I LOVE TO PRAISE GOD!

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 145 (NRSV)
Praise God's faithfulness

I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and tell of your power,
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.


DEVOTION

In yesterday's devotion we talked about the importance of "making love" to our loved ones with our words. We set a goal of speaking only positive, life affirming, self-esteem building words over our spouses, children, parents, etc for an entire day.

Today, we must talk about the importance of "making love" to GOD with our words!

I love the words of the psalmist! He says things like "I will extol you...bless you...praise you...You are glorious, splendid, majestic, wondrous."

He goes on to say that God is, "gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made."

I can just imagine the psalmist singing these words to God. How God's heart must have filled up with joy!

Those of us who have children know how precious--and how rare--it is for our children to thank and praise us for our love toward them. When they do take the time to appreciate our virtues, affirm our goodness, and laud our loving-kindness toward them, it makes us feel wonderful!

God undoubtedly feels the same way! I am sure that God loves it when we offer praise and thanksgiving, when we use our words to show forth our love toward our Creator.

It is a sad fact that most of us spend all day thinking about what is wrong and what we need, rather than meditating on what is right and what we have!

God has been so good to us, my friends! Won't you take time today to mediate on the goodness of God and to "make love" to God with your words all day long?

Please pray with me:

Holy One, you are good, gracious, kind, merciful, awesome, powerful, loving, forgiving, and abundant in your blessings to me! I cannot begin to describe how much I love you and how grateful I am for your presence in my life! I am particularly thankful for Jesus who died on the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life. Please forgive me for taking you for granted and for failing to offer you the praise and thanks that you deserve. It is undoubtedly true that you are a good God and your mercies are never-ending. Please fill me up with your Holy Spirit afresh, so that I can share your love with others. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.


THE INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html