Daily Devotional For Sunday, July 13, 2025
Today is the day that hopefully and prayerfully everyone goes to a local church and worships the Lord. We are looking at what it means to follow the Lord. The Gospel is clear that we are sinners. There is nothing good in any of us (see Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1, and Romans 3:10-12. We all have the tendency to think we are good or at least better than the next person, but the truth is, we are not the standard for goodness. God is and in comparison to Him, we all fall short Romans 3:23. Every one of us is born with a hatred towards God. This is the point of Genesis 8:21. Even Jesus said we are evil in Luke 11:13.
We may say, “There has never been a time I did not love God.” Well, God would say differently. We by our very sinful nature are rebellious. We do not like to be told what to do and not do. Just look at the average driver on the road. Except for very old people who can’t see, most people ignore the speed limit and will even argue with a police officer for pulling them over for speeding. Have you ever seen a 2-year-old throw a tantrum? Whew! Where in the world did that come from in that little bundle of joy? It came from his or her sinful nature.
And not only are we sinners, we are slaves to sin. This is the point of Ephesians 4:17-19. We can be so prideful about our goodness that we are blind to our enslaved sin. This is the point of 2 Corinthians 4:4. We can’t even see the sinless Christ due to our own sin. The Bible is clear that no immoral person, which is all of us, can choose goodness. No one who is a slave to sin can free themselves from pop-psychology or self-help books/seminars or by their own effort.
The Gospel affirms sadly the hopelessness and helplessness of our sinful condition. Oh, I know there are books out there that say differently. After all, the book I read in college said so. It was by Dr. Richard Harris – “I’m Okay and You’re Okay” (I'm Okay, You're Okay). Today, isn’t the power of positive thinking by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale enough? (The Power of Positive Thinking). I have it within me to make myself better. There are even “pastors” who teach this and have books you can buy to make them more wealthy (Your Best Life Now and The Power Of I Am). Well, you can buy books by heretics and pagans but they will be laughing at how gullible you are all the way to their bank account.
Modern day preachers say the Gospel says, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. So, just follow these easy steps to experience it.” God does love you and His plan for your life is Luke 9:23, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (NASB). The plan God has for your life is not wealth and health, but self-sacrifice, self-crucifixion of your will, your desires, your passions all for Him.
The Bible is clear that you and I on our own cannot save ourselves. We cannot produce salvation. We cannot earn it or buy it or bribe God for it. Therefore, for Christ to give us His life, we must be willing to surrender completely to Him. Salvation is not found in a program. It is not found imitating saved people. It is only found in one person – Jesus Christ. Some people do loathe themselves, but most I see love themselves way too much and Jesus way too little.
Assignment: Reflect – does your opinion of yourself come from Scripture or some type of modern or cultural pop-psychology or even your own opinion of yourself? Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is more deceitful than all else, And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (NASB). What do you think and why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, please forgive me when I have an attitude about how good I am in comparison to others. Please forgive me when I live independently of You, acting as if I am self-reliant, self-sufficient and self- secured. Lord, if it were not for You, I do not know where I would be today. Thank You for your grace, which I do not deserve. Thank You for Your salvation, which I do not deserve. Thank You for Your love, which I do not deserve. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly