Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Advent Devotions by Gosehn College students, faculty, and staff "I will sing of the Lord’s great Love forever" bBenson Hostetter, a senior communication major from Harrisonburg, Virginia for Wednesday, 17 December 2014

I will sing of the Lord’s great Love forever
Goshen College Devotions
"I will sing of the Lord’s great Love forever" by Benson Hostetter, a senior communication major from Harrisonburg, Virginia
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 89: An Ethan Prayer
1-4 Your love, God, is my song, and I’ll sing it!
    I’m forever telling everyone how faithful you are.
I’ll never quit telling the story of your love—
    how you built the cosmos
    and guaranteed everything in it.
Your love has always been our lives’ foundation,
    your fidelity has been the roof over our world.
You once said, “I joined forces with my chosen leader,
    I pledged my word to my servant, David, saying,
‘Everyone descending from you is guaranteed life;
    I’ll make your rule as solid and lasting as rock.’”
19-37 A long time ago you spoke in a vision,
    you spoke to your faithful beloved:
“I’ve crowned a hero,
    I chose the best I could find;
I found David, my servant,
    poured holy oil on his head,
And I’ll keep my hand steadily on him,
    yes, I’ll stick with him through thick and thin.
No enemy will get the best of him,
    no scoundrel will do him in.
I’ll weed out all who oppose him,
    I’ll clean out all who hate him.
I’m with him for good and I’ll love him forever;
    I’ve set him on high—he’s riding high!
I’ve put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other;
    he’ll call out, ‘Oh, my Father—my God, my Rock of Salvation!’
Yes, I’m setting him apart as the First of the royal line,
    High King over all of earth’s kings.
I’ll preserve him eternally in my love,
    I’ll faithfully do all I so solemnly promised.
I’ll guarantee his family tree
    and underwrite his rule.
If his children refuse to do what I tell them,
    if they refuse to walk in the way I show them,
If they spit on the directions I give them
    and tear up the rules I post for them—
I’ll rub their faces in the dirt of their rebellion
    and make them face the music.
But I’ll never throw them out,
    never abandon or disown them.
Do you think I’d withdraw my holy promise?
    or take back words I’d already spoken?
I’ve given my word, my whole and holy word;
    do you think I would lie to David?
His family tree is here for good,
    his sovereignty as sure as the sun,
Dependable as the phases of the moon,
    inescapable as weather.”
 (The Message)
DEVOTIONAL:
“I will sing of the Lord’s great Love forever.” The fact that we have this opportunity is absolutely amazing.
Imagine you’re a singer and a songwriter. Now let’s say you’re given the chance to meet and play for your favorite musical artist. You’re extremely excited. You’ve spent years working and developing this talent that you have, and you’re slightly nervous to show your songs. How honored would you be to have this opportunity? How much would you prepare your songs to make them as good as possible? How long before the date would you spend thinking and preparing in order to impress the artist? How happy would you be if that musical artist liked what you played?
This is the same opportunity that we have when we sing to the Lord! When we sing and worship, the Lord hears us! The maker of the heavens and the earth hears us and loves when we sing to him! Shouldn’t that excite us? Shouldn’t that make us jump off our feet in joy? Why is it that when we go to church on Sunday morning, we slightly slump over, sigh when we’re told to stand, and simply sing the notes without really thinking about the meaning behind them? Friends, this should not be! In worshiping the Lord with our heart, we come with recognition of the amazing gift of grace, and the amazing person of Love, that he sent his Son Jesus Christ into the world to make us holy and blameless in his sight. Holy and blameless! WE are holy and blameless! I know sometimes it may not feel like you’re holy and blameless, but guess what? God has completely forgotten our sins — all of them! Even the ones that we’ll commit in the future! Hebrews 8:12 says, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
If that’s not exciting to you, and doesn’t make you want to take this opportunity to sing and shout to the Lord in adoration, then I don’t know what will! Because of God’s love, and because of his gift of grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can be holy and blameless and sing to God as pure lambs who follow after a shepherd. That’s all sheep do! And they love every minute of it. Following Jesus with all our heart is not a burden — it’s something that we should be doing with joy. So with this recognition of who you are in Christ, go and sing of the Lord’s great love forever.
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 89: God’s Covenant with David
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, for ever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to my servant David:
“I will establish your descendants for ever,
and build your throne for all generations.” ’
Selah
Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:
‘I have set the crown on one who is mighty,
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;
my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not outwit him,
the wicked shall not humble him.
I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to me, “You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!”{New Revised Standard Version}

Facebook Twitter
____________________________

No comments:

Post a Comment