SCRIPTURE
Psalm 105:1-42 (NRSV)
God's covenant with Abraham
O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of his servant Abraham,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance."
When they were few in number,
of little account, and strangers in it,
wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
saying, "Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm."
When he summoned famine against the land,
and broke every staff of bread,
he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
His feet were hurt with fetters,
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord kept testing him.
The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house,
and ruler of all his possessions,
to instruct his officials at his pleasure,
and to teach his elders wisdom.
Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
And the Lord made his people very fruitful,
and made them stronger than their foes,
whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron whom he had chosen.
They performed his signs among them,
and miracles in the land of Ham.
He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they rebelled against his words.
He turned their waters into blood,
and caused their fish to die.
Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
He gave them hail for rain,
and lightning that flashed through their land.
He struck their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
He spoke, and the locusts came,
and young locusts without number;
they devoured all the vegetation in their land,
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first issue of all their strength.
Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
They asked, and he brought quails,
and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.
DEVOTION
In today's scripture reading the psalmist says, "O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice."
These words are a wonderful evangelism "strategy" for the 21st Century!
Sometimes I worry that Christians make evangelism too hard. We worry and fret about what to say and how to say it. We become paralyzed by our fear and thus, we fail to share the good news with those whom we love.
Today's scripture makes evangelism really simple. All we have to do is give thanks to God and tell others what God has done for us!
Bragging on God is very easy! All I have to do is think about all of my many blessings and I can't help but tell somebody just how good God has been to me!
When I was sick, God healed me. When I was down to my last dime, God provided for me. When I was worried about my children, God gave me peace. When I was sinking deep in sin, God's Love gave Jesus to die on the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life!
WOW! How can we help but "sing God's praises?" How can we fail to make God's deeds known to all of our friends?
Today, I want to invite you to share your story with someone today. Perhaps by giving your testimony you will lead someone into the loving arms of Jesus.
Let us pray:
Holy One, thank you for showering me with good news! I am so thankful for food, water, clothes, shelter, health care, and education. I am so grateful for family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and even my enemies. Most of all I am happy-glad about Jesus! Please help me to share my joy with others. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.
INVITATION
No comments:
Post a Comment