Today’s Bible Reading: Jeremiah 51:54-52:34; Titus 3:1-15; Psalm 100; Proverbs 26:18-19
As I read the very familiar words of Psalm 100 this morning I slowed down to really contemplate their meaning. My husband and I enjoyed a beautiful sunrise this morning. We have a view of Mt Shasta in the distance, and I love the play of light as it just hits the mountain, lighting up just a portion with early morning glow. This morning that light had a beautiful orange color from the clouds that had gathered. Gorgeous does not even do it justice. I wish I had taken a photo to share with you now, but we just sat and soaked it in. When I read that first line of Psalm 100; “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.” I thought, that is what the world was doing this morning, the earth and sky and my husband and I, though granted we are not shouters but still we couldn’t help but express our joy as we took in the start of another day on earth.
That next line though is a bit convicting this morning. “Serve the LORD with gladness”. As I continue my extremely slow recovery from Covid I am just exhausted this morning. When one already starts the day tired it is hard to stir up the energy to do anything, let alone do it with gladness. And yet, even now that is how I should respond to this day I have been given. In my own little ways as I go about doing the things that God has set before me today, I can still serve Him with gladness if I so choose. For me, that attitude is best achieved if I take some time and “come before Him with joyful singing.” So many mornings I wake up with a song from God on my heart and I sing it to myself all through the day. Sometimes God even gives me songs in my dreams. This morning however there was no song, just tiredness. So my next task might need to be finding a song to sing, a song of joy, a song of praise to the LORD my God. Or maybe I will just work on memorizing a little passage I read in Titus chapter 3 this morning: “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds.” (Titus 3:4-8) Oh, what a good, good God! How can I not serve Him with gladness in all that I do today with those words running through my head?
May grace, peace, and mercy abound,
Debra
That next line though is a bit convicting this morning. “Serve the LORD with gladness”. As I continue my extremely slow recovery from Covid I am just exhausted this morning. When one already starts the day tired it is hard to stir up the energy to do anything, let alone do it with gladness. And yet, even now that is how I should respond to this day I have been given. In my own little ways as I go about doing the things that God has set before me today, I can still serve Him with gladness if I so choose. For me, that attitude is best achieved if I take some time and “come before Him with joyful singing.” So many mornings I wake up with a song from God on my heart and I sing it to myself all through the day. Sometimes God even gives me songs in my dreams. This morning however there was no song, just tiredness. So my next task might need to be finding a song to sing, a song of joy, a song of praise to the LORD my God. Or maybe I will just work on memorizing a little passage I read in Titus chapter 3 this morning: “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds.” (Titus 3:4-8) Oh, what a good, good God! How can I not serve Him with gladness in all that I do today with those words running through my head?
May grace, peace, and mercy abound,
Debra
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