Tuesday, August 04, 2009

August 4 - Beyond Compare

Overview of: Psalms

Today's Reading:
Psalms 85 – 89

Focus Verses: Psalm 86:8-12
8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. 9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. 10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. 12 I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

Insight:
There is no other god like the Lord, the only true God. This will eventually be clear to all people; all the nations will come to worship God. The way of the Lord is the way of truth. His marvelous deeds testify that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the only true God. He is worthy of my whole-hearted praise and allegiance.

Response and Action:
I will reflect upon the ways God is at work in my life--he is leading, blessing, teaching, saving, and transforming me. I will consider marvelous things the Scriptures tell me God has done through creation, through history, and through Christ Jesus. I recognize that there is only one God, and I will give him my praise. I will commit myself to seeking his truth and walking in his ways. I will love him and follow him with an undivided heart.

O God, help me to recognize the things that threaten to diminish my love for you. Show me your ways and your truth, that I might follow you with an undivided heart. Help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God, my savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Amen.

New Testament for Today: Revelation 5:9-10
9 And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
In Context: Revelation 5

Proverb for Today: Prov. 4:18-19
"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble."

Recommended Reading:
Jesus Among Other Gods The Absolute Claims Of The Christian Message
by Ravi Zacharias