Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 138:1-5
Ps 138:1-5
1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise. 2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. 3 When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. 4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD, when they hear the words of your mouth. 5 May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.
In addition to the many of our day who deny the existence of God or refuse to recognize his authority over us there are many more who regularly abuse, malign and trivialize the name of God and his holiness. When God gave the law to Moses, he gave what we know as the Ten Commandments. The first three of these all had to do with holding God in reverence and showing respect to him as God.
Today, whether in person, on TV, social media or in print, we hear the name of God being used as a byword or curse word or simply as an exclamation when anything unusual happens. This does not show him the respect he deserves. We also see many of these same people get up in arms when anyone uses any name, word or title that they feel would “offend” some person or group of people. It seems we show more respect for many people than we do for God.
We need to praise God with our mouths. We need to glorify him before the world around us. He is our God and we owe him all we have and all we are. What do we have that he did not give us or make available to us? He is in control and guards us in a world of sin and wickedness. We must show our thankfulness and give him praise and honor his name.
But it is not just our words that honor him. Jesus said we are to let our lights shine so that others can see our good works and glorify the Father in heaven. Paul said we are to shine as lights in a dark and crooked world. The darker the world is with sin and evil, the more we should be shining in contrast to those around us. The more hatred, malice and prejudice that is shown, the more people should see the love of God, his patience and compassion in our hearts and lives.
O God, I do praise you and recognize your glory, your power, your majesty, your wisdom and your love. I thank you for your compassion, your mercy and your grace shown to me and all the world. Give me a heart like yours and empower me to become more like you every day. Instill in me a desire to show your glory and your love to all around me. I thank you for the many material things you have given me; so many of them I too often take for granted. Help me use what you have given to help others live for you. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
