Thursday, December 15, 2022

Praise the Lord

Prayer – Lord, I praise You Lord—for You are greater than anything else in my life. Open my eyes to the truths and guidance

Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD! Praise him, you who serve the LORD, you who serve in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; celebrate his lovely name with music. For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own special treasure. I know the greatness of the LORD—that our Lord is greater than any other god. The LORD does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths. He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses. He destroyed the firstborn in each Egyptian home, both people and animals. He performed miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his people. He struck down great nations and slaughtered mighty kings—Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. He gave their land as an inheritance, a special possession to his people Israel. Your name, O LORD, endures forever; your fame, O LORD, is known to every generation. For the LORD will give justice to his people and have compassion on his servants. The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. O Israel, praise the LORD! O priests—descendants of Aaron—praise the LORD! O Levites, praise the LORD! All you who fear the LORD, praise the LORD! The LORD be praised from Zion, for he lives here in Jerusalem. Praise the LORD! Psalm 135:1-21

 

Meditate. Praise the Lord God.

 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. He is greater than any god, creator who holds things together in His power, generous, endures forever, provides justice, compassionate, and worthy of praise. Idols—are things that take God’s place in people’s lives. God abhors idols. In the Ten Commandments He tells the Israelites to not have idols.

"You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.” Exodus 20:3-5

God directs people to stay away from idols made from silver or gold…or even wood. They may have ears, eyes, and noses—but they are not functional. Jesus taught His disciples to not serve the god of money.

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24

What sorts of idols do you see in today’s society? TV, entertainment, sporting events, hobbies, cars, our homes, jobs—anything that we love, adore or worship instead of God. Are you worshipping God or is some idol taking His place in your life? Can you Praise the Lord?

 

Verse of Salvation ~ I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:9-11

 

Memory Verse of the Week ~ If they listen and obey God, they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives. All their years will be pleasant. Job 36:11

 © 2022 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.

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