Worship Devotional XXVI
Originally posted to the Facebook group on 5/23/2020.
Worship Devotional for 5/24/20
People have many different ways of living. Different opinions, ideas, personalities, beliefs, experiences, levels of understanding, levels of maturity, etc. There's not much we can all agree on these days. However, there is a reality that I think everyone would basically agree to: life is sometimes hard and painful. Although it may look differently to some than to others, we all have to face pain and hardship and struggles in this life.
We know from God's word that the cause of all this pain, confusion, chaos, hatred, fear, and suffering is sin. We have all sinned against the One who is holy and righteous and just, and we must bear the consequences. Whether you believe or understand it or not, you and I and everyone else have experienced the effects of this truth. Sin, suffering, and death are harsh realities of the world we all live in.
The reason I speak of this is because it is why the good news of Jesus Christ is meant for absolutely everyone. The thing that is shared by every single person ever to live is the guilt of sin against God. Therefore, redemption from sin is now offered to every single person through Jesus Christ. It is also why there can be such great rejoicing for anyone who believes in His name. Indeed we have joy — the only kind of joy — that lasts forever and completely satisfies even the deepest longings of our hearts.
All this is to say that in the name of Jesus we have a strong foundation that can never be shaken by any hardship we could ever face in this life. We have a true and living hope to hold onto through any and every circumstance. We have victory and the power to overcome the things that dare to stand against us. All this is in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who conquered the world and who conquered death itself by offering Himself on our behalf as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, then rose again in victory. He reigns forever. Hallelujah!
Here are the songs:
Victory, power, authority, awe, glory, honor, and praise belong to Jesus. He alone is worthy. He lived a perfect life, completely free of sin. He spoke God's words and obeyed His commands, carrying out His perfect plan. Then Jesus offered Himself to die on a cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He died as if He had sinned, taking the punishment we all deserved upon Himself, and bearing God's wrath toward sin. He was buried for three days, carrying the burden of death. Then by God's power He rose again to life. He emerged from the grave victorious. Let us praise the One who overcame sin and death, and by whom we now can also overcome.
2) Christ The Sure And Steady Anchor by Matt Boswell
The One who overcame is the One we can hold onto who will never fail. We have an unshakeable hope in His name. Hebrews 6:17-19 tells us:
"Because God wanted to show His unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope as an anchor for our lives, safe and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain."
Our lives are anchored to God's faithfulness by the hope we have in Jesus. Therefore let us remember always to hold fast to Him.
This song is a declaration based on the gospel that Jesus is stronger than anything we face. His power is greater than the sway of the world, than sin, and even than death itself. Therefore, let His name be lifted higher in our lives — high above everything else — as we draw closer to Him and cling to His undeniable faithfulness.
4) Stand In Your Love by Josh Baldwin
We live in a culture that is fear-driven right now. People are afraid of death, sickness and disease, poverty, carelessness or neglect of others, government overreach, and a plethora of other things as well. With so many things that are out of our control, it is easy to feel the temptation to get caught up in fear and worry in times like these. This happens to us when our eyes are on the world rather than on Jesus.
1 John 4:18-19 says:
"There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because He first loved us."
The world doesn't know what true love really is, and our love is weak and broken. We cannot overcome fear on our own. But God showed His perfect love for us through His Son, Jesus Christ. When we believe in Him and stand in that faith, we stand in God's love. His love is so much greater and stronger, that our fear doesn't even stand a chance. Therefore stand and believe in His name!
Hebrews 2:14-15:
"Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death — that is, the Devil — and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death."
Hebrews 12:1-2:
"Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God's throne."
Scriptures for this week's set:
Psalm 18
John 8:31-32
Romans 8 (esp. vv. 31-39)
Philippians 2:5-11
Hebrews 2:14-15, 4:14-16, 6:9-20, 10:19-25, 12:1-2 & 28-29
1 John 4-5 (esp. 4:18 and 5:3-5)
Revelation 5, 12:10-11, 19:11-16
Through all the different things we may be going through, we are united by the name of Jesus. Let us stand together and hold onto His name as we give Him the praise and honor He is worthy of!