Daily Devotions – Sinful Humanity

Daily Devotions – Sinful Humanity

 

Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:

 

Romans 1:18-32 (NIV)
God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way, the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

 

Why do you think that people tend to worship creation over the Creator?

I think people often worship creation because they can feel, see, and touch the created and gain instant ( not everlasting) rewards.

Lord, thank you for your holy word, you make plain how we are to live and how not to live. You have warned us about the distractions, temptation, and the deceitfulness that can be in this world. Your word is a lamp unto my feet and guides me in the right direction. Lord keep my eyes focused on you especially in today’s perverse world. How you must weep as those things you warned about are becoming an acceptable standard of living. I need your protection over my heart-mind. I need your courage to be bold and proclaim your word and love in this darkened world. I thank you Lord for your abundant blessings in my life Lord, your goodness and love surround me and my heart rests in your promise of eternity with you. Amen

 

(Today’s prayer submitted by Jo Schneider)