Is Hell Empty and All the Devils Among Us?
Good Morning Friends,
Some think that the answer to our plight lies beyond both nature and nurture. Some think it sits atop of our genome in the cellular material that tells our genes to switch on or off, to speak loudly or to whisper. I imagine, knowing that our minds are more active when we dream, that this place of potential health and healing is beyond the power of conscious positive thinking but also is a place of subconscious positive emotions. I imagine that in this place even being in the company of sin is enough for judgment to fall on us. I imagine that here sin brings its own personal punishment. So if that is the case we need to come out of the tangled mess of life and into a place where our roots can go deep. We need to experience a combination of the head and the heart in our Father’s arms. And that is going to be tough for many to internalize because we are as a culture more connected but less related. For sure what is missing is spiritual growth and a dependence on God to heal us and the nations. It is here in the middle of a process that deals with the reality of our physical reality and the thought of what is ideal that we must exist. It is here in a balance of faith and reason in our relationships that we must call on God. Here we learn that we need a heart that listens and a head that realizes that despite all of our progress in science and technology we still do not understand people better than Shakespeare did hundreds of years ago.
Our understanding of psychology at some fundamental level has in some ways gone backwards as the world we live in has gradually become
more entangled in sin, making me wonder… Is Hell Empty and All the Devils Among Us?
Scripture: I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:1-3 (NRSV)
Message: Today’s Psalm is attributed to David. David was a musician that played the harp and sang songs but he was also a person that realized he needed a fundamental change in his outlook to overcome the sin he had allowed into his life. David had been in the pit before. When King Saul pursued him in jealousy…when Absalom his own son tried to kill him, at the death of his illegitimate child following the time of his adultery with Bathsheba and when his own son violated his half-sister…all these situations brought the pain of the pit into David’s life. Here we learn that if we drift from God we are invited to call on Him to renew a relationship that is no longer broken by sin. We can call on the Lord and be blessed by the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot do this on our own. There is so much more that awaits us if we embrace the power that changes our lives, but first we have to get out of the pit, then with our feet on the rock we can sing a new song. Once out of the pit our rescue story becomes a great witness to others who are still in the pit. Here we can follow Jesus and we can learn from David and from each other’s stories because they are taking us where we need to go. Here we follow someone we trust.
Pray that in our helplessness, desperation and hopelessness we cry out to the Lord. Pray we admit we are in the pit. Pray we ask for help to get out of the pit. Pray we wait on God to rescue us. Pray we find a secure footing in the Lord and walk away from our addictive imprisonment. Pray we then sing a new song of salvation. Pray we discover that we were not whole. Pray we realize how much light, freedom and hope exists when we follow Jesus. Pray that our song of testimony to others generates music in our very soul that heals us. Pray we realize that our delight is incomplete until it is expressed with joy. Pray our very bodies are changed as we move from the pits of despair to the pinnacle of praise, power and proper perspective of love. Pray our very genes are no longer covered in sin but bathed in joy.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 