Devotion – Saturday, 30 January
Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ
Our watch word for today is taken from a praise psalm of King David, “All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you”, Psalm 145 verse 10, (NRSVB). David sings of the glories of God’s name, and the mighty acts that God does on and in behalf of people and creation. We worship the same mighty God that David sang to and praised. We behold the same acts of God in the events of history and the lives of the people of the earth. David speaks of God’s kingdom, this kingdom that spans from the beginning of the ages to the end of the ages. It is not a kingdom that disappears after a season of ruling, only to be studied through the stories in history books and archaeological excavations. No, it is an everlasting, ever-living Kingdom. In this psalm David says that the eyes of all are on the Lord and expect good things from him, and God opens his hand and gives what every living thing needs and satisfies their longings. These comforting images come to us in a time when we are overwhelmed with fear and concern for the world and her people and all the living things on this planet. God knows what is needed, and he hears the calls of the earthlings and wishes to fulfil their desires and give them good things. We can join our voices to the voice of David and all those before us and call on him in the time of our distress, for he listens to our cries, and he will preserve the world and her people, and we shall praise and magnify his glorious name. God walks along the road of history and geography with each individual, in each individual moment, bringing everything and all humanity to the Kingdom of Heaven.
In our application verse the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews states, “Ground that drinks up the rain falling on it repeatedly, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God,” Hebrews 6 verse 7, (NRSVB). Martin Luther thought that the writer of this book could possibly have been the Apostle Barnabas; other scholars thought it could have been Apollos. The great theologian Origen who lived from 185 to 254 AD wrote, “Who it was that wrote this epistle, God only knows.” The writer of the Hebrew letter wrote to bring the teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Messiah, by means of examples taken from the Old Testament to the new converts to the Christian faith. He is not talking about rain, being the water from heaven; he is talking about rain, as being the manna from heaven, the living Word, Jesus Christ. Through the ages the gospel has been taught through spoken and written words and various different means employed by God to bring the good news, the message of salvation to everyone. Repeated hearing, listening and acting upon the word of God, bring people to the place where they can magnify and praise God, for they can recognize him and his works. As we come to the word of God we grow stronger in understanding what his word wants to reveal to us. His word reveals his Son as our Saviour, who through grace gives a place in his awesome Kingdom of Heaven, and the beauty is that we can already enjoy this future state now. We can realize some of the wonders of God’s grace already here as we live on earth. God has taken care of our future in heaven, and he is taking care of our future on earth. Just as we need regular showers of rain to keep the soil moist and the plants healthy, so we need regular showers of God’s word in our lives, to keep our faith nourished and grow our roots deeper. The word of God witnesses to us his handiwork and his marvellous deeds in the past and present and also in the future. “We have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul; it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whoever steps out upon this hope,” Hebrews 6 verse 19, (Amplified Bible).
Father, we come to you, you are our hope. We give you thanks through Jesus, Amen.
