Rejoice in the Lord
Psalms 33:1-3 (NRSV) 1 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous.
Praise befits the upright.
2 Praise the LORD with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud
Philippians 4:4-7 (NRSV) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes you just have to praise!
Don’t you love knowing that we are praising God in the same way as David and Paul? Continuity—tradition—with Jesus in our hearts how can we do anything other than praise?
Each Sunday our services begin with praise music. I am so thankful for the people God has brought to our church who have not only lovely voices but are clearly worshipping as they sing. I sing with them as I am able, but the remainder of the time I pray—thanking God for his great mercy and love.
Do I miss the hymns and the choir? Of courses I do, but my love of the old ways we did church in no way diminishes my joy in church today.
May we spend a portion of each day in praise, knowing that God desires the praise of His people.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It’s Testimony Time
Psalms 9:1-2 (NIV) 1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.
David’s psalms take on many forms, and in this one David not only praises God, but he also recognizes the need to tell others of God’s wondrous works. Growing up in church, we sometimes had entire services dedicated to sharing God’s blessings. These were called testimony services.
As 21st century Christians, it is important for us to remember that telling others about the gospel of Jesus Christ should not be considered optional. Instead, giving our testimony should be a vital part of our Christian walk. As Disciples, we should be dedicated not only to following Christ but inviting others to join us.
Even as I write today’s devotional I am aware of more violence in our country. Let’s take a moment to pray. Father God, as always we praise You for who you are. As Habakkuk said, if there are no figs on the tree, nor sheep in the pens nor cattle in the stalls, yet I will praise You. We recognize that you are the sovereign God who created us, and you had a plan for our salvation before we even sinned. We come to you today asking you to pour out your supernatural peace upon those closely affected by this most recent display of violence. We pray you will give us a boldness to reach out to a lost world, that the Holy Spirit will soften hearts so that they will hear about Jesus and turn to Him. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
May we always have praise for our God upon our lips, and may we see, really see those in need of a Savior and be willing to share the gospel message with them. Take the name of Jesus and share Him with all you meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
So, what prevents us from sharing Christ with others? Worried about what they will think or how they will respond? Guess what—that burden is not ours to carry. The Holy Spirit prepares hearts to receive and helps us to deliver the life-giving message of salvation.
May we begin and end each day Sc
Hope Does Not Disappoint
(NRSV) Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
I just read the first five chapters of Romans and am reminded once again of God’s great love for us. Paul says in Romans 5:8 that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He did not wait for us to recognize our need for a savior, for how could we? Those dead in their sins do not have the eyes to see nor the ears to hear. But when Christ enters our hearts, everything changes! Suddenly the hope of salvation is ours.
I was once chastised for speaking of hope. The person with whom I was talking said if I had faith I would not need hope. I am so thankful that one does not preclude the other.
There are times when our faith grows weak, and it is then we must cling to the hope of our salvation. What is that hope? That we will live eternally with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And that is the hope that does not fail.
I would close today with a poem I wrote not long after my first heart attack. May we never abandon our hope, even as we embrace our faith.
HOPE
Hope drifts in on angel’s wings, barely
disturbing the air, the room, we
hardly know it’s there.
Yet, it arrives, unhurried, but
not unwanted.
We see it in the
face of a friend, the
trace of a smile, or simply
a kind word.
It is the promise
of good things to come, the
assurance that we are not alone. It is
what gets us through another day
when we think we cannot go on.
2008 Carol J. Grace All Rights Reserved
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Kindness that leads to Repentance
(NRSV) Romans 2
1 Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. 2 You say, “We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is accordance by with truth.” 3 Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
My aunt used to tell me “Do what I say, not what I do.” I didn’t understand at the time that there was such a disparity between what we say and what we do. But now that I am old, in fact older than I ever thought I would be, I see things differently. I can recognize evil for what it is and instead of ignoring it, I look it straight in the eye and call it what it is.
I do not waste time or compromise what I know to be truth, but nor do I judge those who have possibly never heard the truth. I think of children who hear Bible stories but conflate the people and or events. For example, if asked about the Flood, a child might say Jonah jumped in a boat built by Moses and the flood came because the Prodigal Son wanted a vacation , and St. Francis loved animals so God gave them wind for their sails to find the best place for the doves. Nonsensical? Yes. But if you remember Art Linkletter’s show “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” you will know little minds can get things confused.
So it is with the unchurched. They may hear bits and pieces of the Bible but have no real understanding of its meaning. So, for we who know the Word it is incumbent upon us to live by the Word. We can try to correct another person’s wrong thinking and behavior, but only if are not guilty of the same sins.
May we submit ourselves daily to the One who forgives us and enables us to show kindness toward others, praying that when they see love in us God’s love will shine through.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Praising God for His Faithfulness
(NIV) Daniel 2:20 Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Do you remember the story of Daniel and how he rose to prominence in the Babylonian kingdom? Daniel was one of the young men taken captive during the Babylonian defeat of Judah, and God gave him the ability to learn the Persian culture and even to interpret dreams. Today’s scripture is the prayer Daniel lifted to God to praise Him for His faithfulness.
I wanted to point out the nature of this prayer. It is comprised exclusively of praise. King Nebuchadnezzar had given his wise men an impossible task—they were to not only interpret the king’s dream, but to tell him the dream. So, Daniel, along with his companions Shadrach, Meschach and Abednigo, prayed that God in His mercy would show them the dream and enable them to interpret it as well. God was faithful and Daniel, before he even approached the king, took the time to praise God.
How many times do we pause, not to ask God for anything, but to praise Him for everything? It is not wrong to bring our requests to God, but oh how sweet it is when we can dedicate some time to worship and thanksgiving.
May we dedicate a portion of our prayer time each day to giving our God all of the praise He deserves.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 