Psalm 103-2.15.22
Scripture
Psalm 103
Observation-What does it say?
Praise the Lord, oh my soul! Psalm 103 is a psalm of pure praise to our holy, righteous, loving, compassionate, forgiving, mighty God who is most worthy of our honor and worship. How can I pick just a few of the verses from this psalm to highlight?
Understanding-What does it mean?
The ESV Reformation Study Bible says in verse 1, “The psalmist carries on a public dialogue with himself. He encourages himself to praise, and so encourages others who see his example.”
Today I choose to praise the Lord. Will you join me?
Praise the Lord oh my soul!
I will not forget what You have done for me
Praise the Lord oh my soul!
Thank you for Your healing power
Praise the Lord oh my soul!
Thank You for saving me
Praise the Lord oh my soul!
Thank You for not treating me as my sins deserve
Praise the Lord oh my soul!
Nothing can separate me from Your love
Praise the Lord oh my soul!
Thank you for Your love and compassion to me
Praise the Lord oh my soul!
Life Application
Chapter 9 in the Greater devotional that we read through in January encouraged us to read a psalm out loud. It felt strange at first, but I stood in my kitchen, by myself, and read the chapter out loud. And you know what? It was powerful! It is a practice I am going to continue to follow and I highly recommend it. So today, will you give it a try? Read Psalm 103 out loud as a form of worship. Praise the Lord, oh my soul!
-Debbie Dunn
Romans 3-2.14.22
Scripture
Romans 3:23-24 NLT
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”
Observation-What does it say?
Paul is writing to the Romans explaining to them that we are all sinners; that we aren’t made right with God by just doing what the Law of Moses, (The 10 Commandments) commands. Rather, the purpose of the law is to simply show us just how sinful we are-(verse 20). Paul explains that it’s through God’s grace that we are made right with God. It’s our faith, our faith in Jesus Christ alone, that saves us from our sins…not our works.
Understanding-What does it mean?
The verse I chose this morning is pretty much the gospel in a nutshell.
You know two weeks ago, I taught a lesson about sharing the gospel message with someone by simply using one verse in scripture and accompanying it with a simple drawing. The whole point of the lesson was to show everyone that sharing the gospel/Good News with someone doesn’t have to be complicated. Rather, it can be made quite simple and easy to understand.
So, if we all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God, what can we do? How can we avoid the inevitable second death, the spiritual death, a death where we are forever separated from God because of our sins? It’s not what we can do, but what has been done. God gave us Jesus. Jesus came into this world to be the perfect sacrifice and atonement for the world’s sins. Jesus died on the cross and rose again, conquering death. So now ANYONE who puts their faith in Jesus can be freed from their sins, and freed from a death where we would be separated from God’s love and light for eternity. Isn’t that Good News?! Isn’t that simple?! I believe we all can do it! We all can share this amazing gift from God. We all can be made right and have our relationship restored with a Holy God. All we have to do is believe and accept this free gift!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”-John 3:16
Life Application
Find someone to share the gospel with today.
It can be practicing first with your spouse or friend. Then, you can go out into the world and share with your neighbors, friends, family, co-workers, or even a complete stranger. Don’t over complicate the simplicity and beauty of this message. Emphasize to the person you are sharing with that God loves them and yearns for a personal relationship with them. God is willing to give this free gift of salvation. All they have to do is believe and accept it. 😊
-Moses Gaddi
Romans 2 - 2.11.22
Scripture
Romans 2:21
you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
Observation – What does it say?
The Apostle Paul challenges the Roman believers to examine what they teach and what they practice. Is there a gap between the two? Some of the examples he uses: You tell others that stealing is wrong, but do you steal? You talk about how terrible adultery is, but do you commit adultery?
Understanding – What does it mean?
We must practice what we preach! We have a big problem if…
- we say stealing is wrong but lie on our taxes
- we agree that adultery is wrong but look at people lustfully
- we say prayer and Bible reading is important, but we don’t make it a priority to regularly pray and read
- we tell others that our mission is to multiply Christ-followers but we aren’t personally leading people to Jesus or discipling anyone
It’s one thing to be striving to be like Jesus and to still fail from time to time. We’re human. Perfection wont be achieved this side of heaven. But, it’s another thing for us to go on about how we agree with all these biblical values and commands from God but don’t actually demonstrate it with our actions or make effort to grow.
Paul challenged a specific church leader, Titus, in the same way:
Titus 2:7 NLT
And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.
In other words, set the example! Let everything you do show that you’re actually serious about what you teach others. Jesus, our ultimate example, didn’t just preach the kingdom but he modeled it in the way he lived: sharing the gospel, healing the sick, casting out demons, and refusing to compromise or yield to sin.
Life Application
Ask God…
“God, are there areas of my life where my actions don’t line up with what I say I believe?”
Take time to pray about any areas the Holy Spirit brings to mind. Ask for forgiveness and for the power to change.
I love this prayer of confession that has been prayed by believers for centuries. I encourage you to take a moment, not to read it, but to pray it, meditating on the words:
Most merciful God,
We confess that we have sinned against you
In thought, word and deed,
By what we have done,
And by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
Have mercy on us and forgive us;
That we may delight in your will,
And walk in your ways
To the glory of your Name. Amen.
Levi Thompson