August 26-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:1-2, Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
Observe what it is saying.
(Thanks to my great aunt Alma for alerting me to this beautiful psalm so many years ago.) David, the author, speaks to himself, to his soul, to offer all-out praise to the Lord. Our souls are where we find our true selves. At the core of whoever we are and whatever we believe, there we find ourselves. Our deepest longings and our greatest hopes reveal our souls’ content. So, it is no surprise that David speaks to his soul to proclaim praise to the Lord. For praise to be authentically given and received by God, it must not only be spoken from our lips but from the very part of our being that connects us with heaven. David also reminds himself not to forget who God is and what God has done. He goes on to detail these benefits throughout the rest of the psalm.
Relate it to your life.
Our souls are God’s gift so that we can connect most deeply with God.
Do something.
“Father, please receive my soul-felt praise of how much I love and adore You. Amen.”
August 27-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:3-5, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Observe what it is saying.
Yesterday, David introduced this Hebrew acrostic psalm by speaking to his soul to give praise to the Lord and to remember all of His benefits. Today, we find the beginning of the list of blessings that runs throughout the rest of the chapter. We can take comfort that God forgives, not just some of our sins, but all of our sins. God heals all our diseases. We may wonder how this works when we see sickness prevail despite treatment and prayer, but one commentator says, “Diseases were understood as a judgment for disobeying the covenant. This portrays the Lord as reversing the punishments for unfaithfulness to the covenant.” In other words, forgiveness and healing work together to spiritually make us well. Even before Christ came, this is a beautiful picture of God’s grace. We can have even greater confidence of these eternal blessings with the redemption that Jesus offers. What a beautiful picture that God crowns us with His love and compassion! He alone satisfies our deepest longings and offers us renewed spiritual vitality.
Relate it to your life.
These core spiritual benefits offer us freedom from guilt and joy-filled vitality into a brand-new life.
Do something.
“Father, I am overwhelmed with praise for Your redeeming work in my life to restore my soul. Amen.”
August 28-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:6, The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
Observe what it is saying.
Another of the great benefits of our Lord is that He is righteous and just. God’s nature does not change and can be totally relied upon to be consistent in all of His dealings with humankind. Because this is who He is, He works what is right and just among those who are tyrannized and harassed. God notices and responds to those who are not able to live freely as He created us to be. Whether the cause is personal, political, or religious, God is at work bringing about what is right and good for all who are oppressed. As the children of God, so should we be working for the good of those who are in oppressive environments. Such examples include those who foster or support abused, abandoned, or neglected children. Those who work to free trapped persons in the sex trade, and those who bring relief to the persecuted.
Relate it to your life.
As a Christian, I should have a heart to pray for and serve at least one group of oppressed people.
Do something.
“Father, break our hearts to see and serve those who are oppressed. Amen.”
August 29-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:7-8, He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: 8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
Observe what it is saying.
Included among the many benefits are God’s revelation of Himself, His ways, and His deeds to Israel when they left Egypt and were headed for the Promised Land. A key verse of that revelation came when Moses was on the mountain receiving the 10 Commandments. “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,” (Exodus 34:6) This verse was what God wanted Moses and His people to know about who He is and how He acts toward His creation. This is God’s default setting. Being slow to anger reveals He patiently waits for us to return home spiritually, but does not deny the fact that His righteous anger can discipline us so that we will be motivated to make the necessary corrections. This too is God’s love and compassion being extended to us. Such key qualities we must not forget and offer tremendous praise.
Relate it to your life.
For any who grew up with the idea that God was always watching to catch us for any misstep, we need to hear this message that God is not angry looking to quickly discipline or punish us.
Do something.
“Father, I offer my praise to You for being so compassionate, gracious, loving, and slow to anger. Amen.”
August 30-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:9-10, He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
Observe what it is saying.
Even when God does exhibit His righteous anger toward us because of our sin, He does so with grace. His anger has a limited time frame. It accomplishes its purpose and is cutoff sooner than later. It does not match the weight of our sin. God as Judge, always gives a lighter sentence than we deserve. This is demonstrated most clearly when God sent His Son to take our sin upon Himself. It cost Jesus everything. It cost us nothing. The most outlandish display of God’s grace refusing to punish us according to the severity of our sin is found at the cross. Jesus took all our sin so that we could receive His full righteousness and stand before God with a clean heart and a clear conscience.
Relate it to your life.
It’s true. God isn’t fair. Jesus took upon Himself the full responsibility for our sin that we didn’t deserve.
Do something.
“Father, how can I thank You enough for what You so outrageously did for me? Praise be to Your Holy and Gracious Name. Amen.”
August 31-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:11-12, For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Observe what it is saying.
In David’s long list of benefits in which we are to offer praise to God, he gives us two beautiful pictures of God’s love and forgiveness. As we learn more about the vastness of our expansive universe, we realize God’s love is beyond imagination just as the heavens are endlessly flow from the earth. If you ever doubt God’s love for you, look up. Get lost in wonder of His creation and at the same time, get lost in His declared love for you. In the same way, there is an infinite separation of our confessed sin from ourselves. East and west has no start and no ending point. It’s infinite. It keeps going around and around. So, whatever sins haunt you, don’t let them. They have been forever removed from you. Enjoy the promise of Scripture, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Relate it to your life.
God’s love and forgiveness are infinite for all who are willing to repent and receive them.
Do something.
“Father, in Jesus, I’m overwhelmed with praise as I clearly see what You have done to display Your love and forgiveness for me! Amen”
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:1-2, Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
Observe what it is saying.
(Thanks to my great aunt Alma for alerting me to this beautiful psalm so many years ago.) David, the author, speaks to himself, to his soul, to offer all-out praise to the Lord. Our souls are where we find our true selves. At the core of whoever we are and whatever we believe, there we find ourselves. Our deepest longings and our greatest hopes reveal our souls’ content. So, it is no surprise that David speaks to his soul to proclaim praise to the Lord. For praise to be authentically given and received by God, it must not only be spoken from our lips but from the very part of our being that connects us with heaven. David also reminds himself not to forget who God is and what God has done. He goes on to detail these benefits throughout the rest of the psalm.
Relate it to your life.
Our souls are God’s gift so that we can connect most deeply with God.
Do something.
“Father, please receive my soul-felt praise of how much I love and adore You. Amen.”
August 27-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:3-5, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Observe what it is saying.
Yesterday, David introduced this Hebrew acrostic psalm by speaking to his soul to give praise to the Lord and to remember all of His benefits. Today, we find the beginning of the list of blessings that runs throughout the rest of the chapter. We can take comfort that God forgives, not just some of our sins, but all of our sins. God heals all our diseases. We may wonder how this works when we see sickness prevail despite treatment and prayer, but one commentator says, “Diseases were understood as a judgment for disobeying the covenant. This portrays the Lord as reversing the punishments for unfaithfulness to the covenant.” In other words, forgiveness and healing work together to spiritually make us well. Even before Christ came, this is a beautiful picture of God’s grace. We can have even greater confidence of these eternal blessings with the redemption that Jesus offers. What a beautiful picture that God crowns us with His love and compassion! He alone satisfies our deepest longings and offers us renewed spiritual vitality.
Relate it to your life.
These core spiritual benefits offer us freedom from guilt and joy-filled vitality into a brand-new life.
Do something.
“Father, I am overwhelmed with praise for Your redeeming work in my life to restore my soul. Amen.”
August 28-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:6, The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
Observe what it is saying.
Another of the great benefits of our Lord is that He is righteous and just. God’s nature does not change and can be totally relied upon to be consistent in all of His dealings with humankind. Because this is who He is, He works what is right and just among those who are tyrannized and harassed. God notices and responds to those who are not able to live freely as He created us to be. Whether the cause is personal, political, or religious, God is at work bringing about what is right and good for all who are oppressed. As the children of God, so should we be working for the good of those who are in oppressive environments. Such examples include those who foster or support abused, abandoned, or neglected children. Those who work to free trapped persons in the sex trade, and those who bring relief to the persecuted.
Relate it to your life.
As a Christian, I should have a heart to pray for and serve at least one group of oppressed people.
Do something.
“Father, break our hearts to see and serve those who are oppressed. Amen.”
August 29-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:7-8, He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: 8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
Observe what it is saying.
Included among the many benefits are God’s revelation of Himself, His ways, and His deeds to Israel when they left Egypt and were headed for the Promised Land. A key verse of that revelation came when Moses was on the mountain receiving the 10 Commandments. “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,” (Exodus 34:6) This verse was what God wanted Moses and His people to know about who He is and how He acts toward His creation. This is God’s default setting. Being slow to anger reveals He patiently waits for us to return home spiritually, but does not deny the fact that His righteous anger can discipline us so that we will be motivated to make the necessary corrections. This too is God’s love and compassion being extended to us. Such key qualities we must not forget and offer tremendous praise.
Relate it to your life.
For any who grew up with the idea that God was always watching to catch us for any misstep, we need to hear this message that God is not angry looking to quickly discipline or punish us.
Do something.
“Father, I offer my praise to You for being so compassionate, gracious, loving, and slow to anger. Amen.”
August 30-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:9-10, He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
Observe what it is saying.
Even when God does exhibit His righteous anger toward us because of our sin, He does so with grace. His anger has a limited time frame. It accomplishes its purpose and is cutoff sooner than later. It does not match the weight of our sin. God as Judge, always gives a lighter sentence than we deserve. This is demonstrated most clearly when God sent His Son to take our sin upon Himself. It cost Jesus everything. It cost us nothing. The most outlandish display of God’s grace refusing to punish us according to the severity of our sin is found at the cross. Jesus took all our sin so that we could receive His full righteousness and stand before God with a clean heart and a clear conscience.
Relate it to your life.
It’s true. God isn’t fair. Jesus took upon Himself the full responsibility for our sin that we didn’t deserve.
Do something.
“Father, how can I thank You enough for what You so outrageously did for me? Praise be to Your Holy and Gracious Name. Amen.”
August 31-Great Chapters of the Bible
Write out the Scripture.
Psalm 103:11-12, For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
Observe what it is saying.
In David’s long list of benefits in which we are to offer praise to God, he gives us two beautiful pictures of God’s love and forgiveness. As we learn more about the vastness of our expansive universe, we realize God’s love is beyond imagination just as the heavens are endlessly flow from the earth. If you ever doubt God’s love for you, look up. Get lost in wonder of His creation and at the same time, get lost in His declared love for you. In the same way, there is an infinite separation of our confessed sin from ourselves. East and west has no start and no ending point. It’s infinite. It keeps going around and around. So, whatever sins haunt you, don’t let them. They have been forever removed from you. Enjoy the promise of Scripture, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Relate it to your life.
God’s love and forgiveness are infinite for all who are willing to repent and receive them.
Do something.
“Father, in Jesus, I’m overwhelmed with praise as I clearly see what You have done to display Your love and forgiveness for me! Amen”
Posted in Daily Devotionals