministry?  What was it like when the lights began to flicker on in their minds when their idea of Jesus started to transition from “really good rabbi” to “LORD of all”?  Surely, today’s psalm must have echoed in the minds of Jesus’ disciples the night that a sleeping Messiah was woken during a raging storm, only to see that storm be rebuked and calmed with a word.

“But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” Matthew 8:26-27 (NKJV)

We serve a Savior Who, in a moment’s time, can cause raging storms to become still silence!  It is one thing to put the Scribes and Pharisees in their place with a profound Bible argument.  But to control the weather?  Manipulate the waters?  That was a move only reserved in Scripture for guys with names like Moses, Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha.  However, none of them on their own could control the elements so effortlessly.  No, the passenger in the disciples’ boat was none other than God, Himself.  It was God made flesh.  (John 1:1-5; 14)  And He is that same God Who not only saves us but also promises never to leave or forsake us: Emanuel, God with us! (Matthew 1:21-23)

“Who has ascended into heaven or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know?” Proverbs 30:4 (NKJV)