New Year’s Day has arrived and with it comes a new slate.
What will you change this year? How will you grow? Psalm 138 offers us a few
thoughts on what should be at the top of our list of resolutions.
Psalm 138:1
OF DAVID. I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;
OF DAVID. I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;
David was a man of purpose and first on his mind was to
praise God. His reference to the gods here speaks of not being ashamed to
praise God in front of anyone including the world’s leaders and the false gods
of the pagans. This should be our primary motivation in life; to praise God
with our whole hearts.
But maybe 2014 was a difficult year for you. Maybe you lost
a dear loved one. Maybe cancer took away your health. Maybe no matter how hard
you tried you just kept failing to be the person you wanted to be. Read on.
Psalm 138:2
I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
David understood the truth of who God is. We need to understand
the same truths. Going to church is the right thing to do. But God no longer
dwells in buildings; He dwells in the hearts and the bodies of His people. We
must worship Him everywhere we go in 2015. God’s love is not dependent on our
behavior; we must give thanks for His steadfast love and faithfulness. There
are two things that God puts above all other things; His name and His Word. In
2015 we must revere His name. We must lift up high the name of Jesus for it is
the name above all names. We must honor the Word of God. In 2015 the Word of
God must become our truth. It must be put above all things. It must be read,
studied, mediated on, and it must be above all of man’s wisdom and psychology.
We must open it up and run our churches, our businesses, and our lives by its
truth.
Psalm 138:3
When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.
When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.
David knew that prayer was vital. In 2015 we must make
prayer the very breath we breathe. Call on Him.
Psalm 138:4-5
May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD, when they hear the words of your mouth. May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.
May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD, when they hear the words of your mouth. May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.
David knew that the answer to government was to have Godly
men in control; men who praised God and who sing of His ways not of their own.
In 2015 we must change the way we vote. We must demand Christian leadership be
who we elect.
Psalm 138:6
Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.
Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.
David knew that humility was the path to God. In 2015
humility must become our goal. We must give up pride in self and become like
little children, wholly dependent upon Jesus in every aspect of life.
Psalm 138:7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me.
David understood his safety and his health rested in God’s
hands. In 2015 we must trust God to protect us and to heal us of our
afflictions.
Psalm 138:8
The LORD will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever-- do not abandon the works of your hands.
The LORD will fulfill [his purpose] for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever-- do not abandon the works of your hands.
David understood something we so often forget; God has a
plan for our lives. God loves us and if He allows us to face adversity in 2015
then we must rest in His love. Maybe 2014 found us stuck in our same sinful
places. But 2015 is a new year. God’s mercies are new every morning. God has a
plan. In 2015 we must let go of self and the world. We must stop listening to
the wisdom of man and the world and turn to Jesus. I leave you today with a
scripture reading from the New Testament. Take the Word of God in today and
start the year off fresh with complete trust in the truth of who God is.
Ephesians 2:1-10
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Now go forward praising God.
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