(Psalm 34:1-22) I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.2 My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 Exalt the Lord with me,
And let’s exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord and He answered me,
And rescued me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
6 This wretched man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 Fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no lack of anything.
10 The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the person who desires life
And loves length of days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To eliminate the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord rescues him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
22 The Lord redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
The bad news is that we are born with a sinful nature which separates us from God, and leads to eternal death. The good news is that God wants all to come to know Him personally, and therefore He came in flesh to take our place in death, and to pay the price of sin - so that - when we become "broken hearted" regarding our sin, and we humbly go to the Lord for His forgiveness - He forgives and saves us!
It doesn't matter how bad someone is. We are not to first try to be "good enough" to approach the Lord. We are to go to Him as we are. He is the one who will change us from the inside out, so that we can be born again, into God's family! And then, as we ask and allow, He will continually work in and through us. The key is - NOT to just live by do's and don'ts - but - to ask the Lord to live in and through us! We can ask Him to do everything FOR us.
"His praise shall be continually in my mouth." The Lord's praise! Not just my praise for the Lord. He deserves more than what I could ever offer. As I desire that God does everything for me, why not ask that God put praises in my mouth and in my heart? God is able to do everything perfectly... better than I could ever do! As well, we - His servants - let us gather together to serve Him and exalt the Lord together, in His strength and guidance. And He will accomplish great things!
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