Bless the Lord O My Soul
Psalms 103:1-5 1 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Isn’t it great to begin your day with a blessing? I read my Bible every day, and most days I write a devotional to accompany my reading. Recently, I have been reading from 1 John, but today I awoke with Psalm 103 on my lips, and so I write today’s devotional based upon that psalm.
Psalm 103 begins with praising God with all that is within me, with nothing held back. I remember His many blessings, so how can I do anything but praise Him? He forgives my sins, anything that separates me from Him. He heals me, He has bought me back from the sin that would have destroyed me, and places a crown upon my head, which one day I will lay at His feet.
This past weekend God blessed me with the privilege of baptizing my precious great granddaughter, Claira Josephine. I love her parents so very much, and I am so thankful to have the benefit to bask in their love for each other and their daughter. As I read the liturgy of the Church and scooped the water from the Baptismal Font with a shell, pouring it over her head as her dad held her and her mom waited to dry her off, I was overwhelmed with God’s love and faithfulness. And, I am confident that her parents, grandparents and great grandparents will cover her in prayer daily, leading her to know, believe and understand that when the Holy Spirit beckons her, she will respond, moving her from prevenient (preventing) grace to justifying grace and ultimately sanctifying grace.
May we continue to praise God for all He has done and for all He will do. And as I read Hab 3:17-18, where the questioning prophet finally understands God’s character, I remind each of us that it is our duty and our blessing to praise God regardless of our circumstances. And, as the Message, a contemporary version of the Bible reads: Psalms 23:6 (MSG) 6 Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of GOD for the rest of my life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Abiding in Him
1 John 2:24-29 24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
I love the word “abiding” and what it means in the context of our relationship with Christ. According to the Bible, abiding means to stay connected, dwell, or remain in a continuous, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the 21st century it is easier than ever to stay connected. Texting, emailing, and calling can all be done on cell phones, tablets, and even watches. I know it is hard to believe but many of us grew up without these devices. As a child we had an operator direct our calls, and there were party lines which means we shared one line among multiple households.
If we were away from home, it was not so simple to reach another person. We had to find a phone booth (think Superman’s changing room) or sometimes ask a business owner for the use of his phone. But have any of our modern conveniences made it any easier to draw closer to God?
I would say our cell phones have made accessibility easier, but they have also provided more distractions. What a shame.
May we understand that to draw closer to God, our focus should be on Him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A promise for old age
Isaiah 46:4 4 Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:9-11 9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned, that I will do.
As I am now advanced in age, I am more aware of promises in the scriptures to those of us whose bloom may have faded. My prayer is that I may be of use to the kingdom until I take my last breath.
But how can I be assured that God hears me and will answer my prayer? Because He says He will sustain me. In other words, God has promised He will comfort me in my trials, and He will carry me when I cannot walk.
I recall a sermon I did extolling the attributes of God. I listed some of the many things God can do, but then I said, “Did you know there is something God cannot do?”
A little girl in the first row answered very loudly. “God can do anything!” I said, “That’s right. God can do anything, except lie. Numbers 23:19 says, “who am I that I should lie?”
So how do I know God will answer my prayers? Because He said so and He has done so.
May we wait upon the Lord, knowing and believing that God is faithful and He is true, and when He says it, it is already done.
And by the way, the little girl who spoke up during my sermon was the last person I baptized before I retired. So rest in Him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And He set my feet on Solid Rock
Psalms 40:1-3 (NIV) 1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Have you ever been stuck in a bog? A few years ago, I was playing golf and while trying to retrieve an errant ball I stepped into a place that was much wetter than I realized. Suddenly I was thigh deep in a thick, glue-like substance. Memories of old Tarzan movies flashed through my head as I wondered how many deaths due to quicksand had occurred in Arkansas.
Well, Larry finally noticed I was missing and with much effort he extracted me from the place of my captivity. I could not help but think of the song we sang so many years ago and I recognized the parallel between this physical quagmire and the way sin can pull us down, down, down with little hope of salvation.
Oh, but there is hope, and that hope is found in Jesus alone. When we are seemingly lost, stuck in our sins, just say Jesus.When we have friends or loved ones who are on a merry go round of destruction, just say Jesus. In that moment you will find power, you will find peace and you will release.
May we quit struggling and begin resting in God’s unfailing love.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen..
He Brought Me Out
1. My heart was distressed ’neath Jehovah’s dread frown,
And low in the pit where my sins dragged me down;
I cried to the Lord from the deep miry clay,
Who tenderly brought me out to golden day.
Refrain:
He brought me out of the miry clay,
He set my feet on the Rock to stay;
He puts a song in my soul today,
A song of praise, halleluja!
2. He placed me upon the strong Rock by His side,
My steps were established and here I’ll abide;
No danger of falling while here I remain,
But stand by His grace until the crown I gain.
Jesus, our Savior and Lord
1 John 2:12-17 12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young people,
because you have conquered the evil one.
14 I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young people,
because you are strong
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; 16 for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.
In reading today’s Scripture, I find it interesting that John does not limit his teaching to a select group but instead writes to multiple generations. And what does he want them to know? He essentially is reminding them of who God is and who they are in God. He says that craving the things of this world only separates us from God. And he reinforces the idea that if we love Jesus our actions will reflect that love.
Have you ever wondered why we who have surrendered to Christ, do not always act like Christ followers? Perhaps the answer lies in the idea of surrender. It is one thing to accept Jesus as our Savior, but quite another to accept Him as our Lord.
What is the difference? Jesus our Savior bought our salvation and restored us to a right relationship with God our Father. Oh, but Jesus our Lord is our Master. And that is what defines us as Christ followers and what separates us from those who know who Jesus is but do not serve Him.
May we determine that when we choose to accept salvation, we will likewise choose to follow and to obey.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 