The Bible
– Good
News Translation
9 Inside your Temple, O God, we think
of your constant love.
10 You are praised by people everywhere, and
your fame extends over all the earth.
You rule with
justice; 11 let the people of
Zion be glad!
Thoughts:
Many people dress and head out to church on Saturday or Sunday.
I wonder what some of the responses would be, if a news reporter stood on a street
corner and interviewed folk as they were on their way to church! I bet there
would be some interesting responses! In the Bible we read a lot about people
going up to the temple to pray, or to offer up sacrifices. In our day, I
believe the number one response would be that people go to church to worship
God. The challenge is that most church goers feel like ‘worship’ is the worship
and praise (singing) part of the service. What about the aspect of giving and
Bible teaching and/or preaching? Also, is this ‘worship’ only once per week for
no more than an hour? Is this commitment you have made to ‘worship’ strictly
led by a praise and worship team for your entertainment, and a preacher who
shouts at you for about 30 minutes to challenge you in your wrong doings?
Friends, without the appearance of judging, I see these things that I questioned
you on, as a description of our churches today. On the contrary, I love the
description given by the Psalmist! Wouldn’t it be neat for us to awaken about
an hour earlier before rushing out to weekend services, and instead of turning
the television on, or getting on to Facebook to catch up on the gossip, if we
gathered around the table over a cup of coffee and reflected back over the
blessings of the week, brought back to reflection the highlights of our Bible
studies (devotionals) from the week and said a prayer for the preacher and
other worship leaders before we head out the door to go and worship God? Don’t
you suppose that we would position ourselves for, and find reason to, truly
worship God and to truly open our hearts to the spoken Word so that we might be
filled with the Spirit and His reinforcing power for the week ahead? Can you
see where we may then feel more like the Psalmist reflected on in vs 9, where
we would then open our minds to think about God’s love and His wonderful power
in our heart over the past week? I truly believe that we could then open our
hearts in worship and be so filled with God’s wonder and His love that His fame
would be evident in and through us wherever we went after that, in similar ways
to what the Psalmist described in vs 10 & 11. We serve an awesome God, who
is so good to us. Let’s not hold back the praises, and let’s be very open to
instruction from His Word so that our lives might be guided accordingly.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You made us so that we may worship you. I’m sorry
for the poor excuses we give for not attending worship services, and even when
we do – the little input that You receive from us. Our minds wonder, and we
depend so heavily on the Praise and Worship team, that it is probably very
obvious to You that we enjoy the entertainment more than the opportunity to
lift up our praises and words of affirmation to You. We listen to Your
Word read and expounded on, and it is often the only time that week that our
Bibles have been opened. Oh how You must shake Your head in dismay and question
why You ever made us. Thankfully, I know You are a God of love, and in looking
at our hearts You know what we really are and what we would really like to be.
I pray for mercy and Your continued grace dear Lord, because although You know our
inward beings, how will the world know about You if they can’t see You
reflected in and through our lives? Please don’t give up on me, and on us –
Your servants. We need You more today than we ever did before. We need Your
power and the extreme boldness to be Your witnesses. Touch me Lord and work
with my friends and I so that we may be more like You in every way. My humble
prayer I am asking in the Your holy name, dear Jesus, AMEN
NOTE: If you have been
challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak
with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or
encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words
underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote
the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to
read or pray.
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