A Christmas psalm

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TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 98:1-9

TO CHEW ON: “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” Psalm 98:3


When a Bible passage is assigned near Christmas, we look for aspects of the incarnation story in it. They are easy to find in Psalm 98.

There is singing:

“O sing to the LORD a new song!  … Break forth in song, rejoice and sing praises. Sing to the LORD with the harp” - Psalm 98:1,4,5.

There is wonder:

“For He has done marvelous things” - Psalm 98:1.

There is victory:

“His right hand and His holy arm have gained for Him the victory” - Psalm 98:1.

There is mercy:

“He has remembered His mercy” - Psalm 98:3.

There is joy:

“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth … Shout joyfully before the LORD the King” - Psalm 98:4,6.

There is a band:

“Sing … with the harp and the sound of a song. With trumpets and the sound of a horn” - Psalm 98:5,6.

Even nature celebrates:

“Let the sea roar and all its fullness. … Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD” - Psalm 98:8,9.

For...

There is righteous judgment and fairness for all:

“His (the LORD’s) righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations … For He is coming to judge the earth, With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity” - Psalm 98:2,9.

And there is salvation:

“The LORD has made known His salvation; …All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God” - Psalm 98:2,3.

This Psalm reminds us that though things weren’t right with the world, the LORD had a remedy. It’s what we celebrate at Christmas.
 
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for this song of praise foreshadowing Your solution to the world’s need for a Saviour.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Party time in heaven

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 15:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "'I say to you, likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.... there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.'" Luke 15:7, 10


The occasion of someone's repentance may or may not be a reason for a party on earth. If you are celebrating the return of a long-prayed-for-prodigal, it surely would. But in many cases, an individual's moment of turning from a self-directed to God-directed life is a pretty low-key occasion. In some countries, people keep it a secret because the decision to accept Christ is dangerous to life.

But it is cause for celebration in heaven. The angels, aware of the hugeness of what has just happened, throw a party (or however they express their joy) over each individual who repents.

Imagine, such a simple decision on earth, yet it has the power to spark a heavenly celebration. It's cause for angelic joy, and right up there with what the shepherds witnessed at Jesus' birth (Luke 2:13,14), and what John saw in visions of the exaltation of Christ (Revelation 5:9-10), the gathering home of the saints (Revelation 14:1-3), and the triumph of God as King (Revelation 19:6).

It makes me want to pause and reevaluate my priorities. It causes me to ask myself, do I value the things that heaven values? Am I spending time and effort on what will bring joy there?

PRAYER: Dear God, please make me aware of heaven's value system. I want my life to contribute to heaven's joy. Amen.

MORE: Roses on the stage

"There are fifteen roses in the vase this week," said the officiating pastor at the church we were visiting. I was puzzled when his statement sparked a round of applause. Then he explained. Each rose signified that someone had come to Christ through the witness and outreach of that congregation during the preceding week.

What ways have you heard of to celebrate people coming to faith in Christ?

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

God brings us out

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 105:23-45

TO CHEW ON: "So he brought his people out with joy

his chosen ones with singing." Psalm 105:43

With vivid description the psalmist details the things God did to bring the Israelites out of Egypt:

"Their land (Egypt, where the Israelites were slaves) swarmed with frogs / even in the chambers of their kings" (Psalm 105:30).
"He gave them hail for rain / and fiery lightning bolts through their land...He shattered the trees of their country" (Psalm 105:32-33).
"He opened the rock and water gushed out; / it flowed through the desert like rain" (Psalm 105:41).

 His story comes to a climax in their joyful freedom song:

"So he brought his people out with joy,/ his chosen ones with singing" (Psalm 105:43).

 There is in many of our histories the story of going from oppression to freedom, dotted similarly with signposts of God at work. I come from Mennonite stock. For this ethnic mix of original German, Swiss and Dutch peoples there is the story of an exodus from Europe to Russia and then to North and South America in a quest for religious freedom.

My husband's Russian great-grandfather converted from the Orthodox faith to simple faith in Christ as taught by the Russian Baptists. As punishment for converting he was imprisoned  in Siberia for eight years (when Russia was still under Czarist rule) before he could bring his family to Canada.

Of course for each of us there is a personal story of being in bondage to our old life and finding new life in Jesus. It might be an interesting exercise to write a Psalm 105 of our own. It could be the story of our people. Or it could be our personal story where we recall the details of God taking us out of a life of slavery to sin.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the way you have worked in the history of my forefathers and for my own personal story of coming to freedom as your child. Amen.


MORE: The Secret Holocaust Diaries

The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister is the fascinating true story of a young Russian girl who, from ages nine to about 20, kept detailed journals of her life. She describes her happy experiences as part of a large wealthy Russian family. She relates how the Bolsheviks expropriated her family's property. She tells of the dreadful winter of the German occupation of Russia when she was a teenager. She does eventually get to America. Hers is a story full of the evidences of God bringing someone out with joy and singing (though she shed many tears along the way).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.