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11/23/12. Psalm 100:1-5. SHOUT FOR JOY TO THE LORD-my devotional

11/23/12. Psalm 100:1-5.  SHOUT FOR JOY TO THE LORD-my devotional

Psalm 100:1-5                                                                      Friday, November 23, 2012

Key Verse: 100:3                                                                  Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”

Dear Lord, heavenly Father, thank you for the wonderful Thanksgiving Day program  the dinner at Pastor Teddy’s house. We could worship and take communion and share our thanksgiving topics. Thank you for the sincerity of the believers and their honesty. I pray that you may open my eyes to the many things that I can be thankful for. Fill my heart with a spirit of thanksgiving. Lord, I pray that you may raise up among us a people of God who are truly thankful for all of your abundant blessings. Help people in America to come back to the meaning of Thanksgiving instead of just shopping on Black Friday and spending money they do not have. Please grant me one word of God to hold onto through this passage. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: Worship the Lord With Gladness (1-2, 4)

Verses 1-2, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.”

Verse 4, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”

This psalm is for giving grateful praise. It bursts with praises to God. “Shout for joy” can also be translated as “make a joyful noise” to the Lord. “Worship” is worship plain and simple. We should come before him with joyful songs. Verse 4 is more of the same: “enter his gates (city) with thanksgiving and his courts (temple) with praise.” Give thanks to him and praise his name. It is good and right to give to the Lord our God thanks and praise.

I am very thankful for the right direction in life to give thanks and praise to God. What would I be doing without Jesus and giving thanks to God? It is nice to gather with friends and family to celebrate. But I know that friends and family cannot always be together. My mom and her sister are the only members of their family left out of ten siblings. It is not always easy to get together. My family is 1,000 miles away. Julie’s is 2,000 miles away. At family gatherings we need to stay away from discussions on religion and politics. But these are my favorite conversations topics. I find it kind it not so satisfying to give thanks to some nameless, force active in our lives. I want to give thanks to Jesus Christ and what he has done. I also do not want to get caught up with Black Friday shopping. It is nice to get a cheap flat screen TV and more inexpensive things, but if we don’t control it we will subject to the stress of shopping and headaches. Yes! It is proven that there is an increase of headaches at this time. Without Jesus Christ, and focusing our efforts giving thanks to God we can not shout for joy and came before him in joyful song. We can not give thanks and praise his name. How can we experience the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding?

What I am trying to say is that I need to celebrate Thanksgiving for the right reasons. It is all because of Jesus and the blessings that he has bestowed upon us by his grace. It is about Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and who breaks down strongholds and sets us free from the dungeon of our sins and negative emotions that bring us, and everyone around us.  When we approach things from this view our spirits are light and we have a very satisfying reason to celebrate.

I am thankful for several things. First I am grateful for the breakthrough that was made in the relationship between me and Julie. God made a way when there was no way. Because of Jesus I don’t have to live my life in sorrow and depression, in enmity and isolation from my family members. I don’t have to think that sorrow and depression is the norm. No. Jesus, by the power of the gospel broke down the walls and set my spirit free by the power of the Gospel. He is mending our hearts and family and forming something among us that is his own unique creation, which seems to include “the Art of Marriage” and Christian conference planning in Sycamore and many others things as well.

I am also thankful for many Christians he has put into my life and for guiding us to a local family of believers who we could fellowship with. I am also thankful for the continuing education we are doing at the Chicago UBF center. I am thankful for my kids who are still try to seek Jesus even when I took away all the rules. Jenn is finding her own independent faith. I am thankful for helping me to be a strategist for sending missionaries to the First Nation People in NW Ontario. I am thankful for the few Bible students that remain faithful to Bible study. I am also thankful for God providing all things for us in a very hard economy. I am thankful for the Word of God in the Bible, through which God provides many satisfying and edifying things to ponder and think about and write about. I truly look forward to meditating on the Word of Life.

The greatest thing to be thankful for is God complete forgiveness of sins through Jesus. In my heart I sometimes think about the sins of the past. But each time the devil tries to get me to think, “Well what about that time?” or “What about this?” I simply have to repent and turn my heart to Jesus who died on the cross for my sins and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Then I receive that love and grace and forgiveness newly and move on, my heart becoming a new creation.  I am truly thankful for this Gospel of God’s grace.

Part 2: Know the Lord (3,5)

Verses 3, 5,Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture…For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Who is the Lord? Verse 3 tells us that the Lord is God our Creator who made us, our Redeemer who bought us, our Sovereign who chose us, and our Shepherd who leads and guides us. This is confirmed in the words of Psalm 23:2-3 which read, He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” Verse 5 tells us his character with the words “good,” “love,” and “faithfulness.” A frequent echo in the psalms is, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Ps 106, 107, 118, 136). The goodness, love, and faithfulness of God are forever. Let all the earth praise the Lord!

The more I come to know my Creator the more I know that God is good to me. He does lead me along the path of peace. This path is not to exotic and exciting vacation spots. It is not to expensive restaurants and to vibrant cityscapes. It is to the kingdomof Godand to the peace that surpasses all human understanding. It is found in writing devotionals and prayer. It is found in quiet walks in a very quiet neighborhood with my dog. It is in a quiet meal with my family or coffee with a friend. It is reading a good book. In short it is communing with my Creator in a very personal way. Indeed, “…the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” I pray that his love may extend to generations of my family and friends.

Prayer: Praise and thanks be to you, O Lord God, our Creator, Redeemer, Sovereign, and Shepherd for great is your goodness, love, and faithfulness for all time.

 

One Word: Praise and thank the Lord our God

 

 




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