Grab Onto Jesus

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, June 20, 2016
Chapters: Psalms 69-73
Message: Grab Onto Jesus

Hello My Friend,

Of all the people we will encounter in our lifetime, no one will impact it more than Jesus Christ. It is amazing how someone we have never seen can do such great things in the lives of those who but their faith and trust in Him. Life can get messy, but if we grab onto Jesus, He will not only clean us up, He will make us shiny and new. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” - II Corinthians 5:17.

“he is a new creature:” Getting saved is one thing, but walking with Christ after we are saved is another. When we get saved, we are just like a shiny new penny, that has been run through the mud. Walking with Christ polishes us and shines us up. Keep in mind that walking with Christ can get more mud thrown at us by those who are not too happy that we have chosen Him, but as long as we grab onto Him He will pull us through. David wrote Psalm 69 because he felt he was stuck in a pit and could not get out. “They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.” - Psalm 69:12-17.

“and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.” My goodness, these words ring so true to me, they remind me of the time I went through, just before I truly understood Christ, my whole life was a mess and I was sinking fast. I sat in my car one day wondering why I even bothered helping my ex-boyfriend, whom I was trying to get out of prison, as he was ungrateful nor had any remorse for what he did. That was when the thought of God came across my mind for the first time in years, and a little later I grabbed onto Jesus. You know, sometimes we can get caught up in a mess and start sinking fast, but Jesus never lets us get swallowed up, He will pull us out. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in things right now that I lose sight of how much Jesus has done for me since that dreadful time in my life. You know, Jesus is not a magic wand to wave that removes every bit of dirt from our lives all at once, He is the one who cleans us up bit by bit. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” - I John 1:7.

The world likes to make you think that you can live anyway you want as long as you are saved and you will not face any consequences for your actions. The world is wrong, there are always consequences for the things we do, saved or not. Jesus promises to never leave nor forsake us and give us eternal life if we believe in and accept Him, but He never promised that we would not have to endure some suffering while we remain here. Do not confuse redemption for judgment, we do not do good to keep our salvation, that was bought and paid for by Christ, we do good to remember what Christ did for us. We must realize that Jesus never lets us go, He holds on to us for eternity, Psalm 71 reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who is our strength.

“In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.” - Psalm 71:1-5,16,17.

“thou art my trust from my youth.” It does not matter what age you are when you receive Christ, we must come to Him as a child, one who is born again, spiritually renewed and adopted; as a child of God. When we trust God He puts an end to all confusion, delivers us out of the hand of the wicked and cruel, and gives us new hope. “thou hast given commandment to save me;” God commands all to be saved, but not everyone follows that command, but when Jesus promised to give us eternal life by accepting Him, He meant it, and nothing can change that. “And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” - Luke 18:15-17.

David wrote Psalm 72 specifically for Solomon as he was about to take over the kingdom, but as you read it you will discover that this is God speaking to all of His children about His Son who will reign over the entire earth. “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.” - Psalm 72:6-9,17-19.

“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,” When Christ returns, all the earth will be His, every knee will bow, and every person will stand before Him, the only ones who get to join Him in His kingdom are those who received Him as their Saviour. “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” - Matthew 25:32-34.

Asaph was one of the leaders of David's choir, he wrote quite a few psalms himself, he has issues dealing with people who do not believe in God and wonders what most Christians do, “Why am I struggling and not those who have no interest in God?” “A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.” - Psalm 73:1-3,16-19,26-28.

“it was too painful for me;” Trying to understand why the wicked or those who do not walk with Jesus as they ought to prosper while we struggle is way to painful. I will admit that there have been times in my life that I have cried myself to sleep because all I wanted was for God to bless me as those who care less about Him get blessed. Then God pointed something out to me, they may appear to be blessed, but they are struggling more than I ever will. When I chose to follow Christ, not just get saved, but allow Him to live in me, my life changed, and although I still have some struggles I have an expected end for mine. That cannot be said for those who do as they please with no regard to God, and they do suffer, they will just not tell you that. It is not wrong to tell God how you feel and let Him know He can do for you what He did for someone else, it is wrong to compare yourself with others because your blessings are different from theirs. “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” - Matthew 16:27,28.

Jesus Christ Magnified: Today, Jesus is shown through the pain He endured on the cross when He was given gall and vinegar (69:21). Jesus endured much pain and suffering so we can be clean to stand before God. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” - John 15:3.

Today's Prayer: God, Confusion comes when I stop holding onto You and hold on the problems in my life, forgetting that Your hand is in all the mess. Thank You for reminding me that You are my strength, and that You renew it when I allow You to use my problems for something good. Lord, lead me and guide me, let me never lose Your grip on me, clean me and shine me the way You see fit, give me Your wisdom to keep me from being confused, give me the patience to wait, and give Your strength to endure the mess. In Jesus' name, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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