Pastor Stephen Dedman

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Honor And Glory To God

Encouragement, Trust

“Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”
Psalm 29:2

Psalm 29 uses the name “The LORD” (Yahweh) 18 times in 11 verses. It’s a holy and reverent name referenced to God. There is and has always been a great emphasis on the name of the LORD.

Words cannot completely describe or explain His majesty, power, and grace. His name is above all names. And His name is to be treated with reverence and never in vain.

We also reference the LORD as “Jehovah” taken from the four letters Y H V H. The Jews would never speak this name because it is so holy. 

Today we often hear someone saying the Lord’s name in vain or using it to swear by. We must always lift up the name of the Lord as a holy name. As verse 2 commands, we are to give glory to His name.

To give glory means to praise and honor. It means to worship or bow down before. When we worship and glorify the name of the LORD we recognize His character and nature. The idea of this Psalm is that man should bow in humble adoration of the greatness, beauty, and holiness of the LORD. 

The frightening takeaway from this devotional is that we don’t worship and glorify God as He deserves. We don’t give Him the worth that is due Him. We don’t give Him the glory that is to be given. If only we would worship Him like all of Heaven worships Him as we read in Revelation chapters 4&5.

This Psalm of David is a reminder for us to get our worship on. It’s time for us to give what is owed to the One and True God. We do so by praising His great name. We sing to Him. We pray to Him. And most importantly we serve Him.

Pray

Lord, You alone are deserving of praise and glory. Help me to remove myself from getting in the way of Your great works. Help me to share Your amazing grace to those who need it. 

The Ultimate Demonstration Of Love

Encouragement, Trust

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.  God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1 John 4:16

What is perfect love?  It’s a love that is full and complete and needs no improvement.  A love that is at its maximum.  It’s a love that everyone longs for but no one will ever find outside of a relationship with God.

Perfect love is demonstrated through the person of Jesus Christ.  John 13:1 says, “when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”  

Jesus loved perfectly.  His love was full and complete all the way to the cross.  He loved with grace and compassion and forgiveness.  This is the kind of love people are looking for.  A love that has no end.

It’s easy for us to love when we are loved in return.  However, it’s difficult to demonstrate love for someone who does you wrong.  This is what separates perfect love from all other love.  

Jesus loves those who curse Him and blaspheme His name.  He died for those people as well.  Jesus demonstrated His love for the entire world through selfless sacrifice.  And that same love abides in the heart of every Believer.

As Christians we are to love as Christ loved.  We are called to demonstrate love to those who love us and to those who hate us.  Our ability to love comes from the love of God that is in us.  We are to love one another because God is the source of love and perfect love puts God on display.  Love is evidence of salvation.

Pray

Lord, give me a heart that is like Yours. Help me to love like You love. Your love overwhelms my soul and renews my spirit.

Immediate Action

Faith, Trust

But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭8:22‬

There is a story about a certain tribe in Africa that elected a new king every seven years.  The king would reign for seven years being treated with the highest honor and given every luxury.  The king had absolute authority even to administer power of life and death over members of the tribe.  

The only catch was at the end of the seven years a new king was chosen and the old king was killed.  This practice went on for years and every tribe member knew the provision and there was never a shortage of men wanting the position.  They were willing to forfeit their lives in order to enjoy seven years of luxury and power.

Jesus encountered a disciple who wanted to follow Him but needed to go home and take care of some business first.  Regardless of the situation, Jesus commanded an immediate response and obedience.  Jesus knew the heart of this man and what was happening in his personal life.  

Jesus is not saying that we are to neglect our families and friends but instead He is prompting immediate action.  Either this man was being greedy and waiting for his part of the inheritance or this man valued his family more than Christ.  Regardless, Jesus instructed the disciple to follow Him right then.

Many of us have excuses of why we can’t serve the Lord to the fullest right now.  We may only get one opportunity for certain tasks and if we don’t immediately obey we will miss out on a great blessing.  The Lord wants us to be available to be used by Him on His timing.  Don’t get caught up in the luxury and power of this world only to miss an opportunity to serve the Lord.

Pray

Lord, You have my heart and soul.  Show me where I need to be in complete obedience to your plans for my life.