Devotions 31-07-06

Ps 150: 3-6

"Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!"

I remember my high school days playing in the band and being one of the student directors of the band when I was a senior. I enjoyed directing the band and seeing how to blend and to use different instruments to produce a message in song that was enjoyable to hear.

I think the Psalmist is telling me through the different instruments how I should Praise the Lord. First is the trumpet; an instrument to get attention to give proclamation like a fanfare for royalty. I can praise the Lord by announcing to others the importance and value of giving God praise. Rather than just asking God for our needs why not spend some time in Praising Him for who He is.

Second is the harp and lyre; instruments that are good for meditation and reflection. I must make time in my life to be quiet before God and meditate on His greatness and power recognizing that He alone is God; there in no other.

Third is timbrel and dancing; I must get my whole being involved in Praise to God. I must be sure I am not just saying words but I express with my life how great and wonderful and awesome is my God. I think this also speaks of joy and celebrations that should be part of Praise.

Fourth is stringed instruments and pipe; when I look at this I think of an orchestra with an organ. This is when I am in community with others to Praise the Lord. How beautiful when we all join together to lift our voices in song and praise God Almighty.

Fifth is loud cymbals; cymbals are to used to increase our attention and to move us into more dynamic expressions. So as I am in community with others in Praise I can become excited; not in chaos or confusion but in dynamic togetherness. I must let the world around me know that I am Praising God, the Eternal One!

Sixth is resounding cymbals; that is cymbal clashes upon cymbal clashes. This is the height of our community of Praise. I am afraid we do not do this very much and some may never have experienced such a wonderful moment. I hope this will change. It is like the climax or the ending of a great orchestra performance. You jump to your feet in great applause or you sit there stunned by the awesomeness of what you have heard. I want to Praise God with others with such mighty Praise to the only one that deserves such Praise.

With such a climax I am urged to tell everyone that they ought to Praise the Lord. I am so full of Praise myself that I shout with all my being Praise the Lord!! Praise the Lord!

Pray for me as I memorize Ps 150 and make it a vital part of my life of Praise!

Devotions 30-07-06

Ps 150:3-5

Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals.

I have already looked at verses 1 & 2 but I want to review. Verse one was about where we Praise the Lord and verse 2 is about why we Praise the Lord. Now I want to examine how I Praise the Lord.

Since the Psalms is poetry and songs it is fitting to use musical instruments to express how to praise God. I have been thinking on how each of these instruments symbolizes how we praise God. The instruments listed are: the trumpet, harp and lyre, timbrel with dancing, stringed instruments and pipe, loud cymbals, and resounding cymbals.

I have concerns in how I give praise to God. I am convinced that I do very little genuine praise to God. It is not easy to Praise the Lord. Praise is telling God how wonderful and great He is, and focusing on His attributes. Thanksgiving is next to Praise but it is not praise except when I am thanking God for who He is and not for what He has done. Thanksgiving is primarily thanking God for what He has done. Ps 100:4 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise, give thanks to Him; bless His name." In both instances thanksgiving precedes praise.

It is very natural for me to begin thanking God for who He is and then move into Praise. But I seem to move away quicker than I should from true praise to asking things for myself. My problem is that I shift from my focus on God and His majesty and His power to focusing on myself and my needs.

I am not trying to make prayer a rigid set of rules but trying to help me to realize that I need to examine my prayer and see if I am really praising God. I believe that I Praise God far less than I think I am. I will pick up on the symbolism of the instruments tomorrow.

Lord help me to truly learn to Praise you more and exercise the privilege of giving you Praise. You are so worthy of Praise!

Summer and winter, and spring-time and harvest, sun moon and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to Your great faithfulness, mercy and love.

GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS! GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS! MORNING BY MORNING NEW MERCIES I SEE; ALL I HAVE NEEDED YOUR HAND HAS PROVIDED--GREAT IS YOUR FAITHFULNESS, LORD TO ME.

Devotions 28-07-06

Ps 150:1&2

"Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness."

I will spend the next three days in Ps 150. It gives us a good outline in our praise of God. I will elaborate on these looking at two verses at a time for the next three days. I think it is fitting that the last verses will be covered on Sunday. Nothing I had planned but God had it planned.

There are two place to praise God and two reasons given for praising Him. One place to praise the Lord is in His sanctuary. Where is that? I think God's sanctuary is where you designate it as a place to spend time alone with God.
I Cor 3:16 says that we are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in us. The church sanctuary may be my sanctuary to spend time alone with God or it could be my foxhole where I am fighting for the freedom to worship God in my country. Of course, praising God at church is vital but that is only once or twice a week. We need to be praising God every day we live. The second place to praise God is in His creation. How wonderful to spend time with God on the shore of a lake or ocean. Another favorite is in the forest by a beautiful stream or a beautiful meadow. But be sure your focus is on God and not His creation.

What are our two reasons to praise God? First is because of all He has done for me. That would include the mighty deeds of God He has done in our world. Second is because of His greatness. This is not only what He has done but His character in doing it; His Love, Grace, Mercy, and the list goes on. There is no God great like the God of the Bible. All other gods are false gods and the making of man through the influence of the evil one.

Let me close with a line from the song "Great is Your Faithfulness".

Great is Your faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with You; You change not, Your compassi0ns they fail not; as You have been You forever will be. Great is Your faithfulness! Great is Your faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Your hand has provided--Great is Your faithfulness, Lord to me!

Devotions 27-07-06

Ps 149:1&3

"Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song,and His praise in the congregation of the godly ones.
Let them praise His name with dancing; let them sing praises to Him with tumbrel and lyre."

Praising God should not be boring and I think sometimes it is. That may be mostly my fault but we can help each other to not be bored in our praise. I think the admonition to sing to the Lord a new song is good advice. I know some of the songs of old have great meaning and we should not forget them but we need a new song that I can sing with joy from my being. I must keep my praise fresh and new and not allow routine to creep in.

I need the fellowship of others to encourage me in my praise of God. So I must seek for other believers that will spark my life of praise and I can encourage them as well. There is power in praise as I join with others of like heart.

Then there is dancing with praise to God. We have let the world color our view of dancing to be sensual and so much of the flesh. I think dancing can be done in holiness to the Lord. I do not see much of this but I think it is possible. It is a way of putting more expression into your words and putting more of your being into you expressions of praise.

I think singing with tumbrel and lyre is also a way of expressing how we want to praise the Lord more than just words. Words seem so inadequate and you want to add something to it at times. Maybe just tapping your foot or moving a little would help.

I must be very careful that my focus is on the Lord and not anything else. Most of all I want my praise to exhaled the Lord of all creation and the God of my salvation. My life must follow my expressions of praise in the way I live everyday.

Devotions 26-07-06

Ps 148:1&7

"Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!

"Praise the Lord from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps;"

Am I so busy with the affairs of my life that I find it hard to find the time just to Praise the Lord? Do I think I have so many more important things to pray for other than just praising the Lord? My busy schedule is not conducive to taking time just to Praise the Lord. How sad that I allow the pressures of the world to crowd out the most important thing in my life. The one who gives me everything I have and am should be first in my words of appreciation and praise.

Lord, help me to just stop during my days to thank You and to praise You! I must be more aware of You in all the activities of life and be conscious of Your presence.

Rev 4:11 "Worthy are You our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You did create all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."

Devotions 25-07-06

Ps 147:1

"Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is becoming."

I like the Message translation. "Hallelujah! It's a good to sing praise to our God; praise is beautiful, praise is fitting."

It is interesting to me that the word "Hallelujah" is the same in any language of the world. God has set His word of praise in every language spoken by His creation.

Another note of interest is that the last seven Psalms are mostly about Praise with the last three Pslams nothing but Praise. Join with me in praising God an extra amount today.

I will inclued a song of Worship that has stirred my heart over the years when I sing it. It is "We Worship and Adore You"

We worship and adore You, Bowing down before You, Songs of praises singing, Hallelujahs ringing. Hallelujah, Hallelujah,Hallelujah. Amen

Devotions 25-07-06

Ps 147:1

"Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is becoming."

I like the Message translation. "Hallelujah! It's a good to sing praise to our God; praise is beautiful, praise is fitting."

It is interesting to me that the word "Hallelujah" is the same in any language of the world. God has set His word of praise in every language spoken by His creation.

Another note of interest is that the last seven Psalms are mostly about Praise with the last three Pslams nothing but Praise. Join with me in praising God an extra amount today.

I will inclued a song of Worship that has stirred my heart over the years when I sing it. It is "We Worship and Adore You"

We worship and adore You, Bowing down before You, Songs of praises singing, Hallelujahs ringing. Hallelujah, Hallelujah,Hallelujah. Amen

Devotions 24-07-06

Ps 146:9&10

"The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow; but He thwarts the way of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

Yesterday, I mentioned about the stranger or traveller.

Fifth, is the supporting of the fatherless and the widow. My wife grew up with out a father and that was very difficult for her. When she became a Christian then God became her father and protected her from many things that her eartly Dad should have done. Although my Dad was not a beleiver when I was home, he was a great Dad and protected me from many things and taught me things I still do today. But my heavenly Father has taught me much about Himself and having an eternal perspective. I am still learning from Him as I write.

Sixth, God thwarts the way of the wicked. I remember so many times how God has protected me from wicked things or people. I can never be grateful enough for all the evil I have been protected from in my foolishness and my sin. I must give God more praise and thanks for all the wicked He has thwarted in my life.

Seventh and last the Lord will reign for ever. He is the eternal God to all generations. He will always be there and do what He says. All I can say to sum up all He has done is "Praise the Lord". I hope this phrase will never be trite or common place but I will say it reverently and with my deepest gratitude.

Devotion 23-07-06

Ps 146:8-10
"The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous; the Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow; but He thwarts the way of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations, Praise the Lord!

I see there are seven things the Lord does for us. You could say there are seven promises the Lord has made to the world. It is all part of His eternal reign. It is good to look at them and realize they are for us if we acknowledge them.

First, He opens the eyes of the blind. How often I feel I am blind to so many things in my life. Blind to what is happening around me. Blind to my own selfishness and pride and evil ways. Ps 119:18 says; "Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." I even need God to open my eyes as I read His Word so I can understand what I am reading.

Second the Lord raises up those who are bowed down. There are many ways I may be bowed down. Maybe the load of care and responsibilities has me bowed down. I may be bowed down with guilt of my failures or my sin. Maybe it is my sense of inadequacies that has me bowed down and the list goes on. The Lord will raise me up if I turn to Him and give these concerns to Him

Third, the Lord loves the righteous. I am righteous only because He has given me His when I trust Him as my Savior and redeemer. God loves sinners as well but He has a special love for His children. What a privilege to experience His love and care all the days of my life.

Fourth, the Lord protects the strangers or travelers. Those that are far from home and want to be home but are not able to be there. My Lord knows what it is like being far from home. He left His heavenly home for 30+ years to take a message from the Father to me. He died for me and redeemed me and made me His son. I have lived 20+ years of my life overseas so I know a little of what it feels like to be away from home. I am grateful for God's protection over these 20+ years.

devotions 22-07-06

Ps 145: 4-6

"One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. And men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts; and I will tell of Your greatness."

This whole Psalm is so filled with thoughts of praise to God, His greatness, His everlasting Kingdom and how I should be telling others. As I examine these words I feel so inadequate in this very wonderful and noble task.

I think of my grandchildren back in America and how am I telling them of all the wonderful works of God in Estonia and around the world. How much time do I spend in meditating on God's wonderful works? Not near as much time as I desire and should. Others may speak of God great power and that is good but I want to tell of His Greatness. Lord enable me to proclaim You as I ought.

God is more than powerful, He is absolutely great. Nothing can compare with Him. I am so awed by this whole Psalm. I would really like to memorize all 21 verses and review it every morning before I begin my day.