| Photo by Shane Rounce on Unsplash
As followers of Jesus, we should live a life of praise because of all the benefits of being His followers!
Psalm 145: 8-10 shows us some of the benefits of following Jesus:
“The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. All of Your words will thank You, Lord, and Your faithful followers will praise.”
I can praise the Lord today because…
* The Lord is merciful! We do not deserve this gift of God’s mercy and kindness. We should praise the Lord because of His mercy towards us and because we do not get what we deserve. We deserve judgment, the consequences of our actions sin which is hell. But God is merciful to those who are followers of Jesus!
* The Lord is compassionate! God’s compassion is a gift, and He loves me, even when I cannot love myself. God shows compassion on us because He loves us. God loved us so much that He sent His One and Only Son to die on the Cross for me! That is the definition of love!
* The Lord is slow to get angry! How quickly people can get angry and attack us. But God is patient and does not quickly get angry at us. That does not mean He will not get there, but I can praise the Lord for another opportunity to follow Him!
* The Lord is good to everyone! Even if people do not follow Jesus, God is good to them. God is giving them another opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus! Think about how we are to be good to people because God has been so good to us. We testify God’s mercy, compassion, and goodness to a lost world.
What is our response?
* We should Thank the Lord for all His benefits in our lives. Yesterday, I read from the Mayo Clinic that “Thankful people live longer.” That is a good reason to give thanks to the Lord daily! It might give me another day to live for Jesus!
* We will Praise the Lord! How can I not praise the Lord when the Lord gives me every benefit I need for life and all eternity?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Pastor Ronald Squibb has been the International Christian Center (ICC) Lead Senior Pastor at Staten Island, New York, since 2011. He draws many experiences from his over 40 years as a pastor and significant emotional life experiences.
His new book, Following the Journey with Jesus, which he co-authored with Daniel McNaughton, was recently published and is getting rave reviews. His daily devotional appears in this publication.
