Chapter 14 – Strolling with the Shepherd (Devotions from Psalms)

Scripture: “They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” – (14:3)

Observation: David is no stranger to sin. He was, after all, human like us, and born in sin, again, like us. Here he writes that there is no one who is righteous; no one whom God can find that is good. Yet in the last verse, he shares hope. The hope that God is the One who will ultimately save His people.

Application: This world places so much worth in things that are temporal… things that don’t last. Fame, riches, beauty, educational degrees, athletic prowess, etc. all are the keys to the label of success in today’s culture. In our key verse, David writes that there is no person who can claim they are “good”, especially in the sight of God.

This sounds pretty hopeless until we realize that God has provided a way for us to become “righteous” in His standing. 1 John 4:14 records God’s remedy for our lost state. “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” God sent His beloved Son to redeem us, offer forgiveness of our sins and acceptance into His family. When Jesus died on the cross, He became sin for us… in our place! We all deserve to be punished, eternally separated from God, because of our iniquities, but in His great love, God said “No!” He didn’t want that to be our fate. John 3:16-17 explains His plan. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

His plan, set in motion in Genesis 3:15, provided salvation and eternal life for us if we so choose. God chose to offer us a gift that He purchased with His own blood! We must choose to accept this gift. If you want that wonderfully amazing gift of forgiveness, peace, and everlasting life in heaven, the Bible says you only need to understand that you are a sinner, believe in the work that Jesus finished for us through His death on the cross and glorious resurrection, and ask Him to forgive you and be your Lord and Saviour! So simple, but He promises in His Word that He will hear, forgive, restore, and accept you no matter what sins you’ve committed when you ask Him! True success in life comes from the joy of personally knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and following in His footsteps every day!

Prayer: Dearest Lord Jesus, thank You for what You did for me! I am a sinner; I am not a perfect person by any stretch of the imagination, yet You love me, and You died for me. Thank You so much! Thank You for Your forgiveness of my sins, Your preparing a place for me in heaven, and Your promise to one day come for me to be with You forever! My heart sings with gratitude for Your goodness to me! What a wonderful Saviour You are! In Your precious and blessed name, I pray, with eternal thanksgiving! Amen!

Once I was straying in sin's dark valley
No hope within could I see,
But they searched through Heaven
And found a Savior to save a poor lost soul like me

O what a Savior, O Hallelujah
His heart was broken on Calvary
His hands were nail scared, His side was riven
He gave His life's blood for even me


(from “O What a Savior” by Marvin Dalton)

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All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” – John 6:37

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