THE PSALTER concludes with this: "Praise the Lord!"

I leave this for all of us then: "Praise the Lord!!"

Where will you praise him?

Why will you praise him?

With what will you praise him?

PRAISE THE LORD!!

"ONE GENERATION shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts." We have been given the sacred trust of being a generation that passes on the faith, the knowledge of the One True God, Maker and Keeper of the earth. Ask the Lord for his guidance in passing on the faith.

We are nearing the end of the year. Have you ever practiced a year end examen? Ask the Lord where were you closest to him over the last year. Then ask him when you were not near to him. Listen, have conversation with him. Then ask how you can best pass on the faith to others in this next year. Journal.

IT IS OFTEN DIFFICULT for us to believe that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Yet, this is exactly what the Lord would have us know about our creation.

James Mays says that Psalm 139 is a "doctrinal classic because it portrays human existence in all its dimensions in terms of God's knowledge, presence, and power. It reflects an understanding of the human as enclosed in divine reality...it teaches and confesses in the fullest way that 'my times are in your hand'" (425).

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve the time we remember and celebrate that Jesus came to earth to save us from wandering far from him; to be restored to our Father in Heaven who created us to be his own.

REMEMBERING is a major theme in the Old Testament. In the Psalms we have the liturgy passed on to us in order to remember that God created and God saves.

Think of your journey of faith. What are the stones of remembrance in your own life? What stories do you find yourself retelling? Ask the Lord to bring to mind those stories you may have forgotten, or perhaps did not, at the time, see his hand in the course of events. Ask him if there is more for you to learn from those moments. Give thanks by praising Our Father in heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

PSLAMS 120 THROUGH 134 are called the Songs of Ascent. These songs were sung when the people were on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Jerusalem sits at an elevation of about 2,700 feet, thus the idea of ascending, going up to Jerusalem. The Psalms of Ascent are filled with assurances of faith and the joy of expectation in going to the house of the Lord, as in Psalm 122:1.

When I see Israel in the Psalms, I remember God's people could fit there just as well, and then I am included.

BLAMELESS is how the Father sees us when we are Christ's own.

As I pray this psalm, I wonder, what are his statutes? What are his precepts? The Old Testament has so many. Then, I remember what Jesus said, "The greatest commandment is to love the Lord you God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind, and the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself." This word is enough for the day. These two are the precepts I press into, and I pray with the Psalmist that my ways may be steadfast in keeping God's statutes.

"I LOVE THE LORD, because..." because he has heard my voice so many times and he will again. He will hear my pleas for mercy. This knowledge restores my soul, and I am so full of thanksgiving.

When I wander into fear or anger or self-pity, I return to the Lord's rest in order to find his peace. I pray with the Psalmist, "O Lord I pray, deliver my soul."

Pray. Listen. Journal.

THIS PSALM begins with a beatitude; "Happy are those" or "Blessed are those," introduces a beatitude. Happy are those who fear or trust the Lord. The Psalmist continues with life outcomes for those who trust the Lord. There is a clear idea throughout the psalm that trusting the Lord forms us, and we live differently because of it.

Ask the Lord if there are areas in your life where you do not trust him. Ask him to change that in your life. Listen. Journal.

DAILY BREAD is more than just food. It is all of our needs met by our Heavenly Father. Spend some time with the Lord remembering ways Jesus has met your needs. Record these in your journal.

Spending time in the Word allows the Lord to be our teacher, and as a result, we grow in wisdom. Wisdom from the Lord produces a life lived in the knowledge of him and results in obedience to him. The desired outcome of studying Scripture is that we would become a people who praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.

IN THE FIRST SET of beads, we prayed, "Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works." Sometimes it can seem that our lives are being lived in Egypt, but our home is in God's wondrous works. Just as those works happened here, on earth, God is with us now. Return to your own remembrance of God's saving mercy, recall how he has forgiven you over and over, and give thanks.

In the second set of beads, we prayed, "But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for his counsel." We must wait for his counsel; press into his presence today. Wait, listen. If you do not hear in this moment, go in faith that the Lord will answer. Listen as you go along the way of a "long obedience in the same direction" (from Eugene Peterson's book of the same title).