August 23: Isaiah 61:1-9
Key Verse: Isaiah 61:8
For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Devotion:
When I read verses like these it brings to mind all the things which God told the people of Israel to do as they escaped their captivity and strove to do what God wanted them to do. Some of the things may well have sounded harsh.
Indeed, the people did not follow some of the instructions and they found out the hard way that we need to obey God at all times. That is why I chose verse 8 as the key verse here.
God is the God of justice. He does not do things out of spite, greed or any other malicious thoughts or feelings! But we do. We get carried away by our feelings, desires and wants, We give in to greed and corruptions!
God wants us to step away from such things in our lives and step toward righteousness at all times. That alone will brings us a little closer to him, but it is the love and respect for him as God which will bring us closer still.
Points to ponder:
How many times have you had a thought and then felt bad afterwards?
Are you willing to give to God, through faith...