Let Your Praises Multiply Each Day

Back in May of 2020, we introduced you to Chad Reisig, who is a pastor, podcaster and author of two books. Today he takes us to a scripture which I had rushed past in previous readings of the Psalms. Clicking the heading which follows will take you to his site.

Praise Multiplier

I will praise you seven times a day because all your regulations are just.

Psalm 119:164 (NLT)

I have a pastor friend who was relaying a story to me some time ago. He was talking about how discouraged he was at his church. He had been at the church for several years, yet had never received a thank you note, or so much as a “thanks,” for anything that he had done. He felt like a failure. He felt like none of his church members actually cared for, trusted, or loved him. One day, in a moment of pure truthfulness, he asked his head elder if the church members actually appreciated him as their pastor. (The pastor was thinking perhaps it was time to move on if they didn’t.) The elder responded with, “Oh, yeah, we all love you pastor! We didn’t want you to get prideful.” In other words, the church members never showed any appreciation because they didn’t want their pastor to develop an ego problem.

Of course, this story has nothing to do with pastors, really. It is starting to become a global norm that giving thanks is becoming less and less of a thing. We may nod or smile at someone who has done something nice, but actually showing gratitude seems to be dying out in this world. It’s sad, really. Gratitude goes a long way in helping people feel valued.

Unfortunately, in our faith life, this lack of appreciation can spread from our human relationships to our relationship with God. How often do we spend time actually just thanking God for who He is, what He has done, and what He promises to do? Is it only in song at church? Is it just when we pray before a meal? Does our gratitude only express itself during ceremonies, or do we let it pour out in our everyday life?

As the psalmist wrote, “I will praise you seven times a day because all your regulations are just.” I think it’s a bit weird to have a set number of times to offer praise and thanks to God, but let’s look at it this way. Doing so at that level would refocus us on the thankfulness we need to show to God. At this pace, we’d offer praises forty-nine times per week, 196 times per month, 2,352 times per year. (Not including the songs at church) It’s a good start, but I think we can do even better. We need to let our praises multiply with each passing day.

Today, and every day, when you remember God, see beauty, experience love, observe forgiveness, or a million other things to be thankful for. Stop, pause, and give thanks. After all, Jesus gave up His life to save you and me. We have everything to be thankful for.

Bonus devotional:

Because Chad’s devotionals are shorter, here’s another!

Tuning In

Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.

Proverbs 2:2 (NLT)

Growing up, we didn’t have Ipods, Androids, MP3 players, tablets, laptops, portable DVD players, Switch, or a million different handheld devices to keep us entertained on long road trips. We couldn’t just play a game on our device, Facetime a friend, stream Netflix, or livestream how bored we were. We just sat there in the car. Hour after hour would crawl by.

However, there was one thing that perhaps helped to save our sanity. If you were lucky enough, you had a Walkman. For those who have no clue what that is, it is a battery-powered radio the size of a cellphone. Plug in some headphones and you got to listen to the radio rather than your annoying brother or sister. Back then, you couldn’t just punch in a radio station number, like 102.3. There was no scan or seek button that would magically scan the airwaves and stop when it found a station. Nope. There was a dial that you would turn which would move a vertical orange line across a bunch of numbers. You would move it very slowly, listening for the faintest sounds. When you started to hear something, you would then begin the process of tuning in the station, which was generally moving the dial very slowly back and forth until the station came in strong. You just prayed that it was the type of music you wanted to listen to.

In our completely digital word, we’ve lost most of our knowledge of how to tune things in. The computer chips do that for us now. But, when it comes to our spiritual life, it’s still very much analog. Tuning in the voice of God requires some work on our part.

When we are seeking God’s wisdom, direction, calling, whatever you want to call it, are we moving the dial slowly or racing through life? You see, when it comes to hearing God, you’ve got to slow things down and listen for Him. You’ve got to make the effort to tune Him in. That means focusing on Him. That means focusing on listening for His voice. That means when you start to hear Him, you focus even more intently so that you make sure you hear Him loud and clear. As King Solomon tells us in our verse today, “Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.”

Each day, spend time in prayer tuning into God’s wisdom. Spend time listening for His voice. You’ve asked something of Him, He’ll answer. But, you’ve got to be paying close attention to hear it. Spend time tuning Him in until you can hear Him loud and clear.

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To listen to this Daily Dose episode, go the the Podcasts Page and click on your favorite podcast platform.

What Do You Swear By?

It’s amazing to me that much of what previous considered profanity was religious in nature. Even today, “hell” and “Jesus” are used in this way and “OMG” in its fuller expression is common even among some Christians. The french use “tabernacle” (it means the same as in English) as a swear word.

But swearing can also mean to “swear an oath” and in Jesus’ time this was much more nuanced, but as Jesus noted, also a bit backwards, in that they would swear by the gift left on the altar, but not the altar itself; or swear by the gold in the temple, but not the temple itself. So Jesus rightfully asks the question, “Which is greater?” In so doing, as commentaries point out, he is showing their emphasis on superficials (a word I just made up) and external things, where as he has come to focus on the heart.

I was drawn to this teaching in Matthew 23 through a new devotional study source we’re introducing to you today, Magnificent Life Ministries, a non-profit ministry in California, USA. These are shorter readings so we’re going to present both, and they were presented in the opposite order they appear in Matthew 23. Clicking the titles below will take you to the source directly, and as these were published yesterday and today, I’m going to close comments here so you can comment there if you wish.

Which is More Important?

“Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?” Mathew 23:19

Jesus threw a question at the scribes and Pharisees for their misconception about the altar and the gift on the altar. Have you thought about such a question for a moment? Or have you ever related this to your life? If yes, then I would like to invite you to read today’s devotion with full attention. It is a great opportunity to learn who we are and how to present ourselves to God.

The same way the altar is important, so also the gift, but not as much. About ourselves, it means we are the carrier of the altar, and the gift is God’s riches in our possession. When the gifts are presented to God, they might be rejected or accepted not because the gift is bad or good, but the presenter of the gift that serves as the altar’s carrier is more important than the gift itself.

Genesis 4:7 says,

 “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”

We can see from the scriptures how God accepted Abel and his offering but rejected Cain and his offering. Genesis 4: (Read the middle verse of today’s devotion Gen. 4:7 as God’s response to Cain). The bible also clarifies this in Romans 12:1, the more we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, the more our relationship with him becomes deeper than before.

Beloved, thousands and millions present their case before God every second, but it has always been rejected. The creator has not found them worthy of acceptance, not to talk of accepting their gifts, because their life does not reflect the true altar, Christ Jesus. Therefore, we must present our body as a living sacrifice for the sake of God. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says,

“do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own”

Prayer
1. Psalm 19:14-Father, I present my body as a living sacrifice unto you, making it acceptable in thy sight O lord
2. I receive the grace to set priorities towards the weightiest matters of this kingdom in Jesus’ name. Amen

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Which is More Important? 2

“You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?” Matthew 23:17

To the blind chump, the gift is more important than the altar that gives him the right to worship. That’s why most people will spend all their years trying to get more gifts for themselves, while to the wise, the altar is more important. Hence, they will renovate their altar and set priorities on the highest things of life.

Altars in this context are like the magnetic force; when it is made ready and furnished, it will attract gifts such as cars, wealth, properties, etc. When God appeared to Solomon in a dream, asking Solomon for whatever he wanted from God. He asked for wisdom, and God was pleased with his answer. Solomon set his life on the altar of God’s wisdom, and God gave him everything that he needed.

Mathew 6:33 says,

 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Are you setting up life according to God’s word? Or are you running after the gift of the world instead of the giver of the world Himself? Don’t forget that God gives the power to get wealth, gives strength to live, and gives life to living in abundance (Deuteronomy 8:18, Psalm 44:3). Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise when it comes to accepting God’s love (Jesus) for you.

Christ is our altar whom God has given us as a mediator between Him and us. Therefore, present your gift to God with Christ-like behavior in every aspect of life and relationship with him. Merit Christ’s love for your life. And your gift, prayer, worship, godly desires will be acceptable to God John 14:6 says,

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Prayer:
1. I plead the merit of Christ’s love in my life and family.
2. Oh Lord, forgive me in any area I’ve taken Christ for Granted or neglected him in my life.
3. Holy Spirit, come and purify my spiritual altar and make it clean for God’s presence in Jesus’ name. Amen

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The 8.3% Who Dare

²² Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on to the other side of the sea while He dismissed the crowd. ²³ Then, after the crowd had gone, Jesus went up to a mountaintop alone (as He had intended from the start). As evening descended, He stood alone on the mountain, praying.

In the midst of the burdens of life and ministry, like when news of John’s death reaches Him, Jesus seeks refreshment in solitary prayer.

²⁴ The boat was in the water, some distance from land, buffeted and pushed around by waves and wind. ²⁵ Deep in the night, when He had concluded His prayers, Jesus walked out on the water to His disciples in their boat. ²⁶ The disciples saw a figure moving toward them and were terrified.

Disciple: It’s a ghost!

Another Disciple: A ghost? What will we do?

Jesus: ²⁷ Be still. It is I. You have nothing to fear.

Peter: ²⁸ Lord, if it is really You, then command me to meet You on the water.

Jesus: ²⁹ Indeed, come.

Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water and began walking toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he remembered how strong the wind was, his courage caught in his throat and he began to sink.

Peter: Master, save me!

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached for Peter and caught him.

Jesus: O you of little faith. Why did you doubt and dance back and forth between following Me and heeding fear?

³² Then Jesus and Peter climbed in the boat together, and the wind became still. ³³ And the disciples worshiped Him.

Disciples: Truly You are the Son of God.

(Matthew 14:22-33, The Voice)

The title we used for today’s post will become clearer when you read the title of the original article below, which you should click to read this at source. The writer is Matt Appling at the blog The Church of No People. (Yes, we’re breaking our six month rule, but I like Matt’s writing.)

For Every Person Who Jumps Out of the Boat, There Are Eleven Who Stay

I’ve been thinking a lot about the story of Peter getting out of the boat this weekend.

You know, the one where the disciples see Jesus walking on the water and they think he’s a ghost. And so Peter dares the “ghost” to tell him to come out on the water.

And before Peter can even think twice, he acts recklessly and steps out of the boat.

There are very few times in our lives when we actually get a chance to step out of the boat, to take a big step of faith, not knowing if we are going to sink. Peter took his chances.

I’ve also been thinking about something else.

The eleven guys who did not get out of the boat.

I wonder what they said to one another.

“What is Peter doing?”

“That’s a bad idea.”

“He is going to sink!”

“I’ve read a blog about these guys who try to walk on water. I don’t agree with it.”

See, every precious time we get the chance to step out of our boat, there is going to be eleven (or a lot more) people who stay in the boat, and tell us why we should stay put. They are the concerned friends who urge “discernment.” They are the experts who prophesy disaster at every turn. They are the barely-informed Christians who think they have well-reasoned moral objection.

I have been seriously struggling with this recently, knowing that I have made choices, I have gotten out of my boat. And there are plenty of people who have an opinion about that. Mob mentality is alive and well and it keeps us in fear of ever leaving the little boundaries of the boats we are in.

“We are all in the same boat,” they say. Maybe it’s because no one is allowed to leave the boat.

All of the people in the boat mean well. But the result is the same. The voices of fear, anxiety, safety, guilt or shame always try to crowd in and hold us back. They try to tell us that our faith is too reckless. They try to tell us that God wants us to stay safely in the boat. They try to convince us that we are doing something wrong by getting out of the boat.

For every man who has the faith to leave the boat, there are eleven others telling him to stay.

You know, the hardest part of getting out of the boat might not be seeing the wind and the waves that are about to crash into us, but shutting out the voices who try to hold us back, wondering what could have been.