A Devotional Study of the Living Word of God

Psalm 119:84 At times it is easy to forget that this Psalm is written by a man in captivity, but in this eight verse section we can actually see the vexation of his soul as persecution causes him to cry out to God for revenge. Captivity can come in various ways, but God can override any of our trouble by Grace and Mercy, we only need to seek Him!

Good Morning

It is high noon and the evening is just six hours away. There will be a wedding in the morning, but first there must be two funerals to witness. Most all marriages are a day of joyful experience, the bride and groom exchanging vows and if you are married you remember that day. Whether you are happy in your marriage or unhappy that day is remembered in very accurate detail. Problems develop in marriage for a variety of reasons, the number one and two reasons are money and infidelity. Some would argue that these are the root causes of most divorces. But the root of the problem is much deeper and because the man and the women did not show up at the funerals. As real as life is, marriages are when two: ONE Man and ONE woman agree to die to themselves and become ONE. Not only by contract, promise or covenant as to the agreement of the local assembly of town and relatives, but also spiritually as promised and covenanted by the Word of God. In Genesis 2:8-25 Our great God and Father ordained marriage as a covenant of TWO becoming ONE. In Ephesians 5:22-33 the apostle Paul confirms that the marriage of a man and women is as serious as the marriage of Christ and His Bride – the Church. Just as the church is one with God, our marriages are to be one with each other as well. If our marriages have not witnessed the funeral of dying to self, then we have trouble; trouble with money and fidelity. It is not to late if your marriage is suffering. Some of us die hard, but go ahead – die to yourself and let your spouse come to the funeral, then go to theirs as well, you'll be glad you did.

Acts 27

Acts 27:13-19 The south wind – surfers love the south wind because it stirs up broad swelling waves that role to shore. Yet, sometimes behind the south wind is what we in New England call a Nor-easter! If you are ashore during one of theses storms you know it often brings traveling to a halt, sometimes for days. The head winds of a Nor-easter approaching any ship is the worst sort of danger a sailor could experience, add sails to the ship and in most cases, it is – disastrous!

Acts 27:20-21 If you have ever been at sea in a storm such as this then you know that even in our ships of today, a storm like this can take the ship wherever the storm wants to go. The battle to stay afloat is so taxing that fatigue, frustration and anxiety turn into a feeling of hopelessness and despair. The ship that the apostle is on has lost the ability to tack the storm, the sails are stripped from the masts, the men cannot eat to regain strength, equipment fails and now has become a factor for sinking so it is tossed overboard, even some of the good equipment too, in order to make the ship lighter. If you've not been at sea in a storm like this, do not go looking for one. It is a most dangerous experience.

Acts 27:22-25 The song we sing - When the storms of life are raging, Stand by me (stand by me); When the storms of life are raging, Stand by me (stand by me); When the world is tossing me Like a ship upon the sea Thou Who rulest wind and water, Stand by me (stand by me). Written by Charles Tindley (1851-1933) help us understand that God's plan for our lives is always on course, even in the midst of a storm. Like Paul, we need to cling to the LORD, not only in the storms of life, but moment by moment, even as we see the second coming of Christ on the horizon. Even so – Come LORD JESUS!