Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 33:1-5
Ps 33:1-5
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. 4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. 5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
Eph. 5:15-20
15 Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God deserves our praise because he is God. His word is true because it comes from his true nature. In him is no deceit or pretention but he is genuine in every way. That means that what God liked 1000 years ago is what he likes today. What he abhorred centuries ago, he still abhors. What God loved in mankind during the days of Noah, Abraham or David is what God loves in us today. He wants us to respect him as God and trust him as our Lord, which means we obey him as the King of kings. John wrote that God is love and he wrote it in present tense. God is still love, so God loves you and me today as much as he did Peter and John.
With the assurance of his love for us, we give him our praise and we honor him as our God. The best method of praise and the most honor we can bestow is to obey his will as revealed in his word. This means we need to study his word regularly, so we can learn what pleases him. As we learn more about God the more we will understand how to follow him. He knows what is best for us and our lives.
Obedience is not legalism. We are not seeking to earn anything but rather we are following the example of Jesus who said that he had come to do the will of the Father who sent him. As we grow in him, his will should become our own.
Heavenly Father, As I seek to do your will perfectly, I know I fail so many times. I need your forgiveness, your wisdom and your strength as I continue to learn and grow into your image. Thank you for your promise to give me all of these as I trust you and your will for my life. I pray for your people, your family, your church, that we may all be one and make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Give your peace to those who are hurting from the loss of those they love. To the one who is worthy of all praise and in his name I pray.
Robert
