Let Everything Praise the Lord

  

 

 

Psalm 150: 1-6

 

December 22, 2022

 

Let Everything Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord!  Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!   Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!  Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!  Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!  Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

 

I am sure most of those who read the Back Porch, are seekers of the Truth, and most of you do not struggle in many areas that I do, with that said, shall we agree that we all have been blessed by our Lord and God, Jesus Christ?  

 

When we are instructed by God to honor Him and His only Son Jesus with praise, it is not a suggestion but an order. It has become very clear that I have fallen short often in the past busy life of acknowledging and praising the Lord.

 

But I grew up in my Salvation, and Jan and I daily count the many blessings and know that God has blessed, and protected us every day of our lives.  He not only has given us a love for Him, but a desire to serve Him, and to seek Him and to hunger and thirst for His righteousness in our love for our neighbors and an understanding that everyone we encounter is our neighbor.

 

I am still a mess, talk too much, and get upset with the foolishness of our government, and the evil that controls so many in our government.  But I’m so blessed with two grandsons who are seekers of Christ, and you can see His hand all over them.  We are blessed to have friends and family who pray for us, call us, and want to know how we are and share what the Lord is doing in their lives.  We are blessed to live in the Texas Hill Country and have pastors who love us and will confront us when we make bad choices and are true to the Word of God.  We are free as of now to share our understanding of God’s written word, and yet the culture would like to take that freedom from us.  Scripture tells us to know the truth and the truth will set us free.  But many are against the Truth, and our understanding of Truth is Jesus Christ, the Messiah.  

 

In that many of you are very smart and seekers of the Truth, be wise,  give thanks and praise to our Lord, for He has blessed you and given you, life in the full.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Sing to the Lord a New Song

  

 

 

Psalm 149:1-9

 

December 21, 2022

 

Sing to the Lord a New Song

Praise the Lord!  Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!  Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!  Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!

 

Sing to the Lord a New Song, does that apply to the Church, you and me who are the Church?  “It is early in the morning and I cannot sleep, many thoughts have filled my mind and this one I keep, My Lord take pleasure in me, My Lord take pleasure in me.  How glories can that be a sinner saved by grace, a sinner saved by grace, His glory I’ve received.

 

I‘ve often asked the question, why should He love me so, why should He love me so, and the answer is dear Father, you are love, and holy, and good, for only you who knows me, yes you know my thoughts my anxious thoughts, and bring peace and joy to me, and You bring peace and joy to my soul.”

 

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.  Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.  Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written!  This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the Lord!

 

What is the Scriptures referring to when the Psalmist refers to “two-edged swords in their hands?”  Hebrews 4:12 gives us a clear understanding; “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Dear Father, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  I found life in Christ through Your Word, it came about in Your time and way as I opened the door to a hotel room, and had planned on going to bed.  That night I read these words in Romans 10:9-10,  ^“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth, one confesses and is saved.”  That night by faith and God's grace I entered into a relationship with Jesus Your only Son, and He has become my Lord and my friend.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Praise the Name of the Lord

 

 

Psalm 148:1-14

 

December 20, 2022

 

Praise the Name of the Lord

 Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!   Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts!

 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars!  Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!  Let them praise the name of the Lord!  For he commanded and they were created.  And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.   Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word!  Mountains and all hills, fruit trees, and all cedars!  Beasts and all livestock, creeping things, and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes, and all rulers of the earth!  Young men and maidens together, old men and children!  Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.   He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him.  Praise the Lord!

 

What do you believe, and to whom do you trust, you cannot have it both round and square, the truth is one or the other.  The Church of 2022 has a big problem, it is not a new problem, it is the same one that has faced mankind from their fall, who will you believe your Creator or the serpent?  Joshua asked this question a long time ago, it is found in Joshua 24:14-15, “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.  And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

 

Jan and I may the choice, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord, at all costs.  I must share Mark 8:38, “If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father's glory with the holy angels."  It will cost you in this culture we live in to trust God.  For this present darkness is under the control of the devil and his followers.  They have rejected God’s Word, look to man and his technology, and are trying to put their square peg in a round hole.

 

The Church has allowed the modern culture to creep in, but it is not a new thing it began when they did not take a stand on the garbage that the Church keeps quiet on things of government.  Hitler got the German Church to do that and it did not turn out so well.  And Church it is not ever going to do so, we have a jealous God.  My dad always said I love you too much to allow you to do, whatever, and the whatever always brought about an adjustment in my direction.  

 

We the Church should take a stand against anything that goes against the teaching of Scripture, and I mean anything, for if we are not standing with truth, who will tell the children that Jesus is the Truth?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

He Heals the Brokenhearted

                                                                     Psalm 147:1-11

 

December 18, 2022

 

He Heals the Brokenhearted

Praise the Lord!

For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.  The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.   He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.  Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.  The Lord lifts up the humble; 
he casts the wicked to the ground.  Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!  He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.   He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.  His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,  but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

 

Dear Father, I am your witness of Your power, last night I was having a hard time breathing and my blood pressure was on the high side, I called to you and you opened my air passages, and lowered my blood pressure, and I was able to sleep, You are my refuge.  

 

Father, I find great joy in that our singing hymns bring pleasure to You,  I sure hope that our being off-tune and not getting all the words right are ok, and I know it is for You are so fond of us.  Dear God, I am so glad You gather the outcasts and heal the brokenhearted for this world does not pity them.

 

Father, it is amazing but it should not be how You have numbers and given names to the stars.  We are told they are in the millions, but then I am reminded that you know when a sparrow falls to the ground, and number the hairs of our heads.  And we say; Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.  

 

Father as Jan and I look forward to a New Year, let us be mindful of all the bless you have given us this past year, to spend time in fellowship with our friends and neighbors, to have time with family, and to be blessed in not only the reading of Your Word, but asking You to give us the courage to trust and obey and look to You, for all our needs.  And let all who call you Father, remember these words; the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

 

Psalm 146:1-10

 

December 18, 2022

 

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord, O my soul!  I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.  Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.  When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day, his plans perish.  Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.  The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.  The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.  The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.  Praise the Lord!

 

Put not your trust in man, nor government, nor anything but God.  This has been a tough year for me, it began going south on January 26, 2022, and I came home on April 18, I had missed almost three months of the year, and yet I was so blessed, by the prayers of so many.  I had friends who came to see me and family that was there for me.  But I miss my wife, I missed her being next to me at night, I missed my neighbors, and my ability to work in my garden and woodshop.  And I miss the instruction and teaching of God’s word, and the fellowship with other followers of Christ.

 

But I was blessed to have some very special doctors and nurses, and people who clean my room.  But most of all I had long nights when I had time to pray and be grateful for the many blessings.  I also found that I had a lot of growing to do and my dependence was not on man but on God.  Many a night I would cry out to the Lord, Father, I do not know what to do, please show me how to trust you more.

 

Most nights before our prayer time, Jan and I sing hymns to the Lord, and even now I’m having a tough time breathing, so I’m looking to the Lord to open my air passages and lower my high blood pressure.  In that, I know He is my refuge at all times, especially in times like these.  It is almost Christmas and our daughter and family will be in Colorado with the grandsons, but Jan and I  are so blessed to know they will be celebrating the blessing that our Lord has given them.  Both Nat and Byron are in new endeavors and looking forward to the new year, and so is John Mark, who graduated from College and is ready to be God’s man in the business world.  Zach has two more years of College and he doing great.

 

If it sounds like the little things, such as the messed-up world and not being as healthy as I was for 79 years, are getting us down, you are so wrong, we are so grateful to our Big God for His amazing love and mercy, and the blessing of family and friends.  When you understand that Salvation is found in Christ alone, you will not be looking to anyone else.

 

Do not waste time worrying about all the crooks in Washington D.C., for you have this assurance, the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.  If I told you I was happy about the lies this administration has told, and the evil that our Congress and Senate, the F.B.I., and the others in government are doing, I would be lying.  But in that I know God who loves all and shows mercy to all is going to bring the wicked to ruin, I can trust His timing and not let their actions mess with my head.  So shall we just give Praise to our God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?  Have a Merry Christmas and look to Jesus.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Great Is the Lord

 

 

 

 

 

 

Psalm 145:1-9

 

December 16, 2022

 

Great Is the Lord

A Song of Praise. Of David.

I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.  Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.  Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.  One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.  On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.  They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.  They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.  The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

 

We who by faith and grace that only God can give have entered into Christ shall be the ones who will extol the Lord our God and bless His name forever.  What a blessing to serve and praise our God, for His ways are unsearchable.  To know that you have been a part of seeing that the next generation shall commend the works to another.  That your grandchildren will declare God’s mighty acts.  That they will speak of God’s mighty acts in their parents and grandparents and now in their lives.  

 

What a blessing it is to know that they will be witnesses of God’s faithfulness, His mighty acts, and steadfast love.  But if only we who follow Christ can grasp that the Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all He has made.  I sometimes act as if He only loves those who have bowed their knee to His will, but that is not in keeping with the Scripture's teaching.  In the gospel of John 3:16-18, we find these truths; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”  

Now my calling and yours is to as we go witness what Jesus and our God, His Father, and ours have done for all, who will believe and act on that belief.  So in closing let me share that you nor I nor anyone on planet earth knows who is condemned, so as you go share by your life a testimony. 

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Great Is the Lord

 

 

Psalm 144:10-21

 

December 17, 2022

 

Great Is the Lord

A Song of Praise. Of David

They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works. 
The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.  You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.  The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.  He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.  The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.   My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

 

I wonder how often we ponder on how God looks at His earth kids who by the faith and grace He has provided have to enter into a relationship with Jesus.  Do you give thought to how often He refers to you in Scripture as His saints?  1 Peter 2:9-10, is about the Church, we were once not the people of God, we were not chosen, but when Christ came and took our due punishment, we the wild vine got graphed into Christ.  ^” But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  The Scripture that supports the Church, you and me, being grafted into the vine that is Christ the Lord.  Romans 11:17-18, “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,  do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”  And for any who doubt who the Scriptures are calling the vine, look to John 15:1-2, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

 

We the Church, not all the people who attend the building called the Church, but all who abide in Christ, are so blessed to know the Lord is near to us, He cares and loves us with eternal love, so go, tell as you go.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice