My Last Will & Testament

SCRIPTURE



Psalm 37:23-40 (NRSV)

God will exalt the righteous

Our steps are made firm by the Lord,
when he delights in our way;
though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,
for the Lord holds us by the hand.

I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
They are ever giving liberally and lending,
and their children become a blessing.

Depart from evil, and do good;
so you shall abide forever.
For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.

The righteous shall be kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land,
and live in it forever.

The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak justice.
The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip.
The wicked watch for the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.

Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

I have seen the wicked oppressing,
and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
Again I passed by, and they were no more;
though I sought them, they could not be found.

Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
for there is posterity for the peaceable.
But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.


DEVOTION

Today my heart soars with joy as I read the promises made to me in scripture regarding my beloved children!

Psalm 37 says that since I am teaching my children to love and serve God, they will be blessed, prosperous, successful, exalted, safe, and saved all the days of their lives!

Hallelujah!

I will admit that there are days when I worry about how I will pay for college, how much money my children will inherit from my life insurance policy, or how my belongings will be distributed upon my demise. Although I know the importance of having a will to secure my children’s financial future, there is something even more important and eternal for me to be very prayerful about as I think on the days ahead.

Today I am reminded that what is most important is that I teach my children to be eternally committed to loving God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength and loving their neighbors as themselves!

I love the list of attributes associated with the righteous in this psalm. It says that righteous people give liberally and are a blessing to others as they are faithful to God. It also says that the righteous are just, wise, blameless, and upright!

Wow! Although I know that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, I am so thankful for the work of God accomplished on Calvary’s Cross. Because God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life, we are made righteous, because of the righteousness of Christ!

When we put all of our hope in Jesus to save us and our seed, Jesus’ holy blood and love covers the multitude of our sin and makes us righteous in the eyes of God.

As such, we become inheritors of the wonderful blessings promised in Psalm 37.

Don’t you just love the last few lines of today’s scripture reading? It says, “The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Won’t you take refuge in God today? If so, please pray with me:

Holy One, you are my refuge in the time of trial and tribulation. Thank you that you have promised to take care of me. I know that I can trust your love and care. I see your great love and concern in the god-man Jesus whom you gave to die on the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life. Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit. I really want to be empowered to share your love with other people, most especially with all the precious children in my life! I am so grateful that Jesus’ love and blood make us righteous in your sight. I am committed to sharing this good news with others. I want this proclamation to my last will and testament on this earth and I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.


THE INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus."

http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html