Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

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Tuesday, December 18, 2001

Jeremiah 23:5-6
"The days are coming," declares the Lord,
when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely and do what is right in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness."

The heroes of my parents' generation were soldiers, at least some of them. My generation chose rock musicians and rebels for their heroes. Generation X, my kids, adulate athletes and movie stars.

President Bush, I think, is a hero to many people since September 11. With his words, his bearing, his actions, he stirs a diverse pot of American emotion. Perhaps he will govern wisely and do what is right. Perhaps under his leadership we will be "safe."

Over and over we have made men heroes, but men lose their bearings and usually fail to live up to their reputations. Nobody belongs on a pedestal; the air's too thin to breathe. What makes me want to put somebody up there, anyway?

I need someone to light the darkness, someone to forge the path I follow, a "priest" to get God's approval. Since the Fall, my future is not assured. Bad things happen. I am afraid, insecure, full of doubt, anxious. Help!

I appreciate righteous men and women, and I am thankful for heroes. They light paths that are treacherous in the night. And I am grateful to finally begin to understand their limitations, that the blind leading the blind doesn't usually take us anywhere much except in circles. Again I find myself needing Jesus, the Lord our Righteousness, unsatisfied until he comes.

Lord, you know the plans you have for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. Lead us...not into temptation, deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom.

Devotions Archive

Forward, march

Tuesday, December 18, 2001