My Soul's Portion

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never end; they are fresh every morning. His faithfulness is great and never ending. My soul received the Lord as my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him. The Lord provides every good and perfect gift for those who wait on Him, to the soul that seeks Him. Salvation is not something we must grasp at or steal away. It is a free gift that comes to those who patiently wait on the Lord (Lamentations 3:22-26).

My soul waits for the Lord more eagerly than a night watchman waits for the morning light to dawn (Psalm 130:6). I plant my hope in His Word, because He is my help and my shield (Psalm 28:7). He brings joy to my soul because He showers me with His unfailing love. Both riches and honor come from Him, and in His hand is all the power and might we need to live fulfilling and spiritually vibrant lives (2 Chronicles 20:6).

The Lord longs to be gracious and rises to show compassion on the whole earth. I will never finish singing His praises. I will never stop testifying to anyone who will listen about what He does for me, and what He longs to do for them. I will always give thanks to the Lord, and never fail to call upon His name in any time of distress. I will constantly sing praises to Him, and tell of all His wonderful acts (1 Chronicles 16:8-9).

He does not treat us as our sins warrant, nor does He repay us according to the punishment our sins deserve (Psalm 103:10). He restrains His anger over our sin, time and time again. He is so merciful, because He repeatedly forgives our sins (Psalm 78:38). He who promises salvation to us is faithful; therefore we can cling to our hope in Him (Hebrews 10:23). His eyes are always on those who honor and respect Him, and who hope in His unfailing love (Psalm 33:18).

Even the heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they are a testimony to His goodness, and night after night they prove His existence (Psalm 19:1-2; Romans 1:20). I trust in God’s loyal love. My heart rejoices in His salvation. He blesses me bountifully, which makes my soul break forth into singing and rejoicing (Psalm 13:5-6).

During times of deprivation and abandonment, we can cling to the fact that God has big plans for His children. He brings us prosperous blessings and protects us even in times of trouble and trial. He is our future and our hope (Jeremiah 29:11). We can take courage from Him and from His Word. We have no need to be afraid, no matter what life throws at us. The Lord Jesus is with us - no matter who we are, where we live or what we do for a living on this earth.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, let Your unfailing love rain down upon us, even as we put our hope in You. Bring us to a place of surrendering everything to You, so that we may live according to Your will. You have only our best at heart; so help us to trust in Your mercy and grace forevermore. We praise You for Your great love and compassion, which never fail us.

Thought for the Day:

God is love; and His love demands justice for the wages of our sins. Yet, in His love, He gave His only Son to die to pay for us the penalty of our sin.

Redeemed

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23); however, Jesus released us from these consequences and gave His life in exchange for our spiritual death (Romans 6:23; Matthew 20:28; 1 Timothy 2:6). Human redemption is only available through the blood of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:14; Revelation 5:9). Salvation is not possible through any other name (Acts 4:12). When Jesus died on Calvary’s cross He purchased the remainder of our debt, which we owed for our life of sin. He procured our freedom for eternity (Galatians 3:13, 4:5). Now, we are no longer slaves in bondage to sin; but slaves to holiness (Romans 6:6,14).

Our death sentence condemned us to eternal separation from God (Romans 3:23). Jesus redeemed us from this everlasting guilt and justified us by His grace (Romans 3:24; Psalm 111:9). We not only have forgiveness for our sins now, but we also have the righteousness of Christ imputed into our account, which covers any future sin as well (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 5:17). This fact does not give us the license to sin (Romans 6:1). It does, however, set us free to live in righteousness and holiness all the days of our life (Romans 3:24; Galatians 5:1).

We no longer suffer under the bondage of sin (Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:14-18). We have been granted the freedom to live in peace with God (Colossians 1:18-20). Jesus freed us from the curse of the law and made it possible for God to adopt us into His family (Galatians 3:13, 4:5). We are redeemed, forgiven, holy, justified, liberated, adopted and reconciled to God for eternity (Psalm 130:7-8; Luke 2:38; Acts 20:28). In addition to all of this, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, leading us moment by moment throughout the day, guiding us, comforting us and giving us the wisdom we need to live successfully in this world (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

As we walk in the Spirit, we no longer fulfill the lusts of our carnal flesh (Romans 13:14; Galatians 5:16-17). The Holy Spirit leads us to the right place at the right time to function in God’s will, to pray for people as needed, to proclaim His goodness, to read what He directs us to see and to do all that He leads us to do (Galatians 5:25). As the redeemed of the Lord, we are not hesitant to say so (Psalm 107:2). We want to share this truth with anyone who will listen, because He redeems us from all of our troubles (Galatians 3:14; 1 Peter 1:18). 

We live to give God glory for His steadfast love and wondrous works (Psalm 107:8). He satisfies the longing in our soul, filling our hungry soul with good things (Psalm 107:9). He delivers us from all distress and brings us out of darkness and the shadow of death (Psalm 107:13). He demolishes our bondage to the world and our self-destructive behaviors (Psalm 107:14). He gives us His Word and heals us, delivering us from the devastation caused by our past sins (Psalm 107:20).

God set a longing in our heart for Heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:11). It is not vain or delusional for us to long for this better place. God created us to dwell with Him for eternity. Therefore, we can never be fully satisfied until we get to heaven and dwell in His presence. Those who are wise pay attention to these truths and trust God with their lives. They consider His steadfast love and realize they cannot live without it (Psalm 107:43).

Prayer:

Father God, You continually allow mankind to sink into the depths of despair as the result of trying to live life in our own efforts; but You are always there to rescue us and to bless us with redemption and a new life, if we call out to You to save us. You raise up the needy who trust in You by delivering us out of our affliction and You even make our families flourish (Psalm 107:41). The entire world sees Your goodness. The sinner is surprised, but Your righteous rejoice (Psalm 107:42).

Thought for the Day:

Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others He redeemed you from your troubles, and He wants to deliver them as well. - Psalm 107:2