Meet Bobby Crotty

"Praise the Lord." A simply act of gratitude and a compelling acknowledgment of reality. The phrase "praise the Lord" appears 68 times in the NET Bible, but only once in the New Testament (Romans 15:11 when Paul quotes from Psalm 117). But the exhortation in Psalm 150 for everything that has breath to praise the Lord captures in a single verse the message of the Psalms. Each of the five books of the Psalms ends with a doxology, and Psalm 150 effectively serves as a doxology for all of Psalms.

It has been said that the Psalms bridge the gap between the ancient world and today probably better than any other book of the Bible. It is my prayer that we each have seen that truth played out in our own lives this year. Whether rejoicing or sorrowing, singing praises or crying out to the Lord, the Psalms capture just about every emotion we feel today. So let's close our year by pausing for a few minutes to heed the psalmist's call to praise the Lord:

Lord, we praise you for:

Your surpassing greatness and mighty acts;
The Old Testament wisdom books that have impacted us in so many ways this year;
Your Son, who is the living Word and who provided the way for us to have a relationship with You;
Another year to reflect on the truths in Your Word;
The timeless nature of Your Word that was true in Old Testament times and is still true for us today;
Each of The Journey writers, who shared with us themselves and their personal journeys with You;
Each of The Journey readers, who faithfully made reading the Word and The Journey devotionals a part of their day;
Each of The Journey editors, who have done a great job of ensuring the excellence of all our devotionals;
Each of The Journey commenters, who have shared words of thanksgiving and encouragement about The Journey devos; and
Your unfailing love and mercy to each of us in 2009.

May we walk in a manner worthy of Your calling in 2010. Amen.