One Day When Heaven Was Filled With His Praises

Psalm 68:4-5 "Sing to God, sing in praises of His name, extol Him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before Him-His name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling."

Have you ever seen kids playing in a playground in complete abandon. The kids are running, laughing, playing as if there nothing else mattered. Complete joy is what that is called. No concerns or worries. Is that what your worship is like?

To worship is complete abandon is a goal many people embrace.  It seems as if when they walk in the door of their church building that they take on a different persona. In some cases a drastically different persona. They hearts are lifted, their voices soar to the heavens. You can see their hands lifted up towards the sky as if to reach out and touch God. Worship in complete abandon. They have put aside their worries, at least for a time and have chosen to focus their complete attention on worship with their hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. It is something to marvel at. That is what worship is supposed to be all about. We are to focus on worshiping God. We are to spend time devoted to worshiping our creator. It is a time where we should not be text messaging, Facebooking, or writing our grocery shopping list down. It is a time to put aside all the concerns of our lives and direct our attention completely on God the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a time to look forward, and practice for how it will be in heaven. As the Casting Crowns song Glorious Day verse states "One day when heaven was filled with His praises." That is how heaven is every day and all day. We will have no other worries, or concerns. We will be freed of the bonds of illness and affliction. We will have no mortgage, car payments, grocery shopping, and all those little things that try to rob us of the joy of life and worship. We will be in the presence of the Lord and rejoicing. O'Glorious Day!

This is a style of worship that does not come easy for many of us. We have been taught to be reserved in church. We have been schooled on the fine art of maintaining our composure and singing hymns in a manner that shows respect to the Lord. I know all about that style. Breaking out of that shell is difficult. But even if you are attending a traditional style of worship you can give it up to God. Lift your hearts up. Step out of the ordinary and give your all in worship. Let go of this world and let your heart, mind, body, and soul soar on wings of eagles in worship. Turn off the cellphone, put down the grocery list, and focus on the moment. Worship as a child plays. let it go. We are reminded of how important it is to worship as a child plays in Mark 10: 15 where Jesus tells the disciples "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."  Words to live by, now and in eternity. So embrace your inner child and let go.

PRAYER: Father, help us in our worship of You to let go of our cares and concerns. Remind us of what is important, and that is not what we are worried about in our daily lives. Guide our thoughts to You O God that we might embrace our faith as a child embraces their faith and trust in Jesus. That total acceptance of what we cannot see or touch is what eludes us and we need Your help. By Your Holy Spirit we can reach out and touch the intangible, we can see the invisible. This we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Oh Glorious Day

1 Chronicles 29:11 "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all."

After the Lenten and Easter devotionals I have been looking asking myself "what's next?"

After a couple of furtive starts I was given a very pointed message on where to go next with the devotionals and maybe something more. Casting Crowns has a song out called Glorious Day. Short of talking about communion, it captures all the hope we have in Christ. It is a wonderful song and the lyrics have been rolling around in my head for the past couple of months. Then this past two days, the message on what to do next was presented with all the subtlety of a 2X4 between the eyes. I got the message. So with all possible credit I can give to God, and Casting Crowns, we are about to embark on the next great adventure.

I have a job that requires me to be up very early in the morning to head off to catch a bus to work. 3:45 AM is my normal time to roll out of bed Monday through Thursday. So when the weekend arrives, I feel as if I have slept in by 6:00 AM. In reality, I have. But here is the thing about waking up that early on the weekend. It gives me time to think (after the first cup of coffee of course.) And It is my devotional time. That time when my mind is uncluttered and I can reflect on what God has to say to me in His word. One of my favorite books is The Treasury of Prayer by Concordia Publishing House. It is available in hard copy and electronic formats. Monday through Thursday I read it from my iPhone while waiting for the bus to arrive. Friday through Sunday it is a toss up between hard copy of electronic. The morning is also when I have the pleasure of enjoying the sunrise. It is the first thing God would have us see after the night and our rest has passed by. The house is quiet and I am alone with my thoughts. The world and I can wake up together.  The dawn of a new day offers endless opportunities, and some pretty breath taking colors on occasion. But this is the thing about the dawn. The majesty and glory of God are fully on display. He has set a day before us heralded by the dawn. It is up to each of us to grab onto this opportunity and to run with it. We are blessed with life and are given the opportunity to share the love of God with everyone we encounter. The world needs to know that with each dawn the love of God for all of us is on display. Share the good news.


PRAYER: Lord and giver of life we thank You for the many sunrises You give us. The beauty of the dawn of a new day serves as a reminder to each of us that You and You alone are God. You willed creation into being. You breathed life into us, and You gave us Your Son to redeem us. For all these many blessing we offer our thanksgiving in the name of Jesus. Amen.