Ps 101

Devotion 1 of 1: Ps 101

We see very strong verses of condemnation in v.7-8, “He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.”
In a sense, we saw the fulfillment of these verses in Syria over the past few days. Syria has been ruled by a brutal Assad family regime for over 50 years. They murdered more than 500,000 of their own citizens, who protested against their rule, many of them by bombings, poison gas and chemical weapons, which are outlawed by international law. This resulted in 6.7M fleeing the country, seeking asylum mainly in Europe.
The only reason the unpopular President Assad could hold on to power was because of the military support he got from Russia and Iran. Russian jets were used in the deadly chemical bombings that hit civilian populations. But Russia was forced to send many of their soldiers and equipment to aid in their war in Ukraine.
As for Iran, they fought for Assad through their proxy in the region, the radical group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah frequently crossed into Syria to cut down Assad’s enemies. But recently Hezbollah escalated their attacks on Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza, and Israel responded by destroying Hezbollah command centers and armaments through devastating bombings and killed many of their top leaders.
So when Assad’s enemies began their latest uprising in late November, Russia and Iran could not squelch it as in the past. The insurgents met little or no resistance as they moved from city to city to take control, finally entering the capital, Damascus, on 12/8 to declare a takeover of the nation. Assad realized the hopelessness of his position and fled Syria to Russia.
When deceit, lies, corruption, brutality and suppression characterize a country’s leadership style, God will cut it down! Let’s pray for a decent government to come into power that really helps the Syrian people.

3 JOHN 1: Free sharing!
In v.9-12, we see a contrast between 2 men, Diotrephes and Demetrius. They serve as a model to us of what kind of believer we should and should not be. Let’s take a look at one characteristic of each.
Diotrephes: Loved to have preeminence (v.9), which meant he was proud and wanted to always be the center of attention. I once heard of a man like him. When he attended weddings, he wanted to be the bride groom, and when he went to funerals, he wanted to be the man in the casket!
Demetrius: Had a good testimony from all. Let’s aim to be this kind of believer—one who is respected by those in the church and also by those in society, in his home, workplace, school and neighborhood!