We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Matt Chow.
Bible Reading:
Psalm 115
“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.9 O Israel,[a] trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the small and the great.14 May the Lord give you increase,
you and your children!
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!16 The heavens are the Lord‘s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any who go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!”
Word:
In today’s scripture reading, we are clearly called to humble ourselves before the Lord. We should not let our own opinions of our good deeds go to our heads. Everything that we do, is done by the power of His grace. All praises and prayers come from his love and mercy. After all he came down to Earth in human form and sacrificed his life to save us while we were still sinners. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
In verses 2-4, the Psalm says there is only one God in heaven and to keep our attention on him. All other idols are made by human hands and do not have any power in our world. This made me think about what are the “gods” in our world today.
Gods of today take the form of placing America over God, our financial security over God, human relationships of God, or our political stance over God. If we love God and want to be like Jesus, then we need to stand up for those who are suffering, show love to the poor and abandoned, and share in each other’s pains. All of these actions will require us to think of ourselves less and of others more, which is exactly what Jesus did for us.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for providing the perfect example of humility and obedience. Thank you for offering your live as a sacrifice for mine. Help me to remember to be humble and serve others before myself. In Jesus’ name, amen!
Skillwork:
All good deeds come from the Lord, himself. Next time you find yourself volunteering to help someone, say a prayer to God to thank him for the opportunity to serve. Remember that everything we do is to glorify his name and not our own.
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