Key Verse
1 Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!
 
Meditation
Faith focused on God and His eternal purpose fuels worship of God for His faithfulness, claiming the fullness of His promises even before they are realized. God will keep His covenant promises to bless people from every nation!
 
The shortest song in the Psalter has the broadest scope of impact, beginning with calling “all nations” to praise the Lord and “all peoples” to worship Israel’s covenant God. The scope of this song of salvation is undergirded by God’s revelation. The Lord is Creator (Genesis 1-2) who calls His people to Himself and commissions them to “bless all the nations of the earth” (Genesis 12:1-3).  God’s covenant purposes are confirmed in Revelation 7:9 where people from every tribe, tongue, and nation are in worshipful celebration around the throne of the Lamb.
 
God’s “great steadfast love” (v. 2) toward Israel is confirmed by His faithfulness that endures forever. One way God’s faithfulness is seen is through His commitment to His promises, in this case to bless all the nations with salvation through the person and work of Jesus, leading to eternal celebration. Paul quotes this Psalm in Romans 15:8-10 where he describes God’s faithfulness to reach every nation as a “display of God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promise given to the patriarchs.” Amen and Amen.
 
God is faithful and we must trust His word. God will keep His promises, not least of which is for worship to rise from every nation, tongue, and tribe. Let us worship the Lord of nations and seek ways of participation in His work of redemptive restoration!
 
Today’s Reading
Praise the Lord, all nations!
    Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
 
Richly Dwelling
-Which aspect of the scope of this Psalm speaks the most to you, the breadth of God’s mission (every nation) or the depth of God’s faithfulness?
 
-God rules over the nations and is working worship from every people in every place of the globe. Do you believe this? Why is it significant that the apostle Paul did?
 
-How can you trust God’s promise through participating in His purposes? If God is truly truthful to His promises then should it not have radical implications for your life? How?
 
Key Verse
1 Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!

On January 1 we will begin a new trek through Scripture. Today we revisit the post "I am a new creation in Christ. Now what?" This post was originally written for a new believer in October and has been shared over 1,000 times. We hope it blesses you today and we encourage you to share it with a person who is exploring faith or a new Christian.

​Key verses
14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
 
Meditation
The ultimate sign of God’s steadfast love is the cross of Christ. For those who believe, Jesus becomes a sure refuge and His word our rock, a sanctuary grounded in God’s covenant faithfulness. For those who refuse to believe, Jesus’ work becomes a stumbling stone, exposing hearts that resist God’s grace.
 
In today’s reading, God gives Judah another sign of His faithfulness. Syria will not prevail; its power will fade before Isaiah’s son can call for his parents (vv. 1–4). Yet God’s people will reject the stream of hope God provides… and a flood of discipline will come. Even so, God’s promise remains steady: Immanuel, God with us, will not fail (vv. 5–10).
 
Two groups encounter the same reality and respond very differently. Those who trust the Lord and wait on His Word experience God as a sanctuary in the storm. Those who look “to the earth” find only “distress and darkness” (vv. 11–22). Isaiah’s children themselves become signs, pointing true believers to a posture of waiting and hope in the Lord (v. 17).
 
Ultimately, the greatest sign God gives is not the son of a prophet but the Son of God. On the cross, the rising tide of our sin and God’s just judgment fell fully on Jesus, so that all who believe might find shelter in His finished work. This gospel is a stumbling block to those who seek God’s favor through their own efforts or religiosity, but it is a gracious gift to all who receive it by faith. In Christ alone, God provides a sure refuge and a lasting sanctuary in a broken world.
 
Today’s Reading
When the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.’ 2 And I will get reliable witnesses, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah, to attest for me.”

3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.”
 
5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River,[c] mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”
 
9 Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered;
    give ear, all you far countries;
strap on your armor and be shattered;
    strap on your armor and be shattered.
10 Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing;
    speak a word, but it will not stand,
    for God is with us.
 
Fear God, Wait for the Lord
11 For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
 
16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. 19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the sign of God’s promise and the reality that it will become either a stumbling block or sanctuary?
 
-Jesus is both sanctuary OR stumbling block depending on whether you believe, obeying His message (1 Peter 2:7-8). Does your obedience to His teaching reflect your belief in His promise? Here is a litmus test: Jesus commands us to not be afraid but have peace (John 14:27).  Is your life marked with peace or fear?
 
-Where, specifically, do you need to more fully trust God and His word?
 

Key verses
12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 

​Key Verse
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 
 
Meditation
Hypocrisy in Christianity is easy to identify. The gospel frees believers for restoration, security to confess where our own hypocrisy. Christians must realize our rebellion, repent, and return to Jesus for real relationship.
 
As Jesus addresses the seven churches in Asian Minor through John, He rebukes the early churches in ways that convict us today:

“You have forgotten your first love (Ephesus)…
 been weak in persecution (Smyrna)…
allowed a spirit of idolatry to lead to compromise (Pergamum)…
tolerated an ungodly sexuality (Thyatira)…
are almost dead, though you have a reputation for life (Sardis)…
have little power from denying Christ’s name (Philadelphia)…
are lukewarm, allowing prosperous riches to drown out powerful faith (Laodicea).” 
 
God rebukes those whom He loves, for repentance and return to relationship. God’s covenant promises remain for all who return to Him. The promises in today’s reading are rooted in Old Testament covenant promises and catapult us toward the end of Revelation (where every promise is fulfilled for those who endure). 
 
God promises to restore when we realize we are hypocrites, that our reputation does not match reality, and we recognize our rebellion to repent and return to Jesus. Specifically, IN Christ we have:

            Access to the tree of life (2:7; Genesis 2:9; Revelation 22)
            Receive the crown of life (2:10)
            Entrance into supper with Messiah (2:17; Isaiah 25:6; Revelation 19:19)
            Ruling with God (2:26-27 & 3:21; Psalm 2:9; 22:5)
            Are clothed in righteous robes (3:5; Isaiah 52:1; 19:7-8; 21:2)
       New identity/ eternal citizenship (3:12; Isaiah 65:15; Revelation 21:2, 10; 22:4)
 
Jesus stands and knocks on the door of our hearts, hoping we will hear His voice and open the door, restoring relationship with Him and renewing our hearts through His presence.
 
Today’s Reading

​“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.

“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Philadelphia
7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.

8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

To the Church in Laodicea
14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.

15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
 
Richly Dwelling
-Which of the churches do you see your home church identifying with in Christ’s rebuke, needing to recognize where the reputation does not match reality?
 
-Why is it difficult to receive rebuke personally? How can receiving rebuke personally lead to revival in your church corporately?
 
-Jesus invites us to allow Him to enter in so we can fellowship with Him. Where can you open your heart so Jesus can make it more fully His home? Which of the covenant promsies through Him are most inviting?
 
Key Verse
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 

​Key Verse
And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.
 
Meditation
Signs and symbols point to people and places of substance. Signs direct us to destinations. Symbols represent a larger reality. Neither are a place of arrival and both are tools to lead us somewhere we need or want to go.
 
The narrative account bookending today’s reading (vv. 1-7, 37-43) is chronicled after God’s people returned from exile and the ark had been destroyed. The ark of the covenant was a vehicle through which God would meet, speak, and show mercy to His people (Exodus 25:22). The ark was a sign of God’s presence and a symbol of God’s power. The remnant returning to the land would read this chapter with heavy hearts, lamenting the loss of the ark, yet hopeful for the substance the ark pointed to- The presence and power of God who alone is worthy of our worship.
 
The song of thanksgiving comprising most of this chapter is a composition combining Psalm 96 and Psalm 105. The gratitude flowing from the heart (vv. 8-13) exalts God for His greatness (vv. 14-18) and grace (vv. 19-22). The glory from the gratitude should flow to the entire globe (vv. 23-27), for every generation (vv. 28-31), and through all creation (vv. 32-35). The substance the ark points to is the person and work of God celebrated in David’s beautiful song of worship.
 
God alone is to be praised, not the signs and symbols pointing to Him. We are grateful for the things that point us toward God but they direct us to a greater substance, our graceful God who loves us, gave Himself for us, and longs to dwell with us.
 
Today’s Reading
​And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord 3 and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat,[a] and a cake of raisins.

4 Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.

David's Song of Thanks
8 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
11 Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
12 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
13 O offspring of Israel his servant,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
    the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,
17 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
18 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,
    as your portion for an inheritance.”
19 When you were few in number,
    of little account, and sojourners in it,
20 wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
21 he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,
22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
    do my prophets no harm!”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
    Tell of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!
25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
    and he is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and joy are in his place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come before him!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
30     tremble before him, all the earth;
    yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
    and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    let the field exult, and everything in it!
33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
    before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

35 Say also:
“Save us, O God of our salvation,
    and gather and deliver us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.
36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!”
Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Worship Before the Ark
37 So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister regularly before the ark as each day required, 38 and also Obed-edom and his sixty-eight brothers, while Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were to be gatekeepers. 39 And he left Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place that was at Gibeon 40 to offer burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of burnt offering regularly morning and evening, to do all that is written in the Law of the Lord that he commanded Israel. 41 With them were Heman and Jeduthun and the rest of those chosen and expressly named to give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever. 42 Heman and Jeduthun had trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments for sacred song. The sons of Jeduthun were appointed to the gate.

43 Then all the people departed each to his house, and David went home to bless his household.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Why are we tempted to settle for celebrating signs and symbols, forfeiting the substance they point to and represent?
 
-The ark was gone but the story of the ark coming to Jerusalem would drive the remnant to do more than remember. The story would drive them to worship and celebrate relationship with the Lord. As you read God’s word this morning, how are you pointed to the substance of God Himself and worship of Him alone?
 
- Jesus used signs all through His ministry, empowering belief in Himself and His work. What are ways you can deepen your belief and grow in gratitude for God’s grace and greatness?
 
Key Verse
And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God.

​Key Verses
1 I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
 
Meditation
Healthy spirituality practices gratitude, remembering God’s provision and worshipping God for His continued faithfulness.
 
The Hebrew category for today’s psalm of gratitude is “todah,” a verbal and public praise of God for his goodness and declaration of His faithfulness. Specifically, the psalmist proclaims grateful praise (vv. 1-2) because he was saved from death (vv. 3-11), a rescue commemorated through a meal (vv. 12-19). The shape of the Psalm sends us directly to Jesus’s representative work that rescues believers from the power of death and is commemorated through the Lord’s Supper.
 
The deliverance from death confirms God’s covenant care and character. The Lord is gracious, righteous, merciful (v. 5) and good (v. 7). He hears the prayers of His people (vv. 1-2), prizes their lives (v. 15), and protects them through affliction (vv. 4, 6, 8). Grateful praise is evidenced in love for the Lord (v. 1), testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness, and committing to be faithful in response (vv. 14, 18) as the Lord’s servant (v. 16) by walking before the Lord (v. 9) through surrendered trust.  God’s redemptive work always solicits renewal and response.
 
The redemptive trajectory of the psalm moves the worshipper from the grave (v. 3) to the lands of the living (v.9) and ultimately to the presence of God (v. 19). Peter uses this psalm to describe Jesus’ death and resurrection (Acts 2:24, v 3), His deliverance from “the pangs of death” that His people may be rescued from death to inhabit the land of the living.
 
Gratitude will grow when we practice remembering and participate in proclaiming through worshipping God for His provision and continued faithfulness.
 


Today’s Reading
I love the Lord, because he has heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
    our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling;
9 I will walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
10 I believed, even when I spoke:
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my alarm,
    “All mankind are liars.”
 
12 What shall I render to the Lord
    for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
    is the death of his saints.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
    I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
    You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
    and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading? Why?
 
-Do you practice gratitude and proclaim God’s continued faithfulness through daily worship? Why or why not?
 
- Take a moment to remember and reflect on how God has heard you, given you hope, and helped you in times of trouble. Ask Him to help you commit to whole hearted service and trust, viewing God’s character and His covenant work to vault you into a living a life of worship.
 
Key Verses
1 I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.