November 25 – Being at Home – Always

“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” Psalm 90:1 (NASB)

And this day many are traveling home after their visit with families or other travels on the busiest travel day in some countries. Going home is often a wonderful trip no matter what the reason. This is a very short verse today from a Psalm written by Moses. He was writing about his own experience and the experience of other people of faith who lived before him. We believe his words can describe our experience today as well. We like the picture of the Lord as being our dwelling place. It is like saying that the Lord is our home. Isn’t it true that when we trust in Him we do feel at home? Our Lord does want us to feel at home with Him. It is so comfortable to be able to trust Him and to sense His fellowship. So let’s always remember to come home to the Lord because that is where we belong. He is and He always will be throughout all generations for those who believe and accept Jesus. That is something we can be very thankful for today…tomorrow…forever.

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November 12 – Unending Song To Sing

“I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.” Psalm 89:1-2 (ESV)

Today we look again at a psalm the people of Israel sang to express their feelings of devotion and thanksgiving to God. The Covenant God made with David is the focus of this Psalm. It is not attributed to David but to Ethan the Ezrahite who was a Levitical singer (1 Chronicles 6:42).  Ethan’s wholehearted belief that God is faithful was the basis for his appealing to the Lord in his dilemma. As we think of God’s love for us we too can be inspired to sing with real joy.  When we remember how faithful God has been to us, always keeping His promises we can be inspired to share that with others.  This is what and how the psalmists shared God’s faithfulness with their mouth.  This is how we too do so when we sing praises, spiritual songs, and hymns.  God’s love and His faithfulness are not just temporal but they are eternal and have always been and will always be. Those of us who believe and have received God’s gift of salvation know the  blessing of singing about it and the promise that we will continue singing the praises to God in heaven.

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December 19 – Generation to Generation

“For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.” Luke 1 49-50 (NASB)

When we sing at Christmas time we usually think of the singing of angels at the time Jesus was born. They were not the only ones who sang. There is a song recorded in the Gospel of Luke from which our verses today are quoted. This is commonly known as The Magnificat. This is a song which Mary, the mother of Jesus sang several months earlier. We’re so glad for the promise of His Mercy upon all generations. They show us that Mary was not thinking only of what God was doing for her in choosing her to be the mother of our Savior. She was praising God for what He was doing for others, even for us. Yes, in Jesus, God was showing His mercy and love for us. She sang of what He was doing for people from generation to generation. Many generations have lived since that time and the promised truth is that God’s mercy has been and is available to us all. Mary knew that God was using her to do this and what she knew became the glorious gift of Christmas.

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December 18 – The Humility of God’s Chosen

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” Luke 1:46-49 (ESV)

These are the words spoken by Mary when she visited Elizabeth to tell her of God’s plan for her. It is known to many as “The Magnificat” and this, we can see how. It was through the Holy Spirit; Mary understood a most remarkable thing about God. He was about to change the course of all human history. With the birth of John to Elizabeth the Barren and the birth of Jesus to Mary the Virgin, the most important three decades of all time were to begin. Two obscure, humble women are presented by Luke in this Gospel as wonderful heroines. Writing his gospel for a person named Theophilus, probably a nobleman of some sort, both Elizabeth and Mary are attributed cheerful humility in submission to their God. Indeed God is magnificent and deserves this honor and respect. Elizabeth and Mary acknowledged their lowly estate and God’s magnificence overwhelmed them. This is what it takes to truly appreciate the greatness of God in our lives and His greatness in the lives of others. Mercy, strength, subjection of those who are proud and think they are mighty. These and more are included in the full Magnificat. (Luke 1:46-55)

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