The Lord impressed upon me to read Psalm 116 this morning. What a joy it is to wake up with such great words put upon my heart! The Passion Translation begins with I'm passionately in love with God because He listens to me. Woo hoo! I love the word passionately and what it means. As I passionately love God, it shows my belief in Him and the way I feel about HIm. When one is passionate about their relationship with another, they do everything in their power to show the other person how they feel. Sometimes that comes out in words. Sometimes it shows through out actions. I pray the way I am in my relationship with God shows Him how much I love Him and desire to live in His love. I pray my relationship with Him oozes out of me so others will desire the same. God is so, so good in the way He loves me and shows His love to me. I need to get better at showing my love to Him. There are times when I feel like life is overwhelming. Sometimes it is overwhelming in a 'bad' way while other times it is overwhelming in a 'good' way. When I look at where God has me right now, I am so blessed. To think about how He prepared me for this time of life so many years ago is overwhelming. I was thinking the other day about how when my Momma was told of our move to South Carolina she said my Daddy had already told her to be prepared for me to leave the state. Wow, God! He amazes me at the details He takes care of. Our move did not happen until years after my Daddy died yet God made sure that detail was shared. Verses ten and eleven of Psalm 116 reads in The Passion Translation: Even when it seems I’m surrounded by many liars and my own fears, and though I’m hurting in my suffering and trauma, I still stay faithful to God and speak words of faith. These verses are my life. They are verses that I strive to live by no matter if I am overwhelmed in a 'good' way or a 'bad' way. I praise His Holy Name for staying near to me and encouraging me to be faithful. My gift back to God is found in verses sixteen through nineteen of Psalm 116.
Lord, because I am your loving servant,
you have broken open my life and freed me from my chains.
Now I’ll worship you passionately and bring to you
my sacrifice of praise, drenched with thanksgiving!
I’ll keep my promise to you, God,
in the presence of your gathered people, just like I said I would.
I will worship you here in your living presence,
in the temple in Jerusalem.
I will worship and sing hallelujah, for I praise you, Lord!
Yes! Passionate worship is my gift to God. I know as I worship Him on this earth it is practice for when I worship Him in heaven. Woo hoo! I love that thought! Matthew Henry wrote of this Scripture:
Doing good is sacrifice, with which God is well pleased; and this must accompany giving thanks to his name. Why should we offer that to the Lord which cost us nothing? The psalmist will pay his vows now; he will not delay the payment: publicly, not to make a boast, but to show he is not ashamed of God's service, and to invite others to join him. Such are true saints of God, in whose lives and deaths he will be glorified.
I desire for Him to be glorified in all I do. The desire of my heart is for people to see/hear Him instead of me. As I worship Him, I desire others to have the desire in their heart to worship Him too. This morning He has the words to Build My Life going through my mind. I am so grateful for the way He puts music into my life every day and encourages me through it.
And I will build my life upon Your love, it is a firm foundation
And I will put my trust in You alone and I will not be shaken
And I will build my life upon Your love, it is a firm foundation
And I will put my trust in You alone and I will not be shaken...
Holy, there is no one like You, there is none beside You
Open up my eyes in wonder and
Show me who You are and fill me with Your heart
And lead me in Your love to those around me
I will build my life upon Your...
In You alone
Dear Jesus, Thank You for Psalm 116 that reminds me of why I am passionately in love with You! Thank You for this song that encourages me to continue to trust You when days are overwhelming no matter if they are overwhelming in a 'good' or a 'bad' way! Thank You for the privilege to preach Your Word yesterday! Thank You once again for speaking through the Sunday School lesson! You continue to confirm we are on the right track as You intertwine Sunday school lessons, Wednesday night study, and the sermons together. It is overwhelming in a 'good' way to be where You have me right now. Woo hoo! Lord, cleanse me so You can fill me with more of You. May You ooze out of my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts today in a new, different way. Lord, I pray for protection as I travel and Your sense of peace in my spirit. I pray for Owen and Karol who are going through difficult days to also experience Your peace. There are so many people in my little world who need to experience Your peace. I pray for all who heard the message yesterday to seek Your will in how they need to live as a 'suffering servant' for You. I pray all of us will draw closer to You as we seek more of You. Thank You for putting people in my life who encourage me greatly! Thank You for continuing to be with my sister Linda and my friend Kaye as they recuperate from surgery! Thank You for ending my days with phone conversations with Rickey who has brought laughter into my life! Thank You for this time of restoration in every aspect of my life! Lord, a new week is ahead and I want to make You proud of me in all I do. May I not disappoint You as I stand upon I John 2:17, The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. Thank You for being My Firm Foundation! Amen.
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