Reflecting on Psalm 100
| Reflecting on Psalm 100 Morning Prayer in our prayerbook begins with “Lord Open our lips and our mouth shall declare your praise”, from Psalm 51. Our praise to God is our love language to him. It is how we acknowledge Him as our Lord. We are called to serve Him with gladness; to come before him come Him in worship and thanksgiving remembering his mighty acts. He is the One who created all things, gives us life, loves us unconditionally, sustains us, forgives us, died for us and gives us spiritual food. Our response is to sing…to sing songs of joy! I confess my heart is not always filled with gratitude and joy but with weariness, apathy and a mind fixated on things of this world. My worship can become duty-filled instead of flowing forth from a heart of gratitude, awe, and wonder. How often do I stand in His presence with a song of praise? When I do, joy overflows, but I’m working on not basing my praise on how I feel but focusing instead on Christ. Singing not only from the sanctuary, but from every place my foot wanders. For He is God and not me. He is the great I AM! He existed before time and He is everlasting. He is the Creator of all things. He is the Mighty One, and yet He desires a relationship with me. My small mind cannot understand this. But I am made by Him, my loving creator, and He wants me to be like Him. One without sin or blemish. One who can live in harmony and peace. One who loves as He loves. One who serves and as He serves. I was not created for Satan’s world but for God’s Kingdom. Worshipping Him in faithfulness, giving of myself to Him in worship, seeking a right spirit within me, praising Him in all things is key to a righteous life. He is my shepherd, and I am to worship only Him. No other shepherd is like Him!!! I will go into His courts with praise and thanksgiving, and I will worship in His courts everywhere from my breakfast table to my bed at night. I have so much to be grateful for! And, in the hard days, the days of fear and despair, I will go into his courts anyway and seek to change my grumbling into thanksgiving. For our Lord Jesus Christ is good. He has mercy on us even when we have strayed far from being the people he would desire us to be. Even though I continually sin against Him, He always takes me back with open arms. His mercy is everlasting! His faithfulness endures from generation to generation. Praise be to Jesus Christ our Lord! ~Reflection by Deacon Peggy Murray |
Donald Nwankwo Rector, The Light of Christ Church |