LHM Daily Devotions - Doing What We Could Not

"Doing What We Could Not"

Oct. 15, 2018

With my whole heart I seek You; let me not wander from Your Commandments! I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your statutes! ... I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your Word.

~ Psalm 119:10-12, 15-16 (ESV)

Psalm 119 speaks to the beauty of God's righteous Law! The psalmist here is delighted with God's decrees and speaks of them with high regard and a deep respect for their holiness. In stark contrast with our fallen human systems of governance, God's Law is perfect. When we search His decrees, we see something of His omniscient character in ways that instruct, inspire, and illuminate the path on which we stand. Later in the chapter, we hear it expressed this way: "Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105).

As Jesus prepared to enter His season of earthly ministry, He modeled for us the psalmist's proclamation that one can only stay pure by living according to God's Word. After fasting for 40 days, a very weak and hungry Jesus is tempted by Satan to turn stones into bread that will satisfy His physical hunger. Yet, the Savior rejects Satan because He knows the greater hunger within the human soul can only be satisfied by God. Jesus says, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4).

By living perfectly according to God's Word, Jesus satisfied every aspect of the Law. Though Satan attempted to twist Scripture to his own ends, trying to trip Jesus up, Jesus held steadfast, anchored to the power of God's Word. In the end, Jesus fulfilled the righteous demands of God's Law, doing for us what we could never do.

And now, through faith in Jesus all-sufficient sacrifice on the cross for our sins, we are redeemed as new creations. Trusting Him as our Lord and Savior, we are clothed with His pure righteousness, in place of our crimson-stained rags of sin.

It is as the prophet Isaiah declared, "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Your wonderous plan of salvation was carried out and completed by Your Son, Jesus. The Law and its demands were satisfied by the shedding of His perfect blood. Remind us daily of the price He paid on our behalf. In His Name we pray. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by AmyRuth Bartlett. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
Psalm 119 speaks to the beauty of God's righteous Law!