Last nights devotional

Psalm 118:19-29 (New Living Translation)

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,
and I will go in and thank the Lord.
20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord,
and the godly enter there.
21 I thank you for answering my prayer
and giving me victory!

22 The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
24 This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please, Lord, please save us.
Please, Lord, please give us success.
26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God, shining upon us.
Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you!
You are my God, and I will exalt you!

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 119

Aleph^[a]

1 Joyful are people of integrity,
who follow the instructions of the Lord.
2 Joyful are those who obey his laws
and search for him with all their hearts.
3 They do not compromise with evil,
and they walk only in his paths.
4 You have charged us
to keep your commandments carefully.
5 Oh, that my actions would consistently
reflect your decrees!
6 Then I will not be ashamed
when I compare my life with your commands.
7 As I learn your righteous regulations,
I will thank you by living as I should!
8 I will obey your decrees.
Please don’t give up on me!

Easter

I have been thinking about many things as this Easter has come and will soon be gone. Humans are a strange lot! I have been reading this morning on several pages from links on this page and find such strange goings on.

First I came across this headline from the news in Canada. Causes me to wonder if this person understands the word contradiction!

A better read is this page on the Golden Rule's existence in faiths and religions of the world. It does beg the question " If this is true, why is there so much strife in the world?"

It seems that in each human being there is a well* of the "I" which wants very much to be satisfied and often (more than any of us would want to admit) overtakes, overwhelms and controls the knowledge we might gain from all of our faith learning and instruction and probably confirms the reality that we also hate to admit which is the evil in each of us. I know there are many who will say "define evil!" Or one person's evil is another person's pleasure and who has the right to determine this! I rest my case. If we cannot see evil for what it is, we cannot follow the Golden Rule in whatever language or terminology it is expressed. We can only respond to the well which demands an answer.

It seems that Easter may transcend all of this and speak to the heart of human existence. If the claims of the Bible are true and if one person would give up their life for every person who has or will exist, this example at the very least reminds us that that well within us can be defeated; or the consequences of our actions and deeds from responding can be brought into submission. Jesus spoke of His own well while praying before the crucifixion. "Lu 22:42 Father, if it is your pleasure, take this cup from me: but still, let your pleasure, not mine, be done." Bible in Basic English. He had overcome the well within! Not on His own but the Spirit of God within.

I have used the term * well because I recognize it in my own being. My response to other people's actions, against me, and towards others, is like a pressured fountain waiting to burst forth. It all depends on whether there is a cap which prevents me from reacting with some kind of violence but rather with compassion and benevolence. I need the same Spirit power to really effectively live out the Golden Rule. No amount of self control practiced or otherwise will allow me to be in complete control and "do no harm!"

Easter! Yes!