June 9, 2020

Daily Devotionals

June 9, 2020

Our Peachtree Church email devotionals this week, June 8-12, are inspired by selected Psalms.

I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs of my house
with a blameless heart.
I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.

I hate what faithless people do;
I will have no part in it.
The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,
I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
I will not tolerate.

My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless
will minister to me.

No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.

Every morning I will put to silence
all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
from the city of the Lord.

Psalm 101

I had hoped at this point in my life we would have made more progress. Granted, it’s been a long time since I was a young boy and a group of Klansman sat down behind my family at a county fair. I remember well the year my school was integrated. But even then, I wasn’t allowed to bring home a new black friend to play. That was indeed a lifetime ago, and thankfully much has changed. However, when I see a man’s life ending with a knee on his neck or a young man shot while running down a neighborhood street, I am confronted with the truth that way too often the value of our neighbors’ lives is still based on the color of their skin. When these horrific events occur, our first inclination is to say something like, “Well, there must be more to it.” We still struggle to believe the best about our brothers and the worst about ourselves. The truth is that the “perverse of heart” remains among us and even within us.

In this Psalm, David expresses his resolve to create a kingdom of love and justice. He seems to understand that evil is within all our hearts. He will not look with approval on anything that is vile, nor will he tolerate people who slander their neighbor in secret with a proud heart. It is clear that he understands the ways of those who allow injustice and its effects on society. In these days of division, we followers of Jesus must first look within our own hearts before evaluating the actions of others as we strive to model a more just and peaceful society. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding of people of ill will.” We have to examine our own hearts and grow in our understanding of the pain of our neighbors if we are to become the people who truly seek the restoration of all things. Only then can we join in David’s song of God’s love and justice.

For Reflection

In what ways have you condoned the slander of your neighbor through your actions or by your silence?

How might you take this time to listen to your neighbors and grow in your understanding of their reality?

Prayer

Lord, in these days of pain and chaos, we ask for Your mercy. Give us the eyes to see what is wrong both in us and around us. Give us the courage to see the ways that we have been complicit in the brokenness of our culture. Give us the heart to care about the plight of others. Lord, give us the grace to follow Your example of sacrificial love. Amen.

Dr. Jay Madden

Executive Pastor

404-842-2578