May 12 Daily Devotional

God will not be shut out!

How can you plan for life and the world and at the same time exclude God who is the Maker and Sustainer and Controller of all things? God has not only made the world; He is actively concerned in it and constantly intervenes in its affairs. His laws are absolute and cannot be avoided.... God has decided and ordered and arranged that a life of forgetfulness of Him, and of antagonism to Him, shall not be successful and happy....

That is the whole story of mankind from the very beginning, and it has continued until this day, and it will continue to be so until the end of time. Mankind has refused to recognize this—indeed, has ridiculed it. It has been confident that it could succeed without God. But what of the results? Constant failure. God cannot be thwarted.

The facts of life, the story of history, proclaim the wrath of God against all ungodliness and un­righteousness. That is our first problem. We have sinned against God. We are in the wrong relationship to Him. His wrath is upon us. We have made it impossible for Him to bless us.... None can keep the law....

Is there no hope, therefore? Can nothing be done? God be thanked, the gospel of Christ provides the answer.... God has dealt with our sins in Christ. The demands of holiness and justice have been satisfied.... God in Christ is prepared to receive us.... God in Christ offers us pardon and forgiveness and, instead of cursing, blessing.

Without God we cannot be happy, "for there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Try as we will, and as mankind has, we cannot succeed. The first step is to have the favor of God, and in Christ it is gloriously possible—indeed, it is offered us.

The Plight of Man and the Power of God, pp. 85-7

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“Text reproduced from ‘A First Book of Daily Readings’ by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, published by Epworth Press 1970 & 1977 © Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes. Used with permission.”

Comments on D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, A First Book of Daily Readings

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