REPOST Today’s AMI QT Devotional, provided by then (2013) staff of Remnant Westside Church in Manhattan, was first posted on September 20, 2013.
Devotional Thought for This Morning
“It Is All Him”
Psalm 89:19-25
Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: “I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. 20 I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him, 21 so that my hand shall be established with him; my arm also shall strengthen him. 22 The enemy shall not outwit him; the wicked shall not humble him. 23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him. 24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 25 I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.
As we look at the life and accomplishments of David, it is easy to think that he succeeded because of his effort, might, military prowess, and craftiness. It is easy to look at David as a mighty man in charge of mighty men. Yet here, in this Psalm, what we find is the persistent message that God is the One who has exalted David. God anointed him, established him, strengthened him, gave him victory over his enemies, has been faithful to him, and steadfastly loved him.
This morning’s text is both humbling and encouraging. It humbling because we know that it is God who establishes us and gives us the victory. We dare not withhold the glory for ourselves, but with every achievement and accomplishment, we turn it into praise and worship of God for what He has done.
At the same time, this is also our encouragement because when God calls us to a task or pursuit that seems to be beyond our capabilities, we know that His strength will be made perfect in our weakness. We know that even the things that may seem impossible for man to accomplish in following God’s will is possible for Him.
This morning, God is calling us to be a people who depend on Him instead of our own strength. He is calling us to know that our identity as victors in Christ isn’t in our own hands, but in the hands of God.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I seek You and tune my ear to Your voice this morning. Jesus, you are my blessed Savior, and I give you all the glory, my risen King. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Acts 27
Lunch Break Study
Read Philippians 3:7-11: But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Background tidbit: The word “rubbish” in verse 8 is actually more graphic in the original language. It literally means refuse or dung, something to be flung away in disgust.
Questions to Consider
- Among the many parables told by Jesus, which parable resonates with what Paul says in this passage?
- What is Paul talking about here? A greater mental awareness of God?
- How can we know Christ more intimately?
Notes
- Verses 7-9 resonate with the parable that Jesus taught on the Pearl of Great Price (Matt. 13:45-46). Paul had spent much his life amassing things which he thought were spiritual riches, but he found something in Christ that was of far more worth than anything he could even conceive.
- Paul is not speaking merely of having a greater mental awareness of God, but that he has a passionate longing to encounter a deeper personal union with Him. And to that end, there is nothing that would hold him back, not suffering, not death, not anything!
- Ask God to nurture in you a desire to know Christ that outweighs every other desire. Think what obstacles exist that hinder your love for Christ and give thought on how you should deal with them; meditate regularly on passages like Phil. 2:6-11 and Col. 1:15-20; study a Gospel like Mark or John with Phil. 3:10-11 prominently in mind; worship and adore him in song and in prayer!
Evening Reflection
Psalms 145:18: The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
“Dear God, what an incredible treasure You are to me! It is more than I can comprehend. I am filled with joy, for in Your presence is fullness of joy. Oh, to see Your gaze, to hear Your whisper, to know You and recognize the grace and favor You bestow on me is too much, my God, yet You desire for all the world to receive this same blessing.” Amen.