Psalm 116 Aug 9

I'll be leaving for NY in 1 hour and 20 mins.
TIME TO SQUEEZE ONE DEVO./

1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.

2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

This passage just shows how promising our God is. Once he started listening to us, he won't stop.
God is for sure, the only consistent thing within our lives and we're so blessed to have that.
He's the complete opposite of us. We turn away from him, but he's never played the same game.
We betray him constantly, but he's still consistent.

This whole chapter actually talks alot about us giving a bit back by "calling the name of the lord"
Which we all know means to give worship.
Dan said Why do we worship? And answered that with because we love him.
But ALSO to give back however little, however much of a tiny fraction he's done for us. back.

3b I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Lord, save me!”

I know we hear this a lot.. or at least, I do.
The whole issue with us only praying when we need something from God..
but for me, it's pretty hard for me to go to God even when I'm in need of guidance.
In fact, for me, I feel like I usually only go to God when I'm happy.
But we need to fully trust God and give ourselves to him.
Let him help us through our problems and also celebrate with us when the times are good.

That's it!

15 "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints."
If we live a holy life dedicated to Christ, I'm sure God will be waiting eagerly to accept us into his kingdom after our death.
Haha really really short devotion, but it's all I got.
Bye!
-Sarah

12/13: How can I repay the LORD
for all his goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.

Referring back to Psalm 23:5, 'My cup overflows.'
This, basically meaning, the amount of given from God is so overwhelming, that we can't even
contain it all. This being said, it wouldn't be possible to be EXACTLY like Jesus.
Our cup is filled with his glory, but also with sin.
We will never be pure, we're so unworthy.
There's no way to repay God, nothing satisfies the debt that we owe God.
We owe him everything, especially our lives.

1 I love the Lord because he hears my voice
    and my prayer for mercy.
2 Because he bends down to listen,
I liked this verse because it illustrates how god doesn't just sit on a throne in heaven listening to our prayers like some CEO on the phone with a lowly employee, but he bends down to our level, just to listen to us and be closer to us. This shows how much god cares for each and every one of us. It also tells me that when he listens to me, he truly hears my voice, not just what I am praying out loud, but what's on the inside. He knows us bettr than we do, so it would only be logical to come to him with whatever comes up in our lives. He listens to us from the inside out. The sad part is that usually we don't give hkm the time of the day to listen to what he has to say to us! So that's one thing I think we can all work on listening to god. Not only in a literal sense, but through what signs he shows us in different ways aha
Night!

I liked what Kevin wrote.

Hey guys I have the privilege of playing and serving with you guys and I hope to learn tons of things from you guys!
I'm looking forward to this alot!

Anyway, Psalms does get repetitive doesn't it? The verse that stuck out most for me is

"What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?"

What CAN we give back to the LORD? Pretty much nothing that is of worth. Alot of us think offering or tithing or even
serving on this praise team suffices in terms of giving back to the LORD. As we keep reading, David writes that truly, we are
servants of God. Servants are not half assed, but 100% dedicated to their master. In the same way we should be FULLY devoted
to God. Obviously its easier said than done. However, God looks at the intentions of your heart and what you're willing to give him.
He knows when there is effort being put forth and when sacrifices are made.
Ooooo.
Haha, anyway those are my 2 cents!
See you guys soon!

8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Lord, save me! ”
1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
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so i decided to do something new with the chapter today. you know, sort it out like puzzle pieces, put it backwards, and interpret it differently. if we read it this way; it becomes more like, we would've cried out for help, and God saw that coming millenniums ahead, therefore we love Him now for saving us without even asking for it.

kinda like the father moment you had, when your parents tell you something, a little bit too early, and 3 months later; -PF-, it happens. we love our parents for thaat, and the same way, and more; WE SHOULD LOVE JESUS. nuff said.

Verse 5:
"the Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion."

I'll try not to sound repetitive......
Our Lord has love and compassion, and that will never change. He thinks of each and everyone of us. Once in a while, people tend to judge and change their mind about a person. But like how it says somewhere in the bible: love your neighbours. We end up complaning and get filled up with anger. Our attitudes and emotions do change a lot and quite often. Yet the Lord continues to hear our prayers and bless us.

I hope that made sense!
~Audrey~