"Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who RESPECT the Lord,
who WANT what He commands."
Pslam 112:1
d
d
Belief Determines Behavior
READ Psalm 110:1-112:10
SITUATION Although the Jews live near nations that worshiped idols. God reminded Israel to worship him only. God promised to send the Messiah, indicating that full deliverance was yet to come. Psalms 111 and112 begin each phase with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
OBSERVATION Praise the true God! Reading Scripture helps us know God better, we are equipped to worship him more earnestly.
INSPIRATION The apostle Paul points out in Romans 1 that everyone knows that there is a God. His existence is revealed in creation; creation demands a Designer. And it is revealed in conscience, we all have an innate consciousness of right and wrong . . .
The heathen do not want to retain the true God in their knowledge. They know that belief in such a God would cramp their life-styles. So they turn to idolatry. They make images of people, birds, animals, and snakes and then worship them. Since each successive image represents a downward step in the scale of creation, it follows that they feel less and less responsible to live clean lives. If their god is a snake, it doesn't really matter how they live. This explains the close link between idolatry and immorality. Idols made by humans beings do not make moral demands on their worshipers . . .
Belief determines behavior. That is why it is so important to have true views of God. The higher our thoughts of Him, the more our lives will be exalted, holy, and glorious. (From Alone in Majesty by William MacDonald)
APPLICATION Who is God? Answer the question by making a list of God's attributes from these psalms. Circle three from your list. Over the next three days, reflect on one attribute each day. As the day goes by, discover how this reality about God affects you.
EXPLORATION Knowing God -- Hosea 6:3; Matthew 22:29; John 4:24; 7:16-17; 8:31-31; Romans 1:21-25; Ephesians 4:14-15, 18; ;2 Peter 3:18.
The Devotional Bible - Experiencing the Heart of Jesus, Max Lucado General Editor, New Century Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers
No comments:
Post a Comment