Psalm 113

Posted on by richlyspeaking

We’re reading through, and with intentionality, praying through the Psalms during this school year. There are 150 Psalms, divided into 180 different readings. See this post for more info.

Here is today’s prayer, preceded by the text from the Contemporary English Version, copyright 1995, by the America Bible Society:

_____

Shout praises to the Lord! Everyone who serves him, come and praise his name.

Let the name of the Lord be praised now and forever. From dawn until sunset the name of the Lord deserves to be praised.
The Lord is far above all of the nations; he is more glorious than the heavens.

No one can compare with the Lord our God. His throne is high above, and he looks down to see the heavens and the earth. God lifts the poor and needy from dust and ashes, and he lets them take part in ruling his people. When a wife has no children, he blesses her with some, and she is happy. Shout praises to the Lord!

From dawn to dusk. From east to west. We praise You, God of glory!

psalm 113:3

Here is today’s prayer from Psalm 113:

God. Abba. Father.

We sing Hallelujah to you! We are humbled to be in your presence wherever we go. When we think of the multitudes of the past and all who will live in the future, we are counted among the blessed who sing your praises today. We thank you for the dawn. We are grateful for the sunset. We join with all creation in praising your name every minute of this day! Yes, from dawn to dusk. From east to west. We praise You. God of glory!

You are lifted up, higher than anything! You provide more safety than any nation. You give compassion greater than any ministry or service organization made by humans. Thank you! There is nothing on earth that compares with you. Even in our most vivid imagination, we cannot truly see the majesty of your throne of grace.

Yet, you are the One True God who has reached into our world with love and care. Everything you create, you have a plan to redeem. We thank you for creating us and redeeming us. You have rescued each one of us! Thank you. Yes, in your economy, you take the poorest of the poor and seat them among kings. You care deeply for the homeless, the widow, the childless, the orphan. You give each of them what they need most. Love.

And we rejoice! Because it is through your great Love, through Jesus, that you have provided all we have and all we need. Life. Life. And more life!

We love you in return as much as we can humanly love you, oh God.

We thank you for Jesus. We sing Hallelujah this day. Amen.

(c) 2021. Rich Ronald.

Psalm 111

Posted on by richlyspeaking

We’re reading through, and with intentionality, praying through the Psalms during this school year. There are 150 Psalms, divided into 180 different readings. See this post for more info.

Here is today’s prayer, preceded by the text from the Contemporary English Version, copyright 1995, by the America Bible Society:

_____

Shout praises to the Lord! With all my heart I will thank the Lord when his people meet. The Lord has done
many wonderful things! Everyone who is pleased with God’s marvelous deeds will keep them in mind. Everything the Lord does is glorious and majestic, and his power to bring justice will never end.

The Lord God is famous for his wonderful deeds, and he is kind and merciful. He gives food to his worshipers
and always keeps his agreement with them. He has shown his mighty power to his people and has given them the lands of other nations.

God is always honest and fair, and his laws can be trusted. They are true and right and will stand forever. God rescued his people, and he will never break his agreement with them. He is fearsome and holy.

Respect and obey the Lord! This is the first step to wisdom and good sense. God will always be respected.

Everything the Lord does is glorious and majestic!

psalm 111:3

Here is today’s prayer from Psalm 111:

God. Abba. Father.

Hallelujah! We praise you today and sing with all our hearts. Anytime we meet with other believers we will be quick to give you thanks!

Your works, Lord, are stunning and beautiful. When we see the bubbling smile of a child, we are filled with joy. When we see stunning sunrises, or the elegance in the fine details of a flower, we are in awe. You are our God. You are our creator. Everything you do is glorious and majestic!

You are compassionate, kind, loving and the author of grace. You give us everything we have and everything we need. You give us more than enough! Thank you.

You keep your promises to us and to the nations around the globe. You are faithful to us. We can trust you every day. You are the one constant in our fractured lives. Your ways are just and true. You lead us to take the right path.

You have provided a way to eternal life. Your Son, our savior, Jesus has paid the ransom for us. You have redeemed us from the pit of guilt and shame. You have lifted our heads so that we may smile with joy again. Thank you.

We are in awe of everything about you God. We respect you. We honor you. We thank you for the wisdom and understanding that we receive as we follow you.

You have blessed us with life! Again, we sing Hallelujah!

In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

(c) 2021. Rich Ronald.

Psalm 110

Posted on by richlyspeaking

We’re reading through, and with intentionality, praying through the Psalms during this school year. There are 150 Psalms, divided into 180 different readings. See this post for more info.

Here is today’s prayer, preceded by the text from the Contemporary English Version, copyright 1995, by the America Bible Society:

_____

The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right side, until I make your enemies into a footstool for you.”

The Lord will let your power reach out from Zion, and you will rule over your enemies. Your glorious power will be seen on the day you begin to rule. You will wear the sacred robes and shine like the morning sun in all of your strength. The Lord has made a promise that will never be broken: “You will be a priest forever, just like Melchizedek.”

My Lord is at your right side, and when he gets angry he will crush the other kings. He will judge the nations and crack their skulls, leaving piles of dead bodies all over the earth. He will drink from any stream that he chooses, while winning victory after victory.

Your glorious power will be seen on the day you begin to rule.

psalm 110:3

Here is today’s prayer from Psalm 110:

God. Abba. Father.

Thank you for ordaining your Son, Jesus, to be our King. Yes, he is the one about whom the psalmist writes. He is the one who sits along side of you, LORD. He is Jesus, our Messiah. As Peter quoted this psalm on the Day of Pentecost: “All Israel, then, know this: There’s no longer room for doubt – God made him Master and Messiah, this Jesus whom you killed on a cross.” (Acts 2:36). We join in thanking you for the great sacrifice of Jesus. May these words speak directly to our heart as they did to the people of Jerusalem 2000 years ago.

We join with all of Israel in proclaiming that you will rule the earth. Your glorious power is seen inside an empty tomb! And we thank you for the assurance that we, your children, have access to that same power through your love! Help us to tap into that strength today, Lord! For you, Jesus, are the great high priest. You are crowned Lord of All!

Your ways are true and just! We proclaim: “God is ruler of heaven and earth. God has put his son, Jesus, on the Throne of Grace.” We worship you Jesus. We praise your name! You are love and grace and forgiveness and hope and joy!

Thank you Jesus!

Amen.

(c) 2021. Rich Ronald.

Psalm 109

Posted on by richlyspeaking

We’re reading through, and with intentionality, praying through the Psalms during this school year. There are 150 Psalms, divided into 180 different readings. See this post for more info.

Here is today’s prayer, preceded by the text from the Contemporary English Version, copyright 1995, by the America Bible Society:

_____

 I praise you, God! Don’t keep silent. Destructive and deceitful lies are told about me, and hateful things are said for no reason. I had pity and prayed for my enemies, but their words to me were harsh and cruel. For being friendly and kind, they paid me back with meanness and hatred.

My enemies said, “Find some worthless fools to accuse him of a crime. Try him and find him guilty! Consider his prayers a lie. Cut his life short and let someone else have his job. Make orphans of his children and a widow of his wife; make his children beg for food and live in the slums.

“Let the people he owes take everything he owns. Give it all to strangers. Don’t let anyone be kind to him or have pity on the children he leaves behind.  Bring an end to his family, and from now on let him be a forgotten man.

“Don’t let the Lord forgive the sins of his parents and his ancestors. Don’t let the Lord forget the sins of his family, or let anyone remember his family ever lived. He was so cruel to the poor, homeless, and discouraged
that they died young.

“He cursed others. Now place a curse on him! He never wished others well. Wish only trouble for him! He cursed others more often than he dressed himself. Let his curses strike him deep, just as water and olive oil soak through to our bones. Let his curses surround him, just like the clothes he wears each day.”

Those are the cruel things my enemies wish for me. Let it all happen to them! Be true to your name, Lord God!
Show your great kindness and rescue me.

I am poor and helpless, and I have lost all hope. I am fading away like an evening shadow; I am tossed aside
like a crawling insect.  I have gone without eating, until my knees are weak, and my body is bony. When my enemies see me, they say cruel things and shake their heads.

Please help me, Lord God! Come and save me because of your love. Let others know that you alone have saved me.  I don’t care if they curse me, as long as you bless me. You will make my enemies fail when they attack, and you will make me glad to be your servant. You will cover them with shame, just as their bodies are covered with clothes.

I will sing your praises and thank you, Lord, when your people meet. You help everyone in need, and you defend them when they are on trial.

We look to heaven and we ask you, Father, to check our hearts: “Are we good, you and I?” That is what is most important today.

a prayer from Psalm 109

Here is today’s prayer from Psalm 109:

God. Abba. Father.

We praise you! Today we thank you that we can run to you when our enemies attack. Even when others spread lies and speak maliciously against us, we can trust in your unfailing love. You are the just judge. You know what is truth.

We look to heaven and we ask you, Father, to check our hearts: “Are we good, you and I?” That is what is most important today. Even when we find ourselves in times where other relationships are fraught with misunderstanding, we bow before you to be reminded that you are in control. Bring peace to hearts where there is angst.

When people speak ill of us, sometimes we begin to believe them. We might wallow in self-pity, wondering if what they have said is true, even when we know it to be false. Sometimes we let the words of others make us feel like we are like insects who crawl in the dust. Forgive us. Forgive those who speak things that are false against us.

Today we speak what we know to be the truth. We are children of the most high, God! You have great plans for us. You keep your promises. Nothing will ever be able to separate us from your love!

You alone have saved us through the cross of grace. Ultimately your blessing is all we care about. And we will rejoice! Yes, you will make us glad. We trust in the relationship we have with you, the One True God.

And we thank you for Jesus, who makes this relationship between you and us possible.

Amen.

(c) 2021. Rich Ronald.

Romans 9. Grace Means We Are God’s Children.

Posted on by richlyspeaking



Earlier this year, we took a journey together through the Old Testament book of  Isaiah. Paul, as a learned rabbi and the author of the letter to the church at Rome, quoted regularly from the Prophet. So, let’s take the next few weeks together to look at the New Testament book of Romans.

You can listen to this devotional here:



Romans 9

We all have blind spots. Don’t you find it ironic when you can see something about someone else’s life but they cannot? That’s how Paul feels about the people of Israel. He notes that the Jews are God’s chosen people, but they are so strict at following the Law, they are often blind to see His grace.  We all can be that way.  Paul gives a couple of Old Testament examples. Here is one about Jacob, the second-born twin of Rebecca:

“What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don’t do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative.” (v 12, MSG).

God’s grace and mercy are not dependent on anything WE do. He loves us. Period. Just because we are His kids.

He’s in charge of compassion and mercy. I’m thankful for that. He extends His kindness and we can trust Him. He leads us and we can follow Him. He cares for us and we can rest in His arms. He protects us and we can be certain the enemy will not defeat us. He provides for us and we can be assured that we’ll always have more than what we need. Just because He’s that kind of Father. He’s that kind of God. The One True God. He keeps His promises. Always.

And no matter where we are or what we’ve done, that kindness, that mercy is ours. Yes, it’s that simple.

It’s such a good place to be on the receiving side of His grace! The emphasis here is that God is God. And it is a privilege to be called His children. Why? Like we read yesterday, God is crazy in love with us. After all, He created us.

He cares for us and we can rest in His arms.


Paul quotes one of the minor prophets next:

Hosea put it well:
I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved.
In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!”
they’re calling you “God’s living children.” (v 25, MSG). Hosea 2:23

Paul then quotes Isaiah:

Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:
If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
and the sum labeled “chosen of God,”
They’d be numbers still, not names;
salvation comes by personal selection.
God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name.
Arithmetic is not his focus. (v27-28, MSG). Isaiah 10:22-23.

And arithmetic need not be our focus either. Things don’t always add up in life. As long as we keep our focus on God and His grace, we don’t need to worry about anything else! We are His children. He’s got this!

Paul concludes his thoughts on the subject:

How can we sum this up? All those people who didn’t seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:

Careful! I’ve put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, a stone you can’t get around. But the stone is me! If you’re looking for me, you’ll find me on the way, not in the way. (v30-33, MSG).  Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16.

That’s a promise that I want to fully embrace! He is walking with us. Following Jesus is not a stumbling block! He doesn’t slow us down. Following Him is not an obstacle or wall to be climbed over. He is the stone that leads us along the path. I think when we fully embrace that He is with us “on the way,” we can have an amazing confidence that wherever we walk, we will be okay. We have nothing to fear.  In fact, we will be more than okay, because the very presence of God is with us! 


Remember this:

“At the place where they yelled out “You’re a nobody!” they are now calling you “Children of the living God!”




(c) 2020. Rich Ronald.

RichlySpeaking.com


Today, I’m attaching this worship song from Bethel Worship because it mirrors our text. 


https://youtu.be/XxkNj5hcy5E