Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. Psalm 105:1-2
I have quite the talent for sleeping through earthquakes. If you have been following along with these daily devotions, you may recall this fact. When I was in college, both my roommate and I completely slept through an earthquake in Mississippi. The rest of the people in our dorm were gathered in a safe place, but my roommate and I were sound asleep. We awoke to friends banging on our door to check on us after the earthquake had passed. They felt terrible that no one had come to wake us up and get us. Our resident assistant who also lived in the dorm did not even come. At the time, I was disappointed that our resident assistant had failed to check on my roommate and me. I wanted to say to her, "You were not through checking on your residents. My roommate and I were still in our dorm room. You still had a job to do!" My friend, Scripture makes it clear that as long as we are on this earth, we, too, have a job to do. Our job is to reach those who do not know Christ and to tell them about Him. Our job is to make Christ known. We have been making strides as a church to reach the lost, but we aren't done yet. We still have a job to do. In fact, we will have a job to do as long as we are alive.
The writer of Psalm chapter 105 emphasized the importance of telling others about God and what He has done. "Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done," he writes (verse 1). "Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful name" (verse 2). Next, the writer of this Psalm lists all of the great things God has done for the people of Israel. His recollection of everything that God has done continues for 45 verses. It's almost as if he cannot stop recalling God's goodness once he started. And when you think about how good God has been, it's really hard to keep to yourself, isn't it?
My friend, when we think about making Christ known, it is really just telling other people about how good God has been. When you think about your own life, are you pointing other people to Him? Are you telling other people about the goodness of God? Let's commit today to dedicate our lives to declaring God's goodness every day of our lives.
Who are you reaching out to who does not know Christ? Take a few moments to look at your list of 5 people who are far from Christ. Spend a few moments praying for each of them and then call them or send them an encouraging text message today. Let them know that you are thinking about them and that you care about them.
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
Exult in his holy name;
rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
Remember the wonders he has performed,
his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
you children of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
He is the Lord our God.
His justice is seen throughout the land.
He always stands by his covenant—
the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
This is the covenant he made with Abraham
and the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:
“I will give you the land of Canaan
as your special possession.”
He said this when they were few in number,
a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
They wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.
He warned kings on their behalf:
“Do not touch my chosen people,
and do not hurt my prophets.”
He called for a famine on the land of Canaan,
cutting off its food supply.
Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them—
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
They bruised his feet with fetters
and placed his neck in an iron collar.
Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
the Lord tested Joseph’s character.
Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free;
the ruler of the nation opened his prison door.
Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household;
he became ruler over all the king’s possessions.
He could instruct the king’s aides as he pleased
and teach the king’s advisers.
Then Israel arrived in Egypt;
Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
And the Lord multiplied the people of Israel
until they became too mighty for their enemies.
Then he turned the Egyptians against the Israelites,
and they plotted against the Lord’s servants.
But the Lord sent his servant Moses,
along with Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They performed miraculous signs among the Egyptians,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
The Lord blanketed Egypt in darkness,
for they had defied his commands to let his people go.
He turned their water into blood,
poisoning all the fish.
Then frogs overran the land
and even invaded the king’s bedrooms.
When the Lord spoke, flies descended on the Egyptians,
and gnats swarmed across Egypt.
He sent them hail instead of rain,
and lightning flashed over the land.
He ruined their grapevines and fig trees
and shattered all the trees.
He spoke, and hordes of locusts came—
young locusts beyond number.
They ate up everything green in the land,
destroying all the crops in their fields.
Then he killed the oldest son in each Egyptian home,
the pride and joy of each family.
The Lord brought his people out of Egypt, loaded with silver and gold;
and not one among the tribes of Israel even stumbled.
Egypt was glad when they were gone,
for they feared them greatly.
The Lord spread a cloud above them as a covering
and gave them a great fire to light the darkness.
They asked for meat, and he sent them quail;
he satisfied their hunger with manna—bread from heaven.
He split open a rock, and water gushed out
to form a river through the dry wasteland.
For he remembered his sacred promise
to his servant Abraham.
So he brought his people out of Egypt with joy,
his chosen ones with rejoicing.
He gave his people the lands of pagan nations,
and they harvested crops that others had planted.
All this happened so they would follow his decrees
and obey his instructions.
