Faith and life meet in a story
It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; Psalm 92:1
It is good to sing.
We are touched deeply when we sing.
We are connected to the rest of the community of faith when we sing.
We are in good company when we sing.
The mountains sing (Isaiah 41:23)
The valleys sing (Psalms 65:13);
The trees sing (1 Chronicles 16:33)
Everyone around the throne of God sings.
It is an offering.
It flows from a heart full of joy.
It is worship.
Sing!
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! Psalm 100:4
Thankfulness is the beginning of worship.
The psalm calls us to enter His gates with thanksgiving.
Too often I enter His gates with the hassle of getting ready on my mind.
Or the last Facebook post I read
Or the game or movie I watched
Or my schedule for next week
Or the bill that’s due.
Too often I enter His gates with petulance.
With self-absorption
With judgmentalism
With discontent
With impatience.
In those instances, what follows isn’t worship.
But thanksgiving …
Thanksgiving bids me to focus on the goodness of God.
His power.
His mercy.
His grace.
And His great love.
And that’s when worship begins.
Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 106:1
Our thanksgiving begins with the goodness of God.
He is the source and standard of good.
He is the essence and expression of goodness.
He is the author and arbiter of all that is good.
There is not, nor can there, be any good apart from God.
We may have morals. Ethics. Conscience. Mores.
Even tainted by our sin, they are rooted in the goodness of God who ordained and established them.
Our thanksgiving deepens when we consider His steadfast love.
His mercy that forgives us.
His grace that makes us His own.
His kindness that provides for us.
His holiness that corrects us.
His gentleness that draws us.
His justice that defends us.
His compassion that comforts us.
And it never ends.
Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord!
Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Psalm 111:1
Some versions read, “I will praise the LORD…”
Praise and thanksgiving are intimately connected.
Can we worship if we are ungrateful?
Are we grateful to one we resent or are indifferent to?
Resolve to be thankful.
Resolve to be known as a thankful person.
Thankful rather than demanding.
Humble rather than entitled.
I will.
I will seize the opportunity.
Proclaim my thanks.
Lift my praise.
He is worthy.
And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. Mark 7:24
Tyre and Sidon were outside of Israel.
Outside the recognized community of faith.
Yet Jesus could not be hidden.
We are stepping out into a world that doesn’t know Jesus.
They are largely outside the community of faith.
Will they see Jesus?
Or will we keep Him hidden?
Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. Ezra 8:21
The Jews had gathered at Ahava in Babylon before they set out on the arduous return trip to Jerusalem.
We stand at the beginning of the week ready to step out into a hostile world.
He proclaimed a fast.
What are we willing to give up in order to focus on and clearly hear from God?
What if we skipped Monday lunches? Or Thursday breakfast? Or Wednesday coffee?
He humbled himself.
God is God. We are not.
No demands. No whining. No entitlement.
He depended on God to see him- and everyone else- through.
Not our wits, our experience
Not even our bank account.
Focus. Humility. Dependence.
Today. Tomorrow. Every day.
From the opening pages of Scripture, no one who has encountered a holy God has come away unchanged. Adam, Abraham, Hagar, Moses and many, many others realized that God is not distant but a God who … Read More
A covenant is a solemn, binding agreement. God chose to unilaterally enter into a covenant with Abraham. No matter what Abraham said or did, God vowed to uphold the terms and bless Abraham. Marriage … Read More...
Jesus told a parable about a wise builder and a foolish one, underscoring how important it is to have a solid foundation. He declared that obedience to His word was the surest foundation of all. In … Read More...
