Day lilies — photo by David Kitz
Come to Worship
31 Sunday Jul 2016
Posted in Psalms, Sunday's Psalm
Tag Archives: praise
Wonder Worker
27 Wednesday Jul 2016
Posted in Mid-Week Medtiation, Psalms
I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart and tell about the wonders you have worked (Psalm 9:1, CEV).
Moonlight on Lake Ontario — photo courtesy of Eric E. Wright
Reflection
This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is wonders.
Has God worked wonders in your life? God certainly has worked wonders when we consider the glories of creation. But has God worked wonders for you personally. Has He answered your prayers in marvelous or miraculous ways?
David, who wrote this psalm, certainly had many good reasons to praise the LORD. Notice his exuberant call to worship:
I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart and tell about the wonders you have worked (Psalm 9:1, CEV).
God was with the shepherd boy David as he slew a lion and a bear. Later God was with him as he took down the fearsome giant Goliath. Then David went on to win battle after battle against the Philistines. As David stepped forward in faith, the LORD was working wonders on his behalf.
On a personal level we can’t fully know the wonders of God until we take steps of faith—risky steps of faith. Jesus invited Peter to step out of a boat and onto the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee. Peter experienced the wonders of God as he took those few hesitant steps. Will we dare to do the same if Jesus calls us?
Response: LORD God, give me faith to see you as you are—a wonder worker. You have done and continue to great and marvelous things. Help me to hear your voice and follow you. Amen.
Your Turn: Has the Lord worked a wonder in your life?
With all my heart
03 Sunday Jul 2016
Posted in Psalms, Sunday's Psalm
Come and Praise your LORD!
02 Saturday Jul 2016
Posted in Psalms, Saturday's Psalm
A Fortress of Praise
19 Thursday May 2016
Posted in Psalms, Thursday's Thought
With praises from children and from tiny infants, you have built a fortress. It makes your enemies silent, and all who turn against you are left speechless (Psalm 8:2, CEV).
Prairie Moon — photo courtesy of Donald Adam
Reflection
This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is the word fortress.
The idea of building a fortress with praise seems completely illogical. How can praises build a fortress? But that’s what today’s verse from the Psalms states:
With praises from children and from tiny infants, you have built a fortress. It makes your enemies silent, and all who turn against you are left speechless (Psalm 8:2, CEV).
Furthermore, this fortress is not built with the praises of men, but rather with the praises of children and infants. The simple innocence and wisdom of children often confounds the philosophers and experts of the day. It was children who hailed Jesus as the messianic Son of David, while the chief priests and teachers of the Law scoffed at him (Matthew 21:14-16).
Praising the Lord fortifies our spirit against the attacks of the enemy. And it doesn’t take a genius to apply that truth.
Response: LORD God, I want to build a fortress of praise. There is no one as holy, loving and powerful as you. I give this day, my life and my praise to you. Amen.
Your Turn: Why do children often grasp the truths of God more easily than adults?
You Love Me!
18 Wednesday May 2016
Posted in Mid-Week Medtiation, Psalms
Tags
I will sing your praises! You are my mighty fortress, and you love me (Psalm 59:7, CEV).
The delicate dance of grass at sunset — photo courtesy of Donald Adam
Reflection
This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is the word fortress.
The most reassuring aspect of knowing that the LORD is our fortress is living in the knowledge that we are loved by God. The LORD is our fortress because He loves us. We can run to Him because He wants the best for us.
Today’s verse from the Psalms says just that:
I will sing your praises! You are my mighty fortress, and you love me (Psalm 59:7, CEV).
Rather than running from God, our heavenly Father calls us to run to Him and find our shelter and a place of rest in Him. David, the warrior king and author of many of the psalms, discovered that the LORD was his fortress. The fortress that David retreated to was built on the bedrock of God’s love for him.
The LORD who loves you, even as He loved David, welcomes you into His Fortress built on love.
Response: LORD God, I can’t thank you enough for loving me. You demonstrated that love by sending Jesus to die on a cross in my place. You are my fortress in the storms of life. Amen.
Your Turn: Do you sometimes doubt God’s love for you? How are you reassured of God’s continual love even when times are difficult?
Shout Triumphantly!
29 Friday Apr 2016
Posted in Friday's Focus, Psalms
Shout triumphantly to the LORD, all the earth! Be happy! Rejoice out loud! Sing your praises!(Psalm 98:4, CEV).
Streaming sunshine sings its praises — photo by David Kitz
Reflection
This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is victory.
Who brings victory over death, hell and the grave? His name is Jesus. Who leads people in triumph over temptation, sin and addiction? His name is Jesus. Who defeated the devil and the hordes of hell? His name is Jesus!
Shout triumphantly to the LORD, all the earth! Be happy! Rejoice out loud! Sing your praises!(Psalm 98:4, CEV).
We have ten thousand reasons to thank and praise the LORD. Let’s not be shy about letting Him know that we love Him. We appreciate His marvelous creation. We rejoice in our redemption through Jesus shed blood. We are amazed that He would personally choose us and welcome us into His family.
What a wonderful God! He loves even me!
Response: LORD God, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. You send your undeserved love and grace streaming into my life. I praise you with uplifted hands. Amen.
Your Turn: Has the LORD brought joy and victory into your life? Do you praise Him even in difficult times?
Greater Glory
26 Friday Feb 2016
Posted in Friday's Focus, Psalms
All creation, come praise the name of the LORD. Praise his name alone. The glory of God is greater than heaven and earth (Psalm 148:13, CEV).
Autumn Splendor, Gatineau Park – photo by David Kitz
Reflection
This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is glory.
There’s a rather common saying: The sum is greater than its parts. While that may not be strictly correct in mathematics, it makes perfect sense in real life experience. The full picture is so much better than segments seen in sequence.
If I divided the autumn picture above into six equal portions, and showed you them sequentially, they would not have the same impact as the entire picture seen as a whole.
In the same way, our picture of the glory of God is like many small snapshots. I am not sure we could handle the full glory of God, if it was revealed to us. But today’s verse from the Psalms calls us to see that greater sum.
All creation, [me included] come praise the name of the LORD. Praise his name alone. The glory of God is greater than heaven and earth (Psalm 148:13, CEV).
Response: LORD God, let me catch glimpses of your glory today, but remind me too that you are so much bigger than I can think or even imagine. You are an awesome God! Amen.
Your Turn: Do you think your picture of God is too small?
Resurrection Restoration
23 Tuesday Feb 2016
Tags
David, God, Jesus, Landestreu, praise, prophetic, resurrection
Reading: Psalm 71
Verses 19-24
Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
You will increase my honor
and comfort me once more.
I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you—
I whom you have delivered.
My tongue will tell of your righteous acts all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion (NIV).
Reflection
Typically Christians view resurrection as a New Testament concept, but here in the conclusion to Psalm 71, we can see that the Old Testament psalmist had a solid grasp of resurrection truths. Consider his words. Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.
Landestreu Cemetery, Landestreu, SK. — photo courtesy of Donald Adam
That sounds like resurrection to me. Jesus fulfilled the prophetic words of the psalmist when he stepped out of the tomb on resurrection morning. Elsewhere David spoke prophetically of Christ and his resurrection when he wrote, “I am your chosen one. You won’t leave me in the grave or let my body decay” (Psalm 16:10).
Peter sited this verse as proof of Jesus’ resurrection when he preached to the crowd that gathered on the Day of Pentecost. See Acts 2:22-36.
The resurrection filled the psalmist with hope and it should do the same for us. Because Jesus is alive now, we too will be raised to life. That thought should buoy us on tough days. When we lose a loved one, whose faith was rooted in God’s redeeming love, we can rest assured that our farewell is not forever. We will see them again at the resurrection. On that great day we can join with the psalmist and declare, “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you—I whom you have delivered.”
Response: LORD God, thank you for the promise of resurrection. Thank you for the hope we have in Jesus. Through Jesus’ shed blood we have redemption and forgiveness. Hallelujah! Amen.
Your Turn: Why is the resurrection meaningful to you?
Despite Affliction and Pain
26 Tuesday Jan 2016
Reading: Psalm 69
Verses 29-36
But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
may your salvation, God, protect me.
I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
The poor will see and be glad—
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
The LORD hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.
Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there (NIV).
Reflection
The word ‘despite’ does not appear in this final reading from Psalm 69, but despite its absence it’s at the core of what David is saying here.
But as for me, afflicted and in pain—may your salvation, God, protect me. I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON — photo by David Kitz
Despite affliction and pain David resolves to praise God and give Him thanks. David decides to rise above his circumstances. He does not give into his troubles and sorrows. He does not yield to the complaints of his body. Not by the flesh, but in the Spirit, he rises above his afflictions.
Often I would rather wallow in my difficulties and coddle my discomforts. But the LORD calls us to live on a higher plane. It takes praise, thanksgiving and a song in our heart to lift us to that higher level. But before the song comes and the praise begins to flow, we determine our response. We must decide. We have a ‘but-as-for-me’ moment.
Despite opposition from our flesh, despite the doubts and misgivings of our peers, we determine that God is worthy of our praise. He is the God of the afflicted—not just the God of the feel-good set—so let the thanksgiving begin and praise burst forth.
Often God sees our heart and He intervenes and our situation changes. But if not, He is still worthy of whole hearted praise. Take time to praise and thank Him now.
Response: LORD God, in my difficulties I praise you. This pain-prone human flesh praises you. Thank you for this life you have given me. Your goodness and mercy never end. Amen.
Your Turn: Is praise difficult for you at times?
I love the Psalms 