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I will praise the LORD!
Photo by Tom Swinnen on Pexels.com
You Made Them All
19 Saturday Dec 2020
Tag Archives: created
Let Praise Ascend!
27 Saturday Apr 2019
Tags
I will praise Him!
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for at his command they were created,
and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree that will never pass away.
Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and women,
old men and children.
(Psalm 148:5-12, NIV)
You Knit me Together
26 Saturday Jan 2019
I will praise Him!
Photo by Natalija Mislevicha on Pexels.com
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
(Psalm 139:13-18, NIV)
Your Hands Made Me
11 Wednesday Jan 2017
Tags
adversity, created, David Kitz, formed, glory, God's image, life purpose, meditate, purpose, touched by God
Reading: Psalm 119
י Yodh
(Verses 73-80)
Your hands made me and formed me;
give me understanding to learn your commands.
May those who fear you rejoice when they see me,
for I have put my hope in your word.
I know, LORD, that your laws are righteous,
and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
May your unfailing love be my comfort,
according to your promise to your servant.
Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause;
but I will meditate on your precepts.
May those who fear you turn to me,
those who understand your statutes.
May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees,
that I may not be put to shame (NIV).
Reflection
You have been touched by God. Pause. Consider that for a moment.
When did God touch you? According to the psalmist it happened at the very beginning of your life. Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.
Winter glory — photo by David Kitz
Implied in that statement is God’s personal care—His attention to detail. You are not an accident or an afterthought in the mind of God. He formed you with a plan and a purpose. According to the apostle Paul, a large part of that purpose is that you may know Him, and be conformed to the image of His dear Son. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters (Romans 8:28-29).
When we face difficulties, hardship and suffering has God abandoned us? The answer is a resounding no. Consider the psalmist’s response to these things: I know, LORD, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.
Every adversity you face should bring you nearer to God. See it as an opportunity to learn, grow and be changed into someone who is more like Jesus. He did not run from adversity, but instead faced suffering and death head on. God the Father brought Jesus safely to the other side, and it’s His purpose to bring you through to glory too.
Response: Father God, I want to be like Jesus. Thank you for touching my life and forming me with your hands. I am yours—yours by creation—yours by redemption. I will meditate on your precepts. Amen.
Your Turn: Have you questioned God’s love for you? Are you living out His plan?
Ownership
22 Wednesday Jun 2016
Posted in Mid-Week Medtiation, Psalms
Tags
belonging, created, Creator, Gatineau Park, gender, God, Ottawa River, sexuality, the LORD
You know the LORD is God! He created us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep in his pasture (Psalm 100:3, CEV).
The Ottawa River Valley as seen from the Gatineau Park Escarpment — photo by David Kitz
Reflection
This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is creation.
So many of the divisive issues that convulse our society have a deeper root. Whether it is issues around gender and sexuality, or race and ethnicity, scratch below the surface and you soon discover the foundational issue. The foundational issue is do you believe in God. More specifically, do you believe God created you? Do you believe He has an ownership claim on your life?
The psalmist states this root issue quite succinctly:
You know the LORD is God! He created us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep in his pasture (Psalm 100:3, CEV).
If you accept the premise that God created humanity and therefore has ownership of our lives and “Creator’s rights,” then we know our bodies belong to Him. We are ultimately accountable to Him for how we use the gift of our sexuality. We are his people, the sheep in his pasture.
Furthermore, there are no racially superior people. The LORD God made them all and offered up His Son to redeem them all.
The root issue is ownership. Do you belong to God or are you god?
Response: LORD God, I acknowledge that you created me. I belong to you. I was bought by the precious blood of Jesus. Help me to daily reflect the great love you have for me. Amen.
Your Turn: Whom do you belong to? Do you believe in Creator’s rights?
I love the Psalms 