-August 15, 2020-
Good morning, happy Saturday,
-Living And Dying To The Lord-
“For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
(Romans 14:7-8).
Our life as believers is in the Lord. He is in control, He is the Lord of all. He alone knows what will happen to us in the future, and He also knows the day of our death. We belong to Jesus and He cares for us. He gives us the sufficient grace for each day.
Though this Coronavirus pandemic took the world by surprise, the Lord knew about long before it struck us. Things may be out of our control, but are never out of His control. The Lord has a purpose for everything and He uses it these things in our lives. Christians are not immune from this pandemic nor any other thing that happens to us under the sun, but the Lord is with us through it all.
The best way to live is to trust the Lord and rely fully on Him. He wants us to be thankful and live for Him one day at a time. It is a good reminder to think of the Prayer of Serenity, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
The full version of this prayer by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr is a real blessing, especially in relation to our text today: “God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that You will make all things right, if I surrender to Your will, so that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.”
Our goal should be to live each day with the wisdom and strength that the Lord gives us, leaving everything in His hands, and being thankful for what He gives us. We are truly blessed and should be equally grateful to our gracious Lord. We live to Him, for Him, and by Him. None of us knows how much time we have left on this earth to serve the Lord. The Lord is coming and may come before we die.
The hymn writer Daniel W. Whittle wrote,”Dying with Jesus by death reckoned mine, living with Jesus a new life divine, looking to Jesus ‘til glory doth shine, moment by moment, O Lord , I am Thine.” In fact there are three hymn titles that should summarize how we should live: “Day by Day,” “I Need Thee Every Hour,” and “Moment by Moment.”
May the Lord help us to live to the Lord today; to accept what He sends us, gives to us, and allows to happen in our lives. It will always be for our good and He will cause all things to work together for good in our lives. When we do this, we will have such peace in the midst of all our circumstances.
Have a blessed day living to our Lord Jesus Christ who bought us with His own blood. Stay safe and healthy.
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 