Tag Archives: praise the LORD

Praying and Singing Hymns to God,

22 Tuesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Psalm 103

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s quote and prayer from
“Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer”
by David Kitz.

 Reading: Psalm 103:1-6

Heavenly Father,
I genuinely want to learn to praise you
in all situations.
You are always good,
loving, and worthy of praise.
Along with David I declare,
“Praise the LORD, my soul!”
Amen.

— — —

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas,
and the magistrates ordered them
to be stripped and beaten with rods.
After they had been severely flogged,
they were thrown into prison,
and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.
When he received these orders,
he put them in the inner cell
and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God,
and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake
that the foundations of the prison were shaken.
At once all the prison doors flew open,
and everyone’s chains came loose.
The jailer woke up,
and when he saw the prison doors open,
he drew his sword and was about to kill himself
because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted,
“Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights,
rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
He then brought them out and asked,
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied,
“Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved—
you and your household.”
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him
and to all the others in his house.
At that hour of the night
the jailer took them and washed their wounds;
then immediately he and all his household were baptized.
(Acts 16:22-33 NIV)*

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Today’s review of “The Soldier Who Killed a King“


This biblically accurate novel is ideal for the Lent/Easter season.
For details click here.

Praise Beyond Circumstances

22 Tuesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Psalms

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Devotion from Psalms 365 by David Kitz

Reading: Psalm 103:1-6
Of David.
Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed (NIV). *

In Praise of His Name — photo by David Kitz

Reflection
Psalm 103 begins by David calling on his soul to praise the LORD. Many see praise and worship as a purely cathartic response to the manifest goodness of God. Something good happens to us. Unexpectedly, we get a thousand-dollar check in the mail. Quite naturally our response is praise to God.

For many people, praise to God never progresses beyond this natural, cathartic level. If God does not bless, no praise is forthcoming. Our praise for the LORD becomes, or simply remains circumstance dependent. But that was not the case with David. His praise extended beyond simple catharsis. He taught his soul to praise the LORD in all circumstances. True biblical praise and worship is after all a spiritual exercise, a discipline we grow in, just as we grow in the discipline of prayer.

The LORD, the object of our praise, does not change with our circumstances. He is forever the same. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is constant, hence our praise and worship of him should be constant, unaffected by weather conditions, world events, the gyrations of the stock market, our swings of mood or our personal situation.

Of course, this constancy in praise is something the natural man simply rebels against. Our world needs to be right for us to praise God aright, or so we reason. The only problem with this logic is the world has never been right since the Fall. Death, disease, war, and misery have been raining down on the children of Adam since wilful disobedience to God first took root among us. And this is one weather forecast, for all humanity, that is not about to change—not until Christ returns.

If we are waiting for a perfect world before we lift our voice in praise to God, we will never praise Him. In fact, if our eyes are on the world, or on ourselves, there will always be grounds to withhold our praise. But then, the whole purpose of praise and worship is to lift our eyes. We desperately need to get our eyes off ourselves, off the world, and onto God our Maker.

Response: Father God, I genuinely want to learn to praise you in all situations. You are always good, loving, and worthy of praise. Along with David I declare, “Praise the LORD, my soul!” Amen.

Your Turn: Have you learned to praise God even in difficult times like the pandemic? Have you drawn closer to God or has your relationship suffered?

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

Peace Be with You

20 Sunday Apr 2025

Posted by in Easter Sunday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

I will praise the LORD!

Luke 24:1-12

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

While they were still talking about this,
Jesus himself stood among them
and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”

They were startled and frightened,
thinking they saw a ghost.
He said to them,
“Why are you troubled,
and why do doubts rise in your minds?
Look at my hands and my feet.
It is I myself!
Touch me and see;
a ghost does not have flesh and bones,
as you see I have.”

When he had said this,
he showed them his hands and feet. 
And while they still did not believe it
because of joy and amazement,
he asked them,
“Do you have anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
and he took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them,
“This is what I told you
while I was still with you:
Everything must be fulfilled
that is written about me in the Law of Moses,
the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds
so they could understand the Scriptures. 
He told them,
“This is what is written:
The Messiah will suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day,
and repentance for the forgiveness of sins
will be preached in his name to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
I am going to send you
what my Father has promised;
but stay in the city
until you have been clothed
with power from on high.” *

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

This biblically accurate novel is ideal for the Lent/Easter season.
For details click here.

He Is Not Here; He Has Risen!

20 Sunday Apr 2025

Posted by in Easter Sunday

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

I will praise the LORD!

Luke 24:1-12

Jesus Has Risen

On the first day of the week,
very early in the morning,
the women took the spices they had prepared
and went to the tomb. 
They found the stone rolled away
from the tomb, 
but when they entered,
they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 
While they were wondering about this,
suddenly two men in clothes
that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 
In their fright the women bowed down
with their faces to the ground,
but the men said to them,
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? 
He is not here; he has risen!
Remember how he told you,
while he was still with you in Galilee: 
‘The Son of Man must be delivered over
to the hands of sinners,
be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 
Then they remembered his words.

When they came back from the tomb,
they told all these things to the Eleven
and to all the others. 
It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Mary the mother of James,
and the others with them
who told this to the apostles. 
But they did not believe the women,
because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 
Peter, however,
got up and ran to the tomb.
Bending over,
he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves,
and he went away,
wondering to himself what had happened. *

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

This biblically accurate novel is ideal for the Lent/Easter season.
For details click here.

He Asked for Jesus’ Body

19 Saturday Apr 2025

Posted by in Easter Sunday

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

I will praise the LORD!


Luke 23:50-56

The Burial of Jesus

Now there was a man named Joseph,
a member of the Council,
a good and upright man,
who had not consented to their decision and action.
He came from the Judean town of Arimathea,
and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God.
Going to Pilate,
he asked for Jesus’ body.
Then he took it down,
wrapped it in linen cloth
and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock,
one in which no one had yet been laid.
It was Preparation Day,
and the Sabbath was about to begin.

The women
who had come with Jesus from Galilee
followed Joseph and saw the tomb
and how his body was laid in it.
Then they went home
and prepared spices and perfumes.
But they rested on the Sabbath
in obedience to the commandment. *

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

This biblically accurate novel is ideal for the Lent/Easter season.
For details click here.

How Great Are Your Works, LORD

13 Sunday Apr 2025

Posted by in Psalm 92

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

I will praise the LORD!


Psalm 92:1-8

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

It is good to praise the LORD
    and make music to your name, O Most High,
proclaiming your love in the morning
    and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp.
For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
    I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
How great are your works, LORD,
    how profound your thoughts!
Senseless people do not know,
    fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.
But you, LORD, are forever exalted. *

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

This biblically accurate novel is ideal for the Lent/Easter season.
For details click here.

You Will Tread on the Lion and the Cobra

12 Saturday Apr 2025

Posted by in Psalm 91

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

I will praise the LORD!


Psalm 91:9-16

If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
“Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.” *

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

This biblically accurate novel is ideal for the Lent/Easter season.
For details click here.

Has the LORD’s Holiness Caught Your Attention?

09 Wednesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Psalm 99, Psalms

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Devotion from Psalms 365 by David Kitz

Reading: Psalm 99:1-5
The LORD reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shak
Great is the LORD in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
Let them praise your great and awesome name—
Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy (NIV). *

White water — Mormora & Lake, ON — photo by David Kitz

Reflection
What does it mean to be holy? There are several shades of meaning for the word holy. It can mean being consecrated or dedicated for a special purpose. It also means righteous. But the definition that fits best in the light of Psalm 99 reads like this: “awe-inspiring—having a character that evokes reverence” (Encarta Dictionary).

The psalmist is effusive with his praise for the LORD, but three times in this short psalm, he centers back to this phrase: he is holy. Yes, the LORD reigns, He is righteous and exalted, but what has really caught the psalmist’s attention is the LORD’s holiness. That’s what sets Him apart and elevates Him above the stratosphere.

Has the LORD’s holiness caught your attention? Have you been filled with awe by the holiness of God? I fear that far too often we have diminished God. We have tried to make Him like us—powerful but a bit quirky—maybe short-tempered or set in His ways. What nonsense! Our God is holy. We need to wake up to that fact. It must be central to our understanding of God.

In the Beatitudes from his Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). To clarify, I might add the pure in heart will see the true God, not a distorted caricature. Our sinful nature has a way of distorting our view of the LORD. That’s why personal purity and holiness are so essential. The apostle Peter provides this admonition: As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16).

Response: LORD God, I want to see you at work in my life. Help me with the help of your Holy Spirit to clean up those areas that distort my view of you. You are holy. I worship you in the beauty of your perfect holiness. Amen.

Your Turn: Are there times when you have seen God as short-tempered or set in His ways? Have you avoided God’s call to holiness?

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

To purchase or for a closer look click here.

He Is My Refuge and My Fortress

06 Sunday Apr 2025

Posted by in Psalm 91

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

I will praise the LORD!


Psalm 91:1-8

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD,
“He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked. *

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

This biblically accurate novel is ideal for the Lent/Easter season.
For details click here.

Satisfy Us in the Morning

05 Saturday Apr 2025

Posted by in Psalm 90

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

I will praise the LORD!


Psalm 90:13-17

Relent, LORD! How long will it be?
    Have compassion on your servants.
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands. *

Para la publicación de Salmos 365 de hoy en español haga clic aquí.

bgbg_v4.3_1501818
* NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, COPYRIGHT ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 BY BIBLICA

Please pray for peace to return to Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine!

Volume I of Psalms 365: Develop a Life of Worship and Prayer won the Best Book of the Year Award from The Word Guild and Volume II has won the Best Devotional of the Year Award. For those who love God’s word, this three-book series is an ideal way to begin the new year, and daily meet with the Lord. To purchase or for a closer look click here.

RGB72PsalmsVol2

A gripping read from David Kitz.
4485 SHARABLE-2

This biblically accurate novel is ideal for the Lent/Easter season.
For details click here.