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Today is Wednesday June 30, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of Psalms, chapters 31-35. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this link onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-june-30
Today's Message: Praising God Consistently
Praising God is a way to thank Him for all the things that He has blessed us with or gotten us through. While it is wonderful to praise God for all the wonderful things that He has given us, praising God goes beyond just giving thanks. The word praise is defined as an act of expressing approval or admiration, in other words when we praise God through our circumstances we are telling Him that we approve of what He has done and respect Him for it. As Christians, God has given us the best reason to praise Him, His Son Jesus. We are no longer strangers to God, but a part of Him and that deserves continuous praise. “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” - I Peter 2:9. We are chosen and special to God, He respects us for believing in Him and His Son. Yes, God does have respect for those who respect Him. God respects all who serve Him faithfully through the good and bad times. We may not always understand the ways in which God handles things in our lives, but by praising Him we show Him that we approve of and respect His ways even though they seem strange to us.
God could have chosen anyone to represent Him in the Bible, He could have even chosen to write an entire book about you. Actually, He does have a book about each and every one of us, we are, but pages in a book that gets filled in every second of the day. However, He chose to use the testimonies of certain people to show that whether we are rich or poor we can all be used of God and none of us are perfect, except Jesus. David was no exception, he went from being a shepherd boy to a king. He was godly, in fact, he was known as the apple of God's eye and even was a part of the lineage to where Jesus would be born from. However, he was no saint and did his fair share of sinning. Most of the time his life consisted of daily conversations with the Lord, he knew how important it was to keep in constant contact with God. “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me....Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly....Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” - Psalm 31:1-3,9,21-24. David did not always understand why he was going through some of the things he did, but he knew God was with him and encouraged all to have hope in Him. We all need to have the relationship that David had with God, complete trust in Him, daily conversation, praise, reading His Word, and prayer are all essential if we want to have a good relationship with our Lord.
Every once in a while David let his flesh take over and of course, sin would enter his life. However, he knew he had to get right with God if he wanted to get out of trouble. After his affair with Bathsheba, he committed one sin after another trying to hide the first sin, only to fall further away from God in the process. No one wants to face God when they are living in sin, the guilt alone eats you up. Finally, Nathan the prophet confronted David and told him to repent and get right with God before anything else happened. David went straight to God seeking mercy and forgiveness, later on He wrote this Psalm, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.” - Psalm 32. David was full of guilt over his sin, he knew that it was a result of not keeping God in his daily conversations, but once he went to God, acknowledged his sin and asked for forgiveness he knew he was forgiven and would be a testimony to teach others that they too can find be forgiven. God allows us to fall into sin so we can go through the experience and teach others how loving and forgiving God is to every sinner. The word Selah, means to ponder, to pause and think about it. Think about how blessed you are to know the Savior, to be forgiven of your sins, and to know that you will see Jesus face to face one day. Praise God!
We are to praise God at all times, through joy, sorrow, and even through chastisement and when everything seems to go wrong, when we are consistent in giving praise to God He always gives us a way out of our troubles. Like David we need to praise God continually and let everyone know you are praising Him too. “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” - Psalm 34:1-6. Jesus hears all who cry to Him and will save the worst of sinners. Praise God! Do you know Jesus? Praise God! If not, cry out to Him, tell Him you believe in Him, repent, and be forgiven. What do you have to lose, by trusting in the Savior?
Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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