July 8 – A Name Worthy to Worship

“Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.” -  Nehemiah 9:5 (ESV)

This verse from the book of  Nehemiah is a demonstration of  proper worship of God. This chapter is an account of the people’s reaction after hearing the Law of Moses read. They likstened for 3 hours about the sins of their fathers and for 3 more hours confessed that they had been partakers of similar evil deeds. In response to all of this, they worshiped. Some were a surviving remnant of Israel that was left and not carried away to Babylon; some also those who had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon after 70 years of forced exile. Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem and took nearly all of the excellent, educated and young to live in Babylon during the three mass exiles. While this is a long confession of sin, it is within the recitation of God’s mighty redemptive acts on Israel’s behalf. Indeed, an expression of worship. We might something about true worship from these words. It begins with acknowledgement of the greatness of God’s name and learn that God’s name is glorious and deserves to be spoken with the greatest of awe and recognition that no other name is greater or higher in all creation.     

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April 23 – Singing for Glory

“Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 12:5-6 (ESV)

The Prophet Isaiah was given the ability to foresee a day when many people would be praising the Lord.  In the verses chosen for today we find Isaiah encouraging us who live many centuries later. Isaiah was writing in the first place to the people of Israel. God wanted them to praise Him for what He had done for them. But He wanted them to spread the Word to the whole world. Today there are may people praising the Lord around the world, singing His praises in hundreds of languages. God is doing great things for them, all around the world. We can praise God for His greatness which is more evident than it was in Israel's day. Isaiah said He is great among us among people of various cultures, ethnicities, and nations around the world.  Today, let's praise Him because he continues to do gloriously according to His promises. 

March 14 – Filled With Joy

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,” 1 Peter 1:8 (NIV)

If we take the time to think about it we realize, especially from today’s verse how much we have because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. The Apostle Peter, who wrote this letter to Christians, had spent almost every day for three years with Jesus. As the gospel was carried and spread through the world, many believed in Jesus who had not seen Jesus as the disciples had. This is true for us today. We who have not seen Him have come to believe in Him. And the result is that we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. This is a true joy that is difficult to describe and it is ours. What a wonderful Savior we have. What a wonderful joy is ours when we believe in Him.