About us since our birth

Devotional Guide For the week of May 11, 2008
 
MOTHER¹S DAY
 
About us since our birth
 
 
To read the Bible in one year, today read Psalms 117-119
 
 
To Know:
 
³Yet thou art he who took me from the womb; thou didst keep me safe upon
my
mother¹s breasts. Upon thee was I cast from my birth, and since my mother
bore me thou hast been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near and
there is none to help.²(Psalm 22:9-11)
 
Mother¹s day is a powerful reminder of the providence of God and our
birth.
Psalm 22 is the divinely inspired analysis of the cross and its
consequences. Jesus pointed to this Psalm of David while being crucified.
On
the cross, he recited, ³My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?² If
anyone
feels God forsaken and wonders if there is hope and help for such, Jesus
answers yes by intentionally identifying himself with us as the truly God
forsaken sufferer. 
 
When Christ quoted verse 1 of Psalm 22, he expected his hearers to
understand the dynamic changes destined to take place in human history, by
his willingness to be forsaken of God. Verse 27 says, ³All the ends of the
earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the
nations shall wor****p before him. For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he
rules over the nations.² Far from being a declaration of defeat, the Psalm
ends in a shout of triumph. When the crucified Christ finished his work on
the cross, God proceeded to reveal himself everywhere on earth.
 
In the middle of the Psalm, we hear the testimony of the help the man on
the
cross received from the watch care of God. We read, ³Yet thou art he who
took me from the womb; thou didst keep me safe upon my mother¹s breasts.
Upon thee was I cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me thou hast
been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is none to
help.²(22:9-11) 
 
The providence of God ruled the life of Christ. That same providential
care
is promised to all who trust in Christ. Since God knows our needs before
we
ask for help, it is as true of us as it was of the Lord that, ³ŠUpon thee
(were we) cast from (our) birth, and since (our) mother bore (us) thou
hast
been (our) God.² Mother¹s Day is an appropriate time to reflect upon the
course our lives have taken since our mother bore us.
 
 
05128$-05128
 
 
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