PSALM 145:1-7

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2007

WHY CAN’T WE DO THIS TODAY?

1 I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And on Your wondrous works.
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness. Psalm 145;1-7 (NKJV)

Many people are debating the validity of the record if Bonds hits more home runs than Aaron while remembering the baseball heroics of Babe Ruth, remembering the past and relating it to the future.

Many people are discussing gas prices and asking WHY while remembering the lower prices of past years and trying to relate those prices to other costs of today.

Many people are debating the involvement in Iraq and other nations and comparing it with the other armed conflicts of the past while remembering the heroics of those who gave their lives in defense of freedom and often times discussing the rights and wrongs of each conflict.

What would happen if you would do the same as the Psalmist and publicly praise and give thanks for the greatness of God? Would others join you in giving praise? If another was giving praise to God, would you join them, or in each case would the speaker be considered a religious fanatic?

Just because a person talks about home runs does not make that person a baseball fanatic, just a baseball fan.

Just because a person discusses gas prices does not make that person a fanatic raving against oil prices, just a person who needs to and/or likes to drive a car.

Just because a person remembers the sacrifices of others in times of war does not make that person a war fanatic, just one who is thankful that others sacrificed for them.

Just because a person speaks of the goodness of God does not make that person a religious fanatic, just a person who has received the love of God and wants to share it with others.

If we can talk freely talk about other things, why can’t we talk about the most important of all? Baseball records will be broken. Gas prices will continue to go up and down. Because of the sinfulness of mankind we will continue to talk about those who gave their lives for freedom.

While those conversations continue, it appears that conversations of God and His Love are not only being silenced because we will not speak out, but are in danger of being lost and forgotten. How happy Satan must be!

WHY CAN’T WE DO THIS TODAY? Let’s make it a point to begin today to make sure the words of the Psalmist in verse 4 are as true today as they were when he wrote them. If you and I do not pass these words of praise on to the next generation, then the next generation will not be able to pass them on because they will not know them.

It would be sad if the next generation knew about home runs, gas prices and wars, but not of the Love of God and the gift of Salvation He has for us.

WE PRAY: HEAVENLY FATHER, send your Holy Spirit upon me that I might have the wisdom, strength, and courage to do my part to assure that the next generation can also rejoice and praise your Holy Name. AMEN.

A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION

Write a letter, send an e-mail, add a note to a Birthday Card, find one way this week that you can at least send a simple sentence to someone telling them that God loves them.