Friday, June 20, 2014

Joy, Gladness



“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness;
 come before him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:1-2

We have forgotten how God wants us to show our joy in worship. In a lot of churches the people do not say ‘amen’ when the preacher makes a strong point in his or her sermon. The psalmist tells us to shout for joy.

We should be glad that we can go into our churches. Some places in our world do not allow churches to be open. We should be in prayer for those people who risk their lives to worship God. When we begin to think of worshipping our God as a chore, we should spend time in prayer about our relationship with Him.  God gives us free will because He wants us to want to worship Him. 

Have you noticed that a lot of Christian churches devote the beginning of each service-Sunday morning and Wednesday night-singing hymns, praise songs, and choruses? The music we sing at church becomes ingrained in us. One of my friends has said that I don’t need a hymnal; she thinks I know all those songs. She is not entirely right. I know a lot of the first verses of those songs. I love the traditional hymns. I also like the praise songs of modern times.

I was once at a Holy Week service at a sister church. One of the hymns we sang was unfamiliar to me. I likened the music to a funeral dirge. But the words spoke a message of the week. I remember not very many people seemed to be singing this particular song. It may have been unfamiliar to them, as well.

As we go through our daily tasks, we should all be on the alert for signs that God is with us and working for us. We can count those blessings throughout the year, not just in the month we celebrate the holiday known as Thanksgiving.

Shout to the North and South

graphic: familyfunpuzsles.com

6 comments:

  1. Hi Cecilia .. the Queen is fluent and very good apparently .. much better than the President into English, or the Ambassador into English! The flower market is permanently re-named .. she is revered over there.

    My mother had lots of faith .. and she taught me a lot particularly towards the end of her life .. cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary: She is the only monarch I remember being on the English throne. I don't remember her father at all. I only remember her mother as being the queen mother.

      When we have someone to model faith in our lives, we are truly blessed.

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  2. Hi Cecelia! I am very glad that I have a church-home, and I often pray that it remain strong and full of the Spirit.
    Love the mission statement! Maybe it's new, or maybe I haven't seen it before? It's really great.
    You remind me to notice and count those daily blessings, so they don't pass by unnoticed. Great message :)
    Ceil

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    Replies
    1. Ceil: Thank you for your kind thoughts.

      Having a church home is very important in present times, It's good to keep our churches lifted up before God. We will have VBS this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The Christian Education director is new since last summer. We all have been lifting her and the VBS up to the Lord.

      Thank you for your kind thought about my mission statement.

      Blessings to you and yours.

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  3. I love singing praises to Jesus--it lifts my spirits!

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    Replies
    1. Jeanette: I have days where I awaken with the words of a praise song or a chorus. I feel good on those days. Blessings on you and yours, my friend.

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