Praising God from One Generation to the Next

-

Scripture:

Psa. 145:4      ¶ One generation shall laud your works to another,
        and shall declare your mighty acts.
Psa. 145:5     On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
        and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
Psa. 145:6     The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
        and I will declare your greatness.
Psa. 145:7     They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
        and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

Observation:

This Psalm is attributed to David and it’s another one of his acrostic poems that takes us through the Hebrew alphabet. We don’t know if it was written for any certain occasion and the reality is that it doesn’t need to be! There are times when our hearts simply explode with love and gratitude for the God whom we love and serve. This seems to have been one of those occasions in the life of David. In the midst of the acrostic he focuses on the importance of praising God and sharing God’s good deeds from one generation to the next. This is a part of David’s praise.

Application:

I’m afraid that we may be facing a breakdown in passing our faith from one generation to the next. We are seeing an increasing number of “nones” when it comes to those who are expressing their faith. These are the ones who don’t affiliate with anything. They are not non-denominational, they are simply not religious. At the same time they may be spiritual, but not in a religious way. There are numerous factors which are influencing this trend but could it be that Christianity needs to take an honest look at herself and see whether we have been so self-critical that we have left no place for praise! And when this is the case, the only thing that our younger generation hears is what we don’t like about the Church or about this or that preacher. Why wouldn’t they turn away?!

What would happen if we made a conscious effort to declare God’s mighty acts from one generation to the next? God is alive and working in our world today and yes, he continues to work through the Church. Instead of picking the Church apart, we need to celebrate the glorious and wonderful works of God seen in and through the Church. With all of her blemishes, the Church is still the Bride of Christ. She might be a more beautiful bride if we would quit slinging mud in her direction. We desperately need to stop picking on the Bride and focus on the beauty and glory found in and through her.

We must intentionally laud the works of God to the next generation. I have been blessed to see the hand of God work in mighty and powerful ways. God’s daily provision became especially evident to me while living in Russia and this created a type of dependence that has been healthy in my own life. I praise the Lord for this. I have also learned that some of the most difficult times in life are the ones in which I am blessed to see God provide. My children have gotten to see God provide at just the right moment. I want the world to know that I serve a living and powerful God who has cared for us in the past and cares for us today. Share the stories and pass on the faith from one generation to the next for they need to know that they are a part of the continuation of God’s story.

Just a little challenge for today. Try telling at least three people something that God has done and for which you can give praise!

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for answers to prayer.  Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more