Reverence and Awe

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Morning: "And when he thought thereon, he wept." — Mark 14:72

How long has it been since you have wept over your sin and how often do the tears well up in your eyes? Spurgeon’s desire in this mornings devotional for each and every one of us is to not have a hard heart toward sin but to truly be sorrowful of it and too radically amputate it from our lives. Repentance is a tool the Christ uses to draw us closer to Him. It is only when one repents that they see the need for a Savior and it is through the confession of sin that we admit our guilt and shame to the Lord and ask for His forgiveness so that we may walk with Him and that He may clothe us in robes of righteousness.

We must all come broken before the Lord and must realize the vileness in our hearts. Only by the power of God are we able to do this and it is a gift from God alone. Only He can reveal to us our original and actual sin, that we have nothing good within ourselves at all. Only He can cause us to be sorrowful and saddened with the sins we have committed against Christ. Only He will bring each of us to a place of confession and crying out to the Lord for mercy for what we have done. Only He will produce in us a great hatred for sin and disgust for it. Only He will produce a turning away of sin and rebuking of it so that we will not want to return to its evil ways. Only He will guard us against it and arm each one of us for battle when Satan is on the attack.

His grace, love and righteousness are never failing and will always be perfect in every way toward each and every believer, even if we are undeserving of it.

Lord, smite our rocky hearts, and make the waters flow.

Evening: "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." — John 6:37

A glorious doctrine it is and such a comfort it should be to the believer that we can be sure that He who has started a good work in us will be faithful to finish it until the end. The perseverance of the saints should bring us to a position of thanking Him everyday that we will not be cast out.

Christ will by no means cast out anyone who comes to Him by faith that believes on His complete and perfect sacrifice on the cross and knows with confidence that his sins have been washed cleaned. We are covenant breakers but He is a covenant keeper. Can you imagine where you would be right now in your life if God was only able to keep His promises how were able to keep them with Him? I will not do “such and such” says the believer but we find ourselves falling, although we hate it and desire to live for His glory, we break our promises. But the Lord says he gives His children "eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.