EXPRESSING APPRECIATION FOR THE ONE WHO LOVES US MOST

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise? 
(Psalm 106:2)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
"Almighty!" is one of the names for God. 
He is everything we can envision that is good, right, and holy. 
But He is so much more! 
He is more than we can imagine 
and more than we have the capability of describing. 
Even our greatest moments of praise fall short of encompassing His glory.

The psalmist tried his best to praise the God 
for everything he could think of at the moment. 
Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; 
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power; 
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel (tambourine) and dancing, 
praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals, 
praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. 
Praise the LORD. (Psalm 150)

Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, my soul. I will praise the LORD 
all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. (Psalm 146:1-2)

God is all powerful (omnipotent), all knowing (omniscient), 
and everywhere at the same time (omnipresent).
There is no one who can compare to God and His greatness.
The psalmist not only believed in God, 
but He had the highest priority in his life.
Everything revolved around his relationship to God.

ACTION:
Before we can praise God, we have to believe in His existence.
His presence is everywhere, 
but things of this world can cloud our vision of Him.
Within our own life, selfishness and independence prevent us 
from being aware of the Lord and connecting with Him on a daily basis. 

If we ever expect to appreciate God’s greatness 
and enjoy a relationship with Him, we must make a choice 
to go in a different direction than our natural inclinations.
That means we choose to have different attitudes, 
different priorities, and different desires.

Some may say, “But I don’t want to separate myself from my friends”.
Changing doesn’t mean divorcing ourselves from our friends (although in some 
cases, it might be a good idea to stop hanging around with some of them), 
it just means that we include the Lord wherever we go.
Too often many leave Him behind depending on which friends they are around.
How would we feel if we were excluded by someone who claimed to be our friend?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You are worthy of all glory, honor, and praise! 
Thank you for listening to my feeble attempts at praise and for being 
pleased with my loving efforts. You are too marvelous for my words 
and beyond my mind's comprehension. I gladly put my hope and my 
future in You! Forgive me for the times I leave You out of my life.
Help me to include You everywhere I go and in all that I do. I pray
that when I do, it will create a desire in others to know You better.”

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