What's Due?

Good Evening to All,

Today's Seed: Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness."
Psalm 29:2

A humorous bumper sticker that is a takeoff of a popular Disney movie song reads, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." It's funny but it's so true. Except for those of us who are independently wealthy, most of us can sing the same song. If we're homemakers, we can sing it while we scour for bargains at garage sales and discount stores. the high cost of daily living sends us out of our doors or to our home office desks because something is due.

We all need a place to live, transportation, and food. But we can get so wrapped up in the struggle to pay what's due that we start pushing aside what's due to God.

Today's seed reminds us to give the Lord the glory due his name. And giving God that due glory is done by living a holy life--a life that is pleasing to him. Living in holiness is not a chore but a splendor. Living holy is a form of worship, and that's what's due.

Dig Deeper: The word "due" was added to this seed by the translators of the Bible for better readability in English. This word is not actually in the Hebrew text. Without it, the text reads, "Give unto the Lord the glory his name..."It is then understood that the glory God's name gets is a high glory meant only for Him. We live holy lives not for ourselves, but because of Him.

Background Bulb: the sanctuary in the Old Testament, the place where God and the people met, was a beautiful place. It was full of gold and rich tapestries. In the same way, our lives--the place where God meets us--should be beautiful, spiritually adorned with gold and tapestries, as we live holy lives to his glory.

Weed & Water: Understand that holiness has to do with both attitude and action. Change your focus from struggling with the rightness or wrongness of each individual action and start concentrating on having an overall determination to live right in general. Once your mind is made up to please God, your actions will follow.

Think about it:
Do you honestly want to please God?

What habits do you have or actions do you perform that are not pleasing to God?

What do you plan to do about those habits or actions?

Prayer Pot:

Lord, I will give you the glory due to your name by... (insert your answer).

Take Away Idea: "He who receives a benefit with gratitude repays the first installment on his debt."

by
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, from "On Benefits"

One more thought...With all that God has given to us, it seems that living in a way that glorifies Him shouldn't be much of a problem for us. We owe Him that much.

Good Night All and May God Bless!

PJ