I enjoy the weekend. I enjoy the whole change to the pace of life. Even if it means Saturday chores there is something enjoyable about the change, about being with family and friends, about the ability to take a break whenever you feel like it. I also like the change to my blog on the weekend. During the week I focus on learning and teaching but on the weekend I just want to concentrate on the goodness of God, on his faithfulness and love. At the end of the day is there anything we appreciate more about Jesus than his unfailing love and his presence?
I like Psalm 117 for a couple of reasons. First, it is short. Second it is concise. It is beautiful in its simplicity. It is a perfect Psalm to contemplate during our chores today because it sums up the reason why we worship:
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD. (Psalm 117:1-2)
Find a quiet spot for a few moments, take your Bible with you, open to Psalm 117 and allow this truth to wash over you like a beautiful refreshing cool shower on a hot summer day.
Great is his love toward us.
Some people concentrate far too much on their love for Jesus. Our love is not what saves us and our love does nothing for us. It is only in the discovery of the greatness of Jesus' love, of actually plunging into that love with complete abandon, of allowing yourself to sink deep so you drown in it, that you discover the true beauty of our Saviour. Our love is nothing more than a pale response to his but when we have drowned in his love our response becomes a complete response. We love him with our entire being. We come alive at the mere thought of him or at the mention of his name. Our worship is a love response and we desire to respond all day long. As we contemplate the reality of God's love we explode with adoration, as David did:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:8-12)
How can we not take the time to speak or sing our adoration to him today? And that's just what happens when we think about his love.
The faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Jesus has promised to always love you, to always be with you. He does not break his promises. Far from it. His promises are forever because his faithfulness is forever. You need to start doing a study on the promises of God. You need to remind yourself of just how rich you are in these promises. If we do then we will remember in the dark that the dark is as day to him. In the days of trouble we will remember that nothing can separate us from his love. It moments of deep personal failure you will be lifted up by the promise that his love is forever and forgiveness flows easily from his heart. We will find ourselves again exploding with the need to pour out adoration for who our God is:
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. (Psalm 146:5-9)
We are a blessed people simply because God is who he is. We need no other reason to praise him than simply because of his character. Just because of his love and faithfulness alone we can spend eternity lifting up the name of Jesus and never exhaust his worthiness of our praise. He deserves far more of our time than what we give him. He should be the foundation of our day from which all other activities spring. His love should be the motivation behind all our words, our actions and activities. Because of his love you should be the most compassionate, understanding, forgiving and loving person that people come across today. And it all starts with taking some time to orientate your heart to him and to pour out your adoration. We were a people of unclean lips but because of his love and faithfulness toward us there lips have been transformed into instruments of praise.
Praise the Lord!
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