Woops. Devotional for last Sunday’s worship music. Sunday, March 7th, 2010
Posted by Rod Hamilton on Mar 15 2010
New Doxology – “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow”
Psalm 103:2 “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits”
We don’t always consider the things that God does for us, the blessings, as “benefits,” and that’s likely because it sounds so commercial, so corporate, like something a company would offer you as an employee. Yet God uses that very word in the above passage in Psalms, and it appears in every reliable translation as such. So what are “His benefits” in your life? We’ll start with salvation. Hopefully you have learned that salvation is the greatest miracle that will ever be done for you by God. But in God’s love, though being redeemed is already more than we deserve, He didn’t leave us at that point. He said that He would never leave nor forsake us. (Heb. 13:5) He’s promised to be an ever present help in times of trouble. (Ps. 46:1) He has given us a great “Comforter, Counselor, Helper” in the form of the Holy Spirit. (Jn 14:16) He has made us so many promises, and these promises are the benefits of God.
Have you counted your blessings lately? If you’ve been feeling a little dry, a little alone or a little let down, reach back and remember the many benefits of God. Thank Him. Rejoice in your blessings. Exalt His holy name. Magnify the Lord.
Only a God Like You – “Only a God like You, could be worthy of my praise and all my hope and faith. To only the King of all Kings do I bow my knee and sing, give my everything”
Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
Hopefully, you recognize the above passage as the first of the 10 Commandments! Our God has exclusive rights to our worship. He bought the rights to us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. All the petty gods that stand in the way of our relationship with God have only the power to attract our attention, our affection, our loyalty and our emotions, but in the end, they lead to destruction. Our God saves, and He has saved us. No other god can create anything as Elohim has. No other god can redeem the lost sinner. No other god has ever drawn close to His people as Immanuel has. No other god holds the power of eternal life or judgment over the world as Jesus Christ has.
Do not overlook the metaphors of the husband/bride in the Bible. As a husband, our God is a jealous God. (Ex 34:14) He will not tolerate sharing His bride. We are His and He is ours. He is worthy of our praise!
The Power of the Cross – “Oh, to see my name written in the wounds, for through Your suffering I am free”.
1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
We have been made alive through Christ Jesus through His many sufferings. The “healing” that was done by His wounds is our very salvation. This verse is often taken out of context and applied to many other things, but make no mistake, Christ suffered and died, not so that we would have good lives, kick bad habits or be physically healed, He died to set us free from the bondage of sin and the curse of the law. (Gal 3:13)
“Death is crushed to death; Life is mine to live, won through Your selfless love.”
1 Cor. 15:57-58 “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
If the story of Christ had ended on the cross, in the tomb or even after the resurrection, our eternal hope in glory would have been left undone. Christ’s death on the cross was the penalty for our sin. His burial was the death all men must die once. His resurrection was the revealing of power over death, but it was His ascension into Heaven, now being seated at the right hand of the Father, that gives us hope beyond the grave.
We Will Remember – “I still remember the day You saved me, the day I heard You call out my name. You said You loved me, would never leave me and I’ve never been the same.”
Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
How could we possibly remain unchanged if Christ has changed us? How could we ever be the same as we were before? I think that a problem for many of us might be that we forgot what it was like to be lost, to be an alien and followers of satan. (Eph. 2) If we’ll take the time to consider how we were, what Christ has done for us and the Holy Spirit is doing in us, we will hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt 5:6) and strive to excel in building up the Church. (! Cor. 14:12)
Desert Song – “All of my life in every season You are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship.”
James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
No trial comes into our life without God having a plan for it and His hand in it. You can rest assured knowing that somebody is being worked, like the polishing of a diamond, to be made even more beautiful in righteousness. When we can’t see God’s hand in our trials we have to trust that He is still there, and not only there, but is doing what’s best for us, even if it doesn’t feel like what’s best for us. In every season and I through every trial, as we become mature and our faith is developing, we will learn to worship God for Who He is – His immutable (unchangeable) qualities that are steadfast even when we falter….and we falter! We worship God as an offering in advance for what He is bringing us through and for what we know will be for our benefit, even unto death.
Praise God!