Category: Uncategorized

Psalms 101:2 (100:2)

I will sing and understand in a blameless way;
When will You come to me?
I walked in the innocence of my heart in the midst of my house.

Personal Challenge

David was a man after God’s own heart and yet there were times in his life that he called out to God asking Him where He was. We will always have times in our lives where it feels like God has distanced Himself from us. This is never the case. He never leaves us or for sakes us. It is us who distance ourselves from Him. The key to keeping close to God is to always be seeking Him, reaching out to Him, worshiping Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Romans 6:3-4

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Encouraging Words

In our baptism we were buried with Christ. How is this encouraging? Because the rest of the process is that as we came up out of our baptismal waters, we were raised with Christ from the death that had its grip on us. We now are alive in the newness of life in Christ and should live our lives that way. Praise be to God!

Psalms 100 (99)

Shout aloud to the Lord, all the earth;
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with great joy.
Know this: the Lord, He is God;
He made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving
And into His courts with hymns;
Give thanks to Him; praise His name;
For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth is from generation to generation.

Encouraging Words

There is nothing that I can add to this psalm of thanksgiving. Glory be to God!

Romans 5:20-21

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Encouraging Words

By Adam and Eve, sin entered the world. As time progressed, mankind continued to sin. We were given the law to establish an awareness of our sin and to magnify how much we had wandered away from God. Through Jesus Christ God’s grace was poured out on mankind so that we might know and see God. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law, which opened the flood gates of God’s grace so that all of mankind might be able to participate in righteousness and eternal life through Jesus. Glory be to God!

Psalms 97:10 (96:10)

You who love the Lord, hate evil;
The Lord keeps the souls of His saints;
He shall deliver them from the hand of sinners.

Encouraging Words

We are charged by the Psalmist to hate evil. This does not mean that we hate those who do evil things because all of us do evil things sooner or later. We hate the evil and love the sinner for that is what God does. The important part of this verse is the reminder that God keeps the souls of His Saints, His believers, in His protection and delivers from the evils of the world. Glory be to God!

Romans 5:12-13

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.)

Personal Challenge

The challenge with embracing the concept of original sin is that it gives me the excuse that I sin because Adam and Eve sinned. Through Adam and Eve sin entered the world and broke the perfect creation of God. Adam and Eve are responsible for that sin and are accountable to God for it. However, now that sin has entered the world, I have the propensity to sin, When I sin it is because I choose to and therefore, I am fully responsible for that sin. That is why I need Jesus. Jesus did His great work so that I can be forgiven of my sins and through a relationship with Him, learn how to choose not to sin. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Encouraging Words

There is no greater love that one can have for another than to give their life for them. When the one who is receiving this gift does not deserve it, then that love is magnified. This is what Jesus did for us. He loved us so much that He became a human being, lived a sinless life, and then died a horrendous death for us. Why? So that we could experience eternal life with Him. Glory be to God!

Psalms 92:15 (91:16)

So as to proclaim, “The Lord my God is upright,
And there is no wrongdoing in Him.”

Encouraging Words

God is God and I am not. God is perfect in all aspects, and I am full of imperfections. God does nothing wrong or sin and yet I do all the time. Despite my imperfections and sinful life, He loves me fully and perfectly. For this I am very grateful and blessed. Glory be to God!