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Divine Imperatives September 29 Devotional

by David Joynt on September 29, 2023


MATTHEW 5:48 | 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

Jesus does not want us to settle for an inferior version of ourselves. He wants us to aim higher, in fact, to aim at a God-revealing and God-reflecting life. Seeking perfection can be dangerous in two ways. It can be depressing when we fail to reach it, and it can be deceiving when we think we have arrived. Self-deluding pride and self-destructive depression, however, result from perfectionism, not the pursuit of Godly perfection. Godly perfection creates humility and enthusiasm because it focuses, not on ourselves at all, but on those around us we can help and bless. Human perfection is becoming like Jesus, who showed us how to live with and for others.

 

Are you a perfectionist?

 

 

Gracious God,

Save me from defeat and from pride, from depression and self-satisfaction. Shift my focus from myself, toward those You want me to help and bless.

Amen.

 

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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