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This Week’s Devotional Topic
WHY PRAISE HIM?
There is an infinite number of reasons that we should praise God, including the birth of His son! For example: you should praise Him for the heart beats you are enjoying right now, you aren’t guaranteed the next. We praise Him because we understand how that in the beginning, He created Adam & Eve who chose to disobey. We inherited that sin nature and He provided a way for the payment due for our sin to be paid completely through the sacrificial death, shed blood of Jesus Christ, God/Man, the spotless lamb. Any one of the following is reason enough for us to praise Him.
He is “Creator”
Genesis 1:1-27
Verse 1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Verse 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Verses 6-8 Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space “sky.”
Verses 9-12 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.”
Verses 14-19 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.
Verses 20-23 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.
Verses 24-27 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
He provided salvation
John 3:14-17 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Christ is our Mediator (Paul in his first letter to Timothy)
I Timothy 2:1-6a I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.
Forgiven by His grace
Ephesians 2:4-10 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Gift of the Holy Spirit
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Galatians 5:22,23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
And the Psalmist David includes just a few more reasons we should praise our God in Psalms 145:8-20 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The LORD preserveth all them that love him:
Friend, stop and praise Him right now for He deserves it and He enjoys the praise of His people. Amen.
This week’s Scripture
Genesis 1:1-27; I Timothy 2:1-6a; John 3:14-17; John 15:26; Ephesians 2:4-10; Galatians 5:22,23 and Psalms 145:8-20
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