Psalm 65: 9-13 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 65: 9-13 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.
Verse 10You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
Verse 11You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
Verse 12The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
Verse 13the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Devotion
When my grandfather died, I worried about his faith in God. Would he enter God's eternal rest? He was a rancher who spent all his time outside. He only went to church for funerals. He went to the bar once a day. As I sat in the front pew of the funeral home, sobbing into my dad's shoulder, the pastor talked about the things my grandpa accomplished, and how he was loved. Then she said, "But Percy was a sinner, too." That was all I needed to hear. If grandpa was a sinner, I knew he was with God because it is sinners for whom Jesus comes, seeks out and saves. For thousands of years, people of faith have believed that above all things, "the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love." When the world around us dies, this is all we need to know.
Prayer
Gracious God, be merciful to me because I sin every day and I need your steadfast love.
Amen.
Correction: Please note that the God Pause author for Monday, June 27 was listed incorrectly. The author was Pat Lehrer.