'praise' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
Psalm 138…“The LORD will fulfil his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.” vs. 8 If we care at all about this world and our place in it, we will more than likely wonder about our purpose. Since none of us receive instruction books at birth many will feel as though they are having to make things up as the years fly by. Surely, they think to themselves, there…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 67:4-7…“The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us. May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.” vss. 6-7 The psalmist today gives us an insight that we should fold into our hearts during these dark and contentious times. Yes, people are showing themselves to be liars and untrustworthy. Yes, billionaires continue to manipulate the government and the economy to amass even more wealth for themselves and their families.…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 100…“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” vs. 5 There are some religious folks in our time who are claiming that God hates evil and rejoices in the annihilation of our enemies. They base their tirades on passages from the Hebrew scriptures that describe the invasion of Canaan by the Hebrew tribes, where God is said to have ordered the deaths of all inhabitants, including women and children. Those…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 8:5-9…“You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet…” vs. 6 The psalmist was mindful of the ultimate insignificance of humans in the universe, yet he also believed that they had a significant place among created beings. They had been given the responsibility of dominion over the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea. In other words, the stewardship of the…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 8:1-4…“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” Vss. 3-4a The psalmist had been contemplating the heavens and marveling at the wonder of it all. Because in those days there was no light pollution it’s likely that every night he was treated to a show, the likes of which few of us have seen. The night sky would have…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 66:16-20…“Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.” vs. 20 While the psalmist did believe that God had answered his prayer, he also believed that God would not have listened to his prayer if he had iniquity in his heart. We can understand his reasoning because those same assumptions are often operative among us. It makes sense from a human point of view that God would pay no attention to…
Daily Devotions
Psalm 116:12-19…“What shall I return to the LORD for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD, I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.” vss. 12-14 The psalmist knew that he had been blessed by his Loving Lord and felt that it was his duty and delight to respond with a thanksgiving offering. Many are doing that today in…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 21:1-1…“The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’” vs. 9 All of the gospels report that Jesus entered Jerusalem on his final journey, flanked by hordes of pilgrims, and riding on a donkey. The crowd hailed him as the successor to David, Israel’s greatest king, and was looking forward to his coronation…
Daily Devotions
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord.” vs. 1 Psalm 113:1-4 Occasionally believers who are members of what are known as liturgical churches will find themselves at a “praise” service in a non-denominational congregation. While some will enjoy the experience, there are others who are quite dismayed by the non-traditional setting. They don’t like standing up and singing multiple praise songs and chorus to begin the worship. Often there is a band…
Daily Devotions
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” vs. 13 Luke 14:12-14 Jesus doesn’t seem to care if his host was offended by his parting remarks. In fact, he’s oblivious to the social conventions that are so important in our world. When we interact with others, whether inviting folks over to our homes for a meal, or going out to eat with friends and acquaintances, most people are always keeping a record,…
Daily Devotions
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.” vs. 1 Luke 14:1, 7-11 Jesus interacted with a variety of people, and he often accepted dinner invitations from his opponents. On this occasion he was in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and Luke notes that they were watching him closely. They knew that he was unpredictable and that…
Daily Devotions
Daily Devotions