Psalms 103:8 (102:8)

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

Romans 6:17-18

But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Personal Challenge

Slavery is a tough concept for us to embrace. We are blessed to live in an age where it is not acceptable to engage in slavery even though it still happens in many forms. It is the impact of slavery that Paul is writing about here and how, even today, we are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Through Christ we have been delivered from the slavery that sin held on us and are now slaves of righteousness, which is a good thing. Glory be to God!

Psalms 103:1-6 (102:1-6)

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And everything within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His rewards:
Who is merciful to all your transgressions,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from corruption,
Who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
Who satisfies your desire with good things;
And your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord shows mercies
And judgment to all who are wronged.

Encouraging Words

Those of us who are followers of Christ have so much to be thankful for. By following Him we become joint heirs with Him in all things, both earthly and heavenly. We become adopted children of God. God is merciful to us even when we transgress against Him. He heals our diseases, both physical and spiritual. He redeems our life from corruption and makes it pure again. He crowns us with His mercy and compassion. He satisfies our desires. He renews us and shows us mercy. Blessed be the Lord, O my soul!

Romans 6:11-12

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Personal Challenge

Paul charges us to be alive to God in Christ Jesus by being dead to sin. This is an ongoing process that we need to do in order to make it true in our lives. We must learn to put our body and its desires to death every moment of every waking minute in order for it to be alive in Christ. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

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!