Psalm 145 - 9.11.23

Scripture

Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭21‬ ‭NLT

“I will praise the Lord, and may everyone on earth bless his holy name forever and ever.”

Observation

This is a psalm of praise and worship written by David. In this psalm, David lists the many reasons God should be praised:

• Verse 3-God is great.

• Verse 4-God is powerful.

• Verse 5-God’s glorious splendor and wonderful miracles.

• Verse 6-God’s awe inspiring deeds.

• Verse 7-God’s goodness and righteousness.

• Verse 8-God is merciful and compassionate, and slow to get angry.

• Verse 13-God’s Kingdom and rule is everlasting. He is gracious in all He does and He always keeps His promises.

These are just a few reasons David listed in this chapter alone on why God should be worshiped and praised! Trust me there’s more in this chapter that I missed. But you get the picture.

Application

Make it a habit to spend some time daily giving God our worship and praise.

Shout out to Robin Orefice for giving me this prayer exercise that I want to share with you all today!

If you remember the scripture where Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, (Matthew 6:9-13), Jesus starts off by telling them to start their prayer by saying, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” The phrase Hallowed be thy name basically means, Holy is your name. It’s a way to start off their prayer acknowledging God for Who He is. They are giving God the worship and praise that He deserves.

Now Robin Orefice gave us a fun exercise to try in our Small Group once. She gave us a challenge to go through all the letters of the alphabet (A-Z), and name off a characteristic of God with that letter as we prayed. For example, for the letter A, we can pray, “God, You are awesome.” Then for the letter B, you can pray, “God, You are bigger than any of my problems.” Then you just keep going down the alphabet in that fashion until you hit the letter Z. Some letters may be more challenging than others, but it’s a great way to spend some time in prayer giving God the praise and worship He deserves, and acknowledging Him for Who He is! 😊

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Prayer

Father God, You are worthy of all my worship and praise. Not just today Lord, but everyday. There is no one like You. There is none above You. You are the Lord of my life, and the Lord of ALL. I submit my life to You. May the way I live my life be an act of worship to You. May my life bring You praise. May the way I live point others towards Your goodness today. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi

Matthew 12 - 9.8.23

Scripture

Matthew 12:13-14

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Observation

The Pharisees and religious leaders in Jesus’ day were in a great position of authority and influence. They were the ones responsible for teaching people about God and leading them in worshiping and honoring him. But their hearts weren’t in it. Their hearts drifted from loving God and people to loving the job perks – being greeted by the title “rabbi,” sitting in the seats of honor at great banquets, being respected and honored by people, etc.

And here Jesus highlights part of their problem when he heals a man on the sabbath. Rather than rejoicing with the man over what God did for him, they are furious that Jesus broke one of their sabbath traditions (and of course that people were now praising and following Jesus instead of them) and so they start plotting to kill him.

What stands out to me is a leadership red flag. If I ever care more about the rules or traditions (or service orders or church programs) than people experiencing God, there’s a big problem. If I ever care more about people’s opinion of me than God’s opinion, I need to take a massive step back.

Application

Do some honest heart evaluation and repent where necessary. Are there times I care more about what others think than what you think? Where am I not motivated by love for God and people? Where might I be more concerned with rules or fairness or justice than I am people? Is there any jealousy in my heart or am I truly able to celebrate with you and others when you move in and through them?

Prayer

God, please forgive me for the ways I drift from your heart. Fill me with greater love for you and for people. May I be able to say, and all of us be able to say, “Christ’s love controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). May we hold tighter to you than anything else, live for your glory and not our own, and celebrate the ways you are moving through others around us. To you be all the glory. Amen.

-Levi Thompson

Matthew 11 - 09.07.23

SCRIPTURE: 

“COME to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

(Matthew 11:28 NIV)

OBSERVATION:

The invitation 

Come unto Me:

Jesus shows His authority when He says come unto Me. 

This invitation is unthinkable in the mouth of anyone else but God,

and woe to the men who call people to themselves instead of to Jesus!

“Come”…He drives none away; He calls them to Himself. 

His favorite word is ‘Come.’

AND—it is To Jesus Himself we must come, by a personal trust.

Not to doctrine, ordinance, or ministry but to the “ONE” personal Savior, Jesus.

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ESV)

APPLICATION:

COME…and then—draw even closer…

To come to Jesus is to realize our very deep need of Him.

There is salvation in no ONE else.

Yet, this is only the beginning of an amazing journey.

A discovery that marks over time—our very great need of Jesus--

The Longer our Walk with Him…the More we discover our Need…

In my walk I have learned that the closer I draw—the greater my need.

Say you are in a large room with no light, you cannot see—even large objects.

But if someone lights a candle on the other side of that room, you will at least be able to see the outline of things around you. 

As you get closer to the candlelight, more objects come into view—you might even be able read something that is printed. 

But if someone now turns on a bright light—you will see everything around you with perfect clarity. Things that were always there—but you were unable to see before.

Our walk with Jesus is like this room…Jesus invites us to Come and draw close…

the more we submit to Jesus—the closer we draw to HIS light—and allow Him to Transform our Lives…

And as we come closer to Jesus, the Bright Light of HIS Character, Perfection, and beauty shines on our lives.  We SEE with clarity how short we fall of His glorious Character.

And we desire to submit further—for Him to continue to complete the transforming work in our lives. 

“The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of our awesome God-

[reflecting God’s Shekinah glory], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His Father’s essence, upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal].

When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority],”

(Hebrews 1:3 AMP)

“And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.”

(2 Corinthians 3:18 AMP)

PRAYER:

Lord Jesus,

Thank You that You pursued me. Thank You that You revealed Yourself to me when I wasn’t looking and didn’t know how much I needed You.

You extended the invitation to Come.

Thank You that you forgive all my sins and choose to make me your dwelling place.

Thank You that You continue to offer the invitation to Come…as you transform me more and more into your image.

Only in You is there True satisfaction and Joy. 

Lord draw me close, Today. Bend down and Let me hear Your great and unsearchable promises that I may glorify Your Name everywhere You send me. 

In Jesus Name, amen.

Tina L Kudelka