22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. 23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. 25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him--may your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations. 29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him--those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations wil l be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn--for he has done it.

Why should we declare the name of God to those around us?  Is it not because we fear him, honor him and revere him? These are also reasons why we rejoice in the opportunity to praise his holy name. In the last section of the first chapter of Romans, Paul says that God gave up on those who turned from him and who did not give him thanks or honor him as God. To the Ephesians, he wrote that they had previously been without God and without hope in this world. When we submit our will to the will of God in humble obedience, we are opening our lives to the only source of joy, peace, comfort and hope. Too often we think that serving God will take away these things and that being a “Christian” will make us miserable. The truth is that one who claims to be a Christian but is not devoted from the heart is probably the most miserable of all people but when it is genuine, from a heart of love for God, serving him brings us happiness beyond understanding.

Our God is a wonderful God! He is full of mercy and compassion and is a God of love! His goal for=2 0each of us is that we trust him and become like him, thus preparing us for eternal life in his glorious presence.

O God, I declare your wondrous nature, I trust your infinite wisdom, I submit to your perfect will. Help me to fully give myself to you and allow your Spirit to control my life. Forgive my selfish ways. I do ask that you increase my faith so that I can better live up to that which you have revealed to me. I thank you for your forgiveness for my frailties. I praise you for your constant care and protection. I pray in the name of Jesus my Lord and savior.

May God bless each of us as we are filled with his Spirit today.