Day 17 - Raise the Roof
Day 17 - Raise the Roof
Written By: Joy Hardin
SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Psalm 95:1-7, NLT
Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. 3 For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. 4 He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. 5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too. 6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, 7for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!
DEVOTION
Psalm 95 is an invitation to come to the Lord. Three times the invitation is given: “come sing,” “come with thanksgiving,” and “come worship and bow down” (vv. 1, 2, &6). Verses 1-2 describe our outward worship. The Message pictures a very public celebration: “Come, let’s shout praises to God, raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let’s march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns!” Verses 6-7 describe our personal worship as we “bow down,” “kneel before the Lord,” and “listen to his voice.” This worship is intimate and personal. Both public and private worship are important and both should be present in our lives regularly.
Psalm 95 also paints a picture of two very different hearts. In verses 1-7 we see a heart that sings, thanks, praises, and worships God. In these verses the psalmist speaks and leads his listeners to worship the Lord. In verses 8-11 the Lord himself is the speaker declaring his anger and disapproval of the heart and that is hard, disobedient, and has turned away from God. A hard heart grows bitter and calloused. It robs us of the blessings of continued fellowship with Jesus and with others. The Lord watches over the one whose heart is praising and worshiping him, as a shepherd watches over his sheep. But the one whose heart is disobedient and hard finds no rest.
Robert Munger wrote an interesting booklet about 70 years ago entitled “My Heart, Christ’s Home.” In it he pictured opening the door of his home to Jesus and taking him through the different rooms. Think of your heart as Jesus’ home. “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.” (Ephesians 3:17a, NLT). The first step is opening the door and inviting him in. (See Revelation 3:20.) If you haven’t done this already, it’s the starting point. If you have already invited Jesus in, what are the rooms in your heart-home like?
Whenever we’re having guests, we clean our home extra well, dusting, mopping and making it as beautiful as possible. We want to be welcoming. This is not a picture of salvation, because initially we don’t do the cleaning, Jesus does. But just like our physical homes, dust bunnies and clutter have a way of crawling back into our hearts. Like cleaning up for company, we need to keep our hearts a place for Christ. He convicts us of the things we need to remove or confess to him and repent of. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV). Private worship is a time to listen to his voice and allow him to clean the rooms that have grown dusty or cluttered.
ACTION STEP
How is your personal worship? Do you spend time alone with the Lord worshiping and praising him? Do you sing to the Lord? Reread verses 1-6 and find at least four different names or attributes of God. Thank him for each of these characteristics and his goodness in your life. Spend time thanking Jesus for who he is and make a “joyful noise to him!”
PRAYER TIME
Father, thank you for who you are: You are the Rock of our salvation, a great God, a great King above all gods, the Lord our Maker. Thank you that you watch over us as a Shepherd who watches over his flock with tender care.
SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Psalm 95:1-7, NLT
Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. 3 For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. 4 He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. 5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too. 6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, 7for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today!
DEVOTION
Psalm 95 is an invitation to come to the Lord. Three times the invitation is given: “come sing,” “come with thanksgiving,” and “come worship and bow down” (vv. 1, 2, &6). Verses 1-2 describe our outward worship. The Message pictures a very public celebration: “Come, let’s shout praises to God, raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let’s march into his presence singing praises, lifting the rafters with our hymns!” Verses 6-7 describe our personal worship as we “bow down,” “kneel before the Lord,” and “listen to his voice.” This worship is intimate and personal. Both public and private worship are important and both should be present in our lives regularly.
Psalm 95 also paints a picture of two very different hearts. In verses 1-7 we see a heart that sings, thanks, praises, and worships God. In these verses the psalmist speaks and leads his listeners to worship the Lord. In verses 8-11 the Lord himself is the speaker declaring his anger and disapproval of the heart and that is hard, disobedient, and has turned away from God. A hard heart grows bitter and calloused. It robs us of the blessings of continued fellowship with Jesus and with others. The Lord watches over the one whose heart is praising and worshiping him, as a shepherd watches over his sheep. But the one whose heart is disobedient and hard finds no rest.
Robert Munger wrote an interesting booklet about 70 years ago entitled “My Heart, Christ’s Home.” In it he pictured opening the door of his home to Jesus and taking him through the different rooms. Think of your heart as Jesus’ home. “Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.” (Ephesians 3:17a, NLT). The first step is opening the door and inviting him in. (See Revelation 3:20.) If you haven’t done this already, it’s the starting point. If you have already invited Jesus in, what are the rooms in your heart-home like?
Whenever we’re having guests, we clean our home extra well, dusting, mopping and making it as beautiful as possible. We want to be welcoming. This is not a picture of salvation, because initially we don’t do the cleaning, Jesus does. But just like our physical homes, dust bunnies and clutter have a way of crawling back into our hearts. Like cleaning up for company, we need to keep our hearts a place for Christ. He convicts us of the things we need to remove or confess to him and repent of. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV). Private worship is a time to listen to his voice and allow him to clean the rooms that have grown dusty or cluttered.
ACTION STEP
How is your personal worship? Do you spend time alone with the Lord worshiping and praising him? Do you sing to the Lord? Reread verses 1-6 and find at least four different names or attributes of God. Thank him for each of these characteristics and his goodness in your life. Spend time thanking Jesus for who he is and make a “joyful noise to him!”
PRAYER TIME
Father, thank you for who you are: You are the Rock of our salvation, a great God, a great King above all gods, the Lord our Maker. Thank you that you watch over us as a Shepherd who watches over his flock with tender care.
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January
Covid UpdateDay 1 - Is It Worth It?Day 2 - God Promises His PresenceDay 3 - Aligning Ourselves With GodDay 4 - The Voice of the ShepherdVision 2022 - Begins this Sunday!Day 5 - Rushing or Resting?Day 6 - "By the Grace of God"Day 7 - A Day for Rest and WorshipDay 8 - Ask Boldly and Surrender CompletelyDay 9 - Our Deliverance for His GloryDay 10 - Ask for the ImpossibleDay 11 - Adversity Meets Unwavering FaithWhat an incredible start to 2022!!Day 12 - Focus Reveals FaithDay 13 - Impossible Mission!Day 15 - Followers of JesusDay 16 - The Good News of God’s LoveDay 17 - Radical Love Leads People to JesusLet's Try this Again...Day 18 - Relentless CommitmentDay 19 - Unending Power SourceDay 20 - Come and See, Go and TellDay 22 - Many Parts, One BodyDay 23 - A New Command - Love One AnotherDay 24 - One Body and One LordDay 25 - Be Angry, But Do Not SinDo you Belong?Day 26 - The Commandment of LoveDay 27 - The Attitude and Obedience of Christ
March
Day 1 - Seeking the Lord TogetherDay 2 - Ash WednesdayDay 3 - The Baptism of JesusDay 4 - The Word as a WeaponDay 5 - Freedom in ConfessionDay 6 - Love Your EnemiesDay 7 - Anxious for NothingDay 8 - Effective PrayerDay 9 - Amazing FaithDay 10 - The Bleeding WomanDay 11 - Confidence in GodDay 12 - Fear Not!Day 13 - Come and RestDay 14 - Kingdom Minded CommunityDay 15 - The TreasureDay 16 - Peace in His PresenceDay 17 - Raise the RoofDay 18 - A Parent's CommitmentDay 19 - Too Good to be TrueDay 20 - Only JesusDay 21 - The Ninety-Nine and the OneDay 22 - Salvation Through SurrenderDay 23 - Good Rest from a Good ShepherdDay 24 - Read the RoomDay 25 - A Fruitful FaithDay 26 - The Wedding FeastDay 27 - Serve Like Jesus
April
Day 28 - Keep WatchDay 29 - Out of the PitDay 30 - The Glorious ReturnDay 31 - Be Ready!Day 32 - Well DoneDay 33 - Separation & PreparationDay 34 - A Beautiful WasteDay 35 - I Trust You, God!Day 36 - The Last MealDay 37 - The GardenDay 38 - The Tale of Two ResponsesDay 39 - Maundy ThursdayDay 40 - He WOULD NOT save himselfDay 41 - We WaitDay 42 - Expect the UnexpectedDay 43 - Fear No MoreDay 44 - All Authority
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