When someone makes a claim that's going to affect me, I want to know what I'm going to do about that claim. The claims of the Bible are sometimes counterintuitive. But they are the claims of the Bible. It's important we understand them clearly.

The Bible, for instance, makes some exclusive claims for God, such as in Psalm 148, where we hear the Psalmist say, "For his name alone is exalted." Some may find a claim like this hard to swallow. But when you think about it, claims like these go along perfectly with other ideas presented in the Bible.

Just one example. One of the most well known words in the Bible are the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2, NIV). If God truly is one-of-a-kind, unique and stand-alone in our universe, isn’t he someone with whom you would want to be acquainted? Isn’t he someone whose friendship you would want to enjoy? And ultimately, if this claim is true, isn't God someone we would want to worship and praise?

"Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens" (Psalm 148:13, NIV).

Lord, send me your Spirit, so that I can understand your claims in the Bible, and know what to do about them.

Our Bible reading for Sunday, December 28, is Zechariah 7:1 - 9:17, Psalm 148:7-14, Proverbs 30:29-31 and Revelation 18:1-24.