Daily Devotional For Sunday, March 9, 2025
Today is Sunday and time to worship God with others today. I hope you do that. The Psalms are full of verses about praising God.
Psalm 100 says this:
“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. (2) Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. (3) Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. (4) Enter His gates with ]thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. (5) For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations” (NASB).
Psalm 149 says this:
“Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. (2) Let Israel be glad in his Maker; Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. (3) Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. (4) For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. (5) Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds. (6) Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, (7) To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishment on the peoples, (8) To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron, (9) To execute on them the judgment written; This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the Lord!” (NASB).
Psalm 150 says this:
“Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. (2) Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. (3) Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. (4) Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. (5) Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. (6) Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” (NASB).
I guess you get the picture here. God desires that we praise Him with song, new songs, instruments, dancing, our voices, and our breath. The reason we should and can praise God is for all He has done for us. Without Jesus Christ, we are lost in our sin and on our way to hell forever. God did not have to provide a way to save us, but He chose to do it anyway. That is the point of Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (NASB).
The very next breath we take is by God’s grace. All the skills, talents, abilities, intellect and experience we have is all by God’s grace. That is the point of James 1:17, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (NASB). Everything good in our lives is from God. Everything! That in itself should generate praises from us each and every day. Each and every day God provides us with all kinds of different deliverances. We may not see them, but they are there. The Bible is full of stories of deliverance.
The greatest is the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, which changed the destiny of humanity. There is the deliverance of the Hebrew slaves from the brick pits of Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey. There are accounts of personal deliverance from unclean spirits, debilitating medical conditions, and destructive behaviors.
Every follower of Jesus has a deliverance story, too—from the kingdom of darkness into God’s Kingdom of light. The Bible teaches that we have a responsibility to tell other people about how good God has been to His people throughout the generations. Let’s not just gobble up His blessings as if we somehow earned them. When we experience God’s goodness and His help, let’s acknowledge that to others and serve Him with a heart of gratitude.
Praising God for these serves two purposes. It is our way to thank God for these. If we share them with others, it provides encouragement and hope to them that God is doing the same in their lives. Sharing our stories of God’s grace and blessings to us is so important in reaching others for Christ. We tell our stories not to brag or have some kind of one upmanship, but to brag about and praise God. Praise has a way of taking our eyes off ourselves and putting them on God, is the author and source of our salvation.
Questions To Consider
- How often or frequently is your praise to God? How do you praise God when you do?
- Praise is healing. Praise is encouraging. Praise, even when in a dire situation, lifts our spirits to depend on God. When has there been a time in your life you were low or had “bottom out,” and you chose to praise God? What were the results?
- Are you intentional to share your praises of God to others? Why or why not?
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalm 145:10-12, “All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You. (11) They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power; (12) To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts, And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
Prayer To Pray: “Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace, mercy, and deliverances to my life—You have lifted me from despair and given me hope. Today, I offer myself as a living sacrifice, so I may bring glory and honor to Jesus’ name. Give me courage to persevere, wisdom to follow, to praise You in the good and the bad, and boldness to tell of all Your deliverances so Your will can be done in the lives of others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly