Psalm 71:2-3 - In Your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline Your ear to me, and save me! Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; You have given the command to save me, for You are my Rock and my Fortress.

From sad experience with scraped knees and stubbed toes, we know that rocks have a well-deserved reputation for being strong and immovable. The psalmist uses these stony qualities to describe his Lord. God is a Rock and a Fortress. God is a place of safety and security. He is immovable, always present, always available. The Lord is a "rock of refuge" to which we "may continually come." Yet here we pray with the psalmist that our secure, immovable Rock, our God and Savior, would be moved to action on our behalf. We pray that He would deliver and rescue us, that He would incline His ear to hear our prayers and save us. Before we called to Him, our prayers were answered. Our living Rock and Fortress had already "given the command to save me."

Before He created the world, God gave His command to save, and at the right time He sent His Son into the world to be its Savior. According to God's plan, Jesus became "the stone that the builders rejected" (Psalm 118:22a). He was betrayed, condemned to death, and nailed to a cross. The immovable Rock of our salvation allowed Himself to be overcome by death as He suffered the penalty that we deserve for our sins. Then, on the third day after His death, Jesus rose to life in victory over sin, death, and Satan. No mere earthly stone—however strong—could keep our Lord in a tomb!

Reigning now in exalted glory, Jesus has become the strong Cornerstone of the church, His holy people. For those who reject Him, who refuse to acknowledge His lordship, He becomes "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense" (1 Peter 2:8a). But for all who trust in Him for salvation, Jesus is the unconquered Fortress and Refuge to whom we may continually come. He is the living Rock who delivers us from sin and death. He inclines His ear to hear our prayers.

Our Lord is not the only Rock in the story of our salvation. Through faith in Jesus, our mighty, living Cornerstone, we have been created anew as "living stones" who are "being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5b). With confident trust, we offer up the sacrifice of prayer to our Lord, who will always incline His ear to hear us. As living, breathing temples of God, we bring endless praise before the throne of Christ Jesus, the living Rock who died and rose to save us.

THE PRAYER: Jesus, You are my Fortress, the place of safety to which I may continually come. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.

Reflection Questions:

1. When you think of God's immovable qualities, what comes to mind first?

2. Describe what it means that Jesus is the Cornerstone of the Christian church?

3. What does it mean for believers to be "living stones" in God's "spiritual house"?

Today's Bible Readings: Job 38-40    Matthew 15:21-39

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