December 11 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Psalm 79:

¹O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.
²The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.
³Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them.
⁴We are become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.
⁵How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
⁶Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.
⁷For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place.
⁸O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us: for we are brought very low.
⁹Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake.
¹⁰Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.
¹¹Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
¹²And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.
¹³So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever: we will shew forth thy praise to all generations.

Devotional

Today, it seems, few people realize what it means to be spiritu­ally lost. Many have the idea that all they have to do to be good Christians is to improve their lives outwardly. It is all, so they think, in their power. They have no conception of their total disability to save themselves, nor of their total depravity, their inclination to all evil. But it is still true that the first thing we must know in order to be saved is the greatness of our sin and misery; and, further, that salvation is not of man but of the Lord.

God is the God of our salvation. It requires almighty power to save us sinners. And after we are saved, we are still dependent upon that almighty power to keep us in the straight and narrow way.

It behooves us to pray, "Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." We must realize with the psalmist of old, "He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God." And again with Isaiah, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my sal­vation." We are saved for the glory of thy name.

Prayer

O God of our salvation, help us to realize that our salvation is of grace, that we are saved by grace through faith. When we were dead in trespasses and sins, Thou, who art rich in mercy, for Thy great love, wherewith Thou hast loved us, hast quickened us together with Christ, and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Help us to realize that this is true of us now, that now we are citizens of heaven through faith, and that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: Jonah 2:9; Ps. 25:5; 62:6, 7; Isa. 12:2; Ps. 79:9.

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