Daily Reading: Romans 1
Scripture Focus: For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)
Devotional Thought: There is no excuse for disbelief in God. Even those who have not heard the name of Jesus have seen his invisible attributes. Paul says, “What can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them,” (v. 19). In Psalm 19 we read, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
For those who have been exposed to God’s eternal power and divine nature (a.k.a. every human being), but choose to “not honor him as God or give thanks to him” (v. 21), the outlook is grim. “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man… therefore God gave them up… because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (vv. 22-25). What a sad and small view of the world those people had!
And, doesn’t it sound all too familiar to us? Our human-centered culture stands in extreme opposition to the truth of a God-centered anything. We honor and commend the individual human above all else, and therefore worship the creature rather than the Creator. We have no moral absolutes, but instead adopt a “whatever works for you” attitude. Therefore, we have no hope, so we spend our 80 years of life grabbing as much pleasure for ourselves as possible before we cease to exist.
But praise God: there is a Living Hope! We are no longer bound by our sinful natures, by death’s finality, by hopelessness. There is a Creator who has made himself evident to all of humanity, and he loves us and has given his only Son to redeem us and make us righteous in his sight.
Jenny
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the indescribable gift of salvation through your Son! Help us to proclaim the good news to the world around us. Open the eyes and ears of those we love to the truth of your eternal power and divine nature.
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 18.13-18
13 The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire. 14 And he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he flashed forth lightnings and routed them. 15 Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. 17 He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.
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