Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for July 21

A FEAR THAT BRINGS REST

From: July 21, 2025

“The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm” (Proverbs 19:23 ESV).

Fear and rest do not usually go together. For fear itself produces anxiety. Yet this proverb describes the surprising relationship between fearing God and experiencing real rest. “Fear of the Lord” does not refer to terror of God’s condemnation, but reverent awe of His majesty, love, and holiness. It is a fear that seeks to avoid displeasing the Father, not because we are afraid He will reject us, but because we love Him too much to grieve Him. Such fear leads to life, true life, the kind that satisfies and gives rest. The one who fears the Lord does not live anxiously under the threat of harm, but confidently under the shelter of His care.

When we fear the Lord rightly, we are freed from all lesser fears. What can man do to us if we stand in awe of the Almighty? God becomes our refuge. Fearing God, we need fear nothing else.

But this “rest” is not necessarily freedom from outward trouble, but it is an inward peace. It is the settled satisfaction of one who walks closely with God. “Not visited by harm” means the one who fears the Lord is ultimately safe, even when life is hard. For all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28).

We often fear the wrong things—loss, failure, rejection—when our hearts should be shaped by a healthy fear of the Lord. When we fear God rightly, we find peace. We no longer live under the dread of condemnation, for in Christ we are forgiven and accepted. But we still reverence God’s holiness and seek to please Him in our daily walk. When we fear God above all, we are no longer controlled by other fears. This kind of fear brings deep joy and rest. Are we living this way? Do we fear grieving the One who loves us most? Let us walk in such reverent awe today that our souls find satisfaction in Him alone.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we thank You that in Christ we no longer fear Your condemnation. Yet we do revere You and stand in awe of You. Teach us to walk in the fear of the Lord. For when we fear You, we need fear nothing else. Help us to rest in the shelter of Your love, confident that You will not allow any harm to reach us outside Your perfect will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

WE SHALL SEE HIM FACE TO FACE

From: July 21, 2024

“As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness” (Psalm 17:15 ESV).

David’s psalm anticipated the reality of going to sleep in this world and awaking to the righteous face of the Lord in the next. The Spirit inspired him with expectation of a day when he would be fully “satisfied” to be found in the Lord’s “likeness,” made righteous and fit for living in His presence.

This “face” and this “likeness” belongs to none other than the Lord Jesus. For as the apostle John wrote, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). And as the apostle Paul wrote, “Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12).

Can you join with David and all the saints in saying, “As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness”?

PRAYER: Dear Father, we long to look upon the face of Your Son and live forever in Your presence. Until that day, strengthen us to live for Your glory and fill us with Your Spirit that we might do Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

WHAT GOOD IS GOD’S LAW

From: July 21, 2023

‘Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”’ (Romans 7:7 NLT).

Sin is aroused to further rebellion by God’s law. Does this mean that God’s law is itself sinful? Certainly not! If a mother tells her toddler not to touch the hot stove, she has given the child her law. Yet, the sin nature within the child is immediately activated to do the very thing she was commanded by her mother not to do. She feels the overwhelming urge to touch it! So, the mother’s law was good, but it did not have the power to affect the child’s desire.

If God’s law cannot save us from our sinful nature, what good is it? There are at least three good purposes for God’s law. Paul named its first good purpose by mentioning the tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet.” He explained that he would not have known that coveting was wrong without God’s law. So it was the law that acted as a kind of mirror, showing his guilt.

What are the three purposes of the law? They might be summarized like this:

THREE “R”s OF THE LAW: (OR THREE “P”s)
1) Reflects our guilty condition (Like a Perfect mirror).
2) Restrains our sinful behavior (Like a Prison guard)
3) Reveals our need for a Savior (Like a Pedagogue).

The law is good and useful, but it cannot save. Only faith in Christ saves and empowers us to produce a harvest of righteousness in His name. For only Christ has fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law, so that we might be saved by faith in Him. Now we are no longer under the law, but under grace. For now we serve God in the new way of living in the Spirit.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we love Your law for it is perfect. Yet we are not perfect. We are sinful apart from Christ. Thank You for Christ’s perfect sacrifice on our behalf. Fill us afresh today with Your Spirit that we might live for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“…Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit” (Romans 7:6 NLT).

From: July 21, 2022

THE NEW WAY OF LIVING

It is impossible to serve and please God by following a checklist. Legalism does not please God as it only reveals our unrighteousness and prideful hearts. For the harder we try to keep the law, the more the law reveals our shortcomings.

But the “new way of living” is not about laws and list-keeping. It is not about effort or earning, but believing and receiving. Those who have found this new way have the law once inscribed in stone, now written on their hearts. This new way frees us to truly serve God.

PRAYER: Father, thank You for saving us through faith in Christ Jesus. Now we can serve You in a new way by living in the Spirit. We surrender afresh today. Lead, guide and direct us to join You in Your work today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law” (Romans 7:7 HCSB).

From: July 21, 2021

WHAT GOOD IS THE LAW?

Sin is aroused to further rebellion by God’s law. Does this mean that God’s law is itself sinful? Certainly not! If a mother tells her toddler not to touch the hot stove, she has given the child her law. Yet, the sin nature within the child is immediately activated to do the very thing she was commanded by her mother not to do. She feels the overwhelming urge to touch it! So, the mother’s law was good, but it did not have the power to affect the child’s desire.

If God’s law cannot save, what good is it? There are at least three good purposes for God’s law. In Romans 7:7, Paul named its first purpose, which is to show our sinful condition by naming what is sinful, thus reflecting our guilty condition. Paul used as his example the one who covets and is proven sinful by the tenth command of God’s Decalogue, “Thou shalt not covet.” What are the three purposes of the law?

THREE “R”s OF THE LAW: (OR THREE “P”s)

1) Reflect our guilty condition (Like a perfect mirror). 

2) Restrain our sinful behavior (Like a prison guard)

3) Reveal our need for a Savior (Like a pedagogue).

The law is good and useful, but it cannot save. Only faith in Christ saves and empowers us to produce a harvest of righteousness in His name. For only Christ has fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law, so that we might be saved by faith in Him.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we love Your law for it is perfect. Yet we are not perfect. We are sinful apart from Christ. Thank You for Christ’s perfect sacrifice on our behalf. Fill us afresh today with Your Spirit that we might live for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” (Romans 7:6 NKJV).

From: July 21, 2020

THE NEW WAY OF SERVING IN THE SPIRIT

We don’t serve God by following a checklist, but by living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Legalism does not please God as it only reveals our unrighteousness and prideful hearts. This new way of living is not about effort or earning, but believing and receiving. Those who have received the “newness of the Spirit,” have the law once inscribed in stone, now written on their hearts. This “newness” frees us to truly serve God.

PRAYER: Father, thank You for saving us through faith in Christ Jesus. Now we can serve You in a new way by living in the Spirit. We surrender afresh today. Lead, guide and direct us to join You in Your work today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“…Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit” (Romans 7:6 NLT).

From: July 21, 2019

THE NEW WAY OF LIVING

We don’t serve God by following a checklist, but by living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Legalism does not please God as it only reveals our unrighteousness and prideful hearts. This “new way” of living is not about effort or earning, but believing and receiving. Those who have found the “new way” have the law once inscribed in stone, now written on their hearts. This “new way” frees us to truly serve God.

PRAYER: Father, thank You for saving us through faith in Christ Jesus. Now we can serve You in a new way by living in the Spirit. We surrender afresh today. Lead, guide and direct us to join You in Your work today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

‘Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”’ (Romans 7:7 NLT).

From: July 21, 2018

SINCE GOD’S LAW CANNOT SAVE, WHAT GOOD IS IT?

Sin is aroused to further rebellion by God’s law. Does this mean that God’s law is itself sinful? Certainly not! If a mother tells her toddler not to touch the hot stove, she has given the child her law. Yet, the sin nature within the child is immediately activated to do the very thing she was commanded by her mother not to do. She feels the overwhelming urge to touch it! So, the mother’s law was good, but it did not have the power to affect the child’s desire.

If God’s law cannot save, what good is it? There are at least three good purposes for God’s law. In Romans 7:7, Paul has named the first purpose, which is to mirror our sinful condition by naming what is sinful, thus reflecting our guilty condition. Paul used as his example the one who covets and is proven sinful by the tenth command of God’s Decalogue, “Thou shalt not covet.” What are the three purposes of the law?

THREE “R”s OF THE LAW: (OR THREE “P”s)

1) Reflect our guilty condition (Like a perfect mirror). 

 2) Restrain our sinful behavior (Like a prison guard). 

3) Reveal our need for a Savior (Like a pedagogue). 

The law is good and useful, but it cannot save. Only faith in Christ saves and empowers us to produce a harvest of righteousness in His name.

“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness” (Psalm 17:15 NKJV).

From: July 21, 2017

David’s psalm anticipated the reality of going to sleep in this world and awaking to the righteous face of the Lord in the next. The Spirit inspired him with expectation of a day when he would be fully “satisfied” to be found in the Lord’s “likeness,” made righteous and fit for living in His presence.

This “face” and this “likeness” belongs to none other than the Lord Jesus. For as the apostle Paul wrote, “Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12). And as the apostle John revealed, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

Can you join with David in saying, “As for me…”?

‘Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness.'” (2 Chronicles 6:1 ESV)

From: July 21, 2016

Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the Temple opened with an acknowledgement that God was already present. For as the Lord had manifested His presence in the form of a cloud to Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness (Lev.16:2), so had His glorious presence filled the Temple at its dedication. Solomon’s detailed attention to the building of the Temple, its furnishings and implements, showed his intimate knowledge of the Scriptures concerning these things. The acknowledgment of the cloud as the manifest presence of the Lord in his prayer further proved his Bible knowledge. The cloud was God’s way of showing His approval of Solomon’s Temple by indwelling it with His glory. Today, the Lord indwells those whose body has become His temple through faith in Christ (1 Cor. 6:19-20).