"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him." Romans 15:13
Many people seem to think and sometimes actually feel they have found the secret of joy and peace in faiths and philosophies other than that of New Testament Christianity. That people may receive certain uplifting influences in adhering to false religious beliefs when life treats them well is understood, but these things collapse when people are tested by the deeper sorrows of human experiences.
There can be no real joy or peace such as Paul refers to in any but a Christian heart; for until the sin problem has been solved, there can be no right relation with God; and there is no solution of the individual sin problem apart from Christ. Only in Him is there atonement for sin and reconciliation with God. Only in Him do we have access to the throne and find ourselves "accepted in the Beloved."
How happy we should be that we have such joy and peace that comes from trusting in Jesus, for it will outlive the grave, outlast the years, and outshine the sunset.
We rejoice that God in pure grace has opened our eyes to see, our minds to know, and our hearts to possess that which we never deserve to see or know or possess. And certainly, we are to be prayerfully concerned for those who as yet have not found this "joy and peace" that comes with "trust in Him."
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, increase our joy in believing and make us earnest in our prayers for those who do not yet know You. Amen.
(Taken from "Words of Promise," copyright 1996 (out of print), Concordia Publishing House. For information on other devotional materials, call 1-800-325-3040.)
Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 39-40 Romans 6
To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"