Blessing God...

Scripture: Psalm 103:1-2 (ESV)

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,

Devotional:

Bless the Lord…  We often asked to be blessed, we also ask for blessings for others.  But what does it mean to bless the Lord? 

Let us start by translating Bless from Hebrew.  According to the site Ancient-Hebrew.org the verb barak means to neal.  When it is written in the piel form it means to show respect.  Berakhah means a gift or present. (http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/vocabulary_definitions_bless.html)  Looking up bless the Lord on Google retrieves dozens of sites to give us the answer. 

Pause a moment to think about what you think bless the Lord means…  Before looking anything up I thought it simply meant to praise and honor God.  After looking it up, I realized I needed to add a few more words to my definition.

What does it mean to bless the Lord?  To honor Him, to praise and worship Him.  Adding to this we honor God not only with words but also with the attitude of our hearts.  Just to say it is just lip service and has no meaning.  It is what is in our hearts and attitude is what matters.  DesiringGod.org says this.  “It means to speak well of his greatness and goodness — and really mean it from the depths of your soul.” (https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-it-means-to-bless-the-lord)

Bless God with the attitude of your heart, with our words, by praising and worshiping Him.  Join me in raising the level in which we “Bless the Lord…”

It's Time to Let Jesus In...

Scripture:

Isaiah 7:14 (ESV)

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel

Devotional:

This morning I went to www.biblegateway.com and the verse of the day was Isaiah 7:14.  The first thought that came to my mind after reading that simple verse was God’s love.  God loves each one of us individually so much that He gave of Himself.  Jesus, who is God, came to earth as a little baby.  He lived as a child.  He grew up into a man who shaped and changed the world.

Jesus’s love for just you is so great that He would still be born to ultimately suffer and die so that you can be saved.  It amazes me that even for one person, no matter who they are or what they did, or do, Jesus would still be born, live, die, and rise up from the grave.

Let me ask you a question or two.  Whom do you love?  Who is it that you would do it all over again just for that one person?  What group of people would you do still do it?  It is true that our love is not as great as God’s, but if you take your love for that person or group and multiply it tenfold you still would not match God’s love.  His love is not just for one or two people.  God loves each person that much.

This Christmas think about how your love compares to God’s love.  We certainly fall short.  However, through the Holy Spirit we can love others who in our eyes are unlovable.  We can care for those around us.  Is the spirit of Christmas in you this year?  Are you full of love and compassion?  This Christmas what is in your heart?  Maybe it’s time we all let Jesus in…