Daily Devotional for Thursday, January 4

David Takes Possession of Ammon

“And he took their king’s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David’s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance,” 2 Samuel 12:30.

Feelings of guilt or shame can keep a child of God from serving Him. Those same types of feelings sometimes influence whether someone is saved. I have heard many people over the years lament how they have done “too many bad things” in their lives for the Lord to save them. They overlook the simple promise of God’s Word. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). One of the beautiful things about God’s saving grace is that it is not dependent on what we do. All men have the opportunity to be saved because God loved humanity enough that He sent His Son Jesus to die for the sins of all mankind (John 3:16). Jesus did the work.

If you have never read Psalm 51, I encourage you to do so. It is a masterpiece on repentance and beautifully conveys David’s contrition after he sinned with Bath-sheba. David had to get his heart right with God in order to effectively serve Him. After Nathan prophesied that David and Bath-sheba’s first son would die, David mourned until the time of his son’s death. Once he died, David stopped mourning and went right back to serving the Lord. He could have wallowed in self-pity. He could have doubted his relationship with God. He could have come up with all kinds of excuses as to why he could not serve the Lord anymore. I have met many Christian people who do not go to church on Sunday because they feel bad about what they did on Saturday night. Instead of repenting of their sins, they let their feelings of guilt or shame prevent them from serving the Lord.

JUST A THOUGHT: Do not let your past sins shape your future service for the Lord. Repent and get to work!

Chris Floyd