Day Sixteen
Joe Courage
My first name is Joseph, of Genesis. My last name is Courage, a reputation I hope to achieve. I come from a family of five children in which I am the youngest (@ 22). I work at Brackenridge hospital as a clinical assistant and I'm waiting to be accepted at ACC's nursing program. I am passionate about most sports, nature (adventures), foreign missions, not watching television, and worshipping through song, dance, and guitar. Most people don't know that my spiritual rebirth took place in the community in which I was born in Massachusetts. It is also the site of one of the oldest revival meeting campgrounds on the east coast called Asbury Grove.
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Key Verse: "For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the humble with salvation. Let the saints rejoice in this glory and sing for Joy on their beds." |
The good news is that we all have a new life in Christ. One mark of this is praise; an abandoned expression for the Father alone, for His mighty work in us and love for us.
Where we lack understanding in the immense power and nature of the gospel we lack praise. If we lack the knowledge of how miserable and damned we are, it only makes sense that we hardly express our praise to God. Similarly if we lack insight into the ultimate majesty and strength of God why would we dance before Him? Psalm 149:4 shows this to be true: "For the Lord delights in His people; He crowns the humble with salvation." This deals with our depravity. We must grasp that there is no redeeming quality in us apart from God--this results in humility. The crown we receive when we are humble is salvation. Humility is the best indicator that we actually believe the gospel. In fact, without humility there can be no salvation.
And what is the response the psalmist claims for the saints? "Let the saints rejoice in this glory and sing for JOY on their beds." The word rejoice in Hebrew is the word ALATS (aw-lats). Its primitive root literally means "to jump for joy." So if salvation is our glory, let's jump for joy! Heck why not? So many people paint their bodies and wildly dance when their favorite football team scores. Yet in church we can hardly raise our hands in honor to our Savior? Is He not worthy? It also says that we should sing for joy on our beds. I suggest we see the bed as a place of rest and no longer as a place of mourning. When we sleep we are being repaired and readied for the next day. Praise should be a part of that process of being restored with God and resting in Him. Also with praise we find that our bed is no longer a place of mourning. Have you ever cried yourself to sleep? By God's glory now the only tears we should shed are tears of joy. Through praise we have joy in the night, joy in our solitude with God, and we bear the mark of a humble and saved soul.
1. Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-20, Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:24, Romans 6:4 and 12:2 What does it say we have when we are born again? Do you think praise would be a part of this new life? Pray God will show you how to live as a new creation and praise him wholly.
2. Read Duet. 8:10-18. What are some ways you can remember what God has done to prevent you from being prideful? (Romans 12:16, Isaiah 8:13, Proverbs 3:7-8)
3. What are some of the ways you like to express who you are? (poetry, dance, music, art, etc.) How can you use these things to praise God? Spend just 10 minutes a day this week alone before the Lord using one of these expressions to praise Him.
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