Psalm 103:1-22
Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.Praise the Lord, my soul.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Devotion
Psalm 103 is a song outlining the character of God. In this song, we see that God is worthy of praise, holy, forgiving, healing, redeeming, loving, compassionate, giving, good, just, righteous, gracious, patient, merciful, eternal, sovereign, and active in His creation. Wow! This is quite a list. This list is not conclusive, but it gives us a snapshot of the character of God. As image-bearers of God, we were created to reflect His character in His world. Like the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31, we are to be people of godly character.
We are told in Romans 8 that we (believers) are being conformed to the likeness of God’s Son. Each day the Holy Spirit is working inside of us to transform us so that we look more like Jesus. This is not an external transformation but an internal change of heart. As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we should begin to reflect His character in our lives. Paul identifies some of these characteristics in Galatians 5 and then in Colossians 3. The short list in Colossians 3 includes, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. According to God’s Word, character matters! It is a critical part of our testimony. There needs to be congruency in the message we proclaim and the life that we live.
Questions to Ponder:
What do you think when you meditate on the character of God? As God’s image-bearer, do you accurately reflect God’s character? When you study the Fruit of the Spirit, how would you evaluate your own spiritual growth? Are you becoming more and more like Jesus? Why does character matter?
Prayer Points
- Spend time telling God that you want to know Him better. Tell God that you want to reflect His love, His character, His nature. Ask Him to help You to be transformed and to renew Your mind.
- Ask God to grant you clean hands and a pure heart. That your speech will be for building others up and not tearing them down. Ask Him to help you speak His words of life and words of salvation to others.
- Ask Him to help you to listen to things that are good and pure. When you wake up in the morning, offer your life to Him afresh. Ask Him to transform you from the Inside out. Offer parts of your body up to Him to be used as instruments of righteousness and NOT instruments of sin.
- Pray for yourself and our church family to carve time out every day to read the Word of God.
- Ask the LORD to help you to monitor your time on social media, your computer, the internet, your cell phone… So that you can be using your time in a way that ultimately brings Him glory and honor.
Suggested Prayer
Father of Kindness, I praise You for Your Spirit that lives within me. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit that reminds me of Your truth, revives my heart, strengthens me, and leads me into the paths of righteousness. Father, I ask that You enable me and Your church to love Your Word and that we would read and mediate on it every day. Help us to protect our alone time with You. Transform us by the renewing of our mind. Cause us to sine brightly for You God. I ask all of this in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.