5-28-22 Today in the Word

As Long As I Live Saturday, May 28 | Psalm 146 On the Go? Listen to Today's Devotional One of the best-known choral works in the western world is Handel’s Messiah. Early in its history, a curious custom developed. The audience would stand for the “Hallelujah Chorus,” sung at the end of the second movement. Popular tradition holds that this practice originated during the London premier when King George II stood during this song, requiring everyone else to do so as well. Psalms 146–150 begin and end with the Hebrew phrase “Hallelujah,” translated as “Praise the LORD.” You might say that these last five psalms are the “Hallelujah Chorus” of the Psalter. In today’s reading, verses 2–3 demonstrate an important truth. After declaring to “praise the LORD all of my life,” the Psalmist then warns Israel to “not put your trust in princes.” There is a big contrast here between trusting in God, the King of kings, and trusting in earthly rulers. When we praise God, it helps to center us and remind us where our true hope lies. Our allegiance is not primarily to things of this world. We are people “whose hope is in the LORD their God” (v. 5). In the second half of the psalm, the Psalmist recounts several attributes of God as reasons to praise Him. He reminds us that God cares deeply about the oppressed, the poor, prisoners, the blind, orphans, and widows (vv. 7–9). Not only does this remind us of how compassionate God is, but it also serves as a model for us to follow. If God cares for these vulnerable people, we should as well. Praising God should inspire us to acts of compassion and mercy. >> We have been given a model of compassion and mercy in Jesus! The Son of God and Messiah of Israel spent much of His life preaching good news to the poor, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and showing compassion on the lowly (Luke 4:16–21). How can we follow in His footsteps? Pray with Us Time and again, Scripture demonstrates Your concern for the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner. Fill us with Your compassion for the lonely. Give us humility to care for the overlooked with godly love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t...
Read more

9-25-23 The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas

The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas :: By Bill Wilson Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:Bill Wilson, General Articles There are a lot of terrible things going on right now in the world. But we are at the time of the year when we, as Christians, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We can choose to be impacted by the world around us in its dimly lit arena, or we can choose to let our light so shine. I choose the latter. I want to tell you a little about the Christmas that I had growing up on our family farm in Ohio. I was blessed to be born into a horse and cattle farm that has been in our family for some 200 years. And Christmas, especially Christmas Eve, was a wonderful time for our family. December 24 was my Dad’s birthday. And my Dad was well-loved by his neighbors and friends, so we had a lot going on Christmas Eve. I remember one special Christmas Eve. I must have been about four years old. The night was falling, and the wind and snow were whipping across the barny...
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th...
Read more