God of rich and wonderful blessings, pour out Your grace and peace upon the life and needs of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Here is our text for today from Psalm 96: 1 Sing God a brand-new song! Earth and everyone in it, sing! 2 Sing to God - worship God! Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea, 3 Take the news of his glory to the lost, News of his wonders to one and all! 4 For God is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs. His terrible beauty makes the gods look cheap; 5 Pagan gods are mere tatters and rags. God made the heavens - 6 Royal splendor radiates from him, A powerful beauty sets him apart. 7 Bravo, God, Bravo! Everyone join in the great shout: Encore! In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might. 8 Bring gifts and celebrate, 9 Bow before the beauty of God, Then to your knees - everyone worship! 10 Get out the message - God Rules! He put the world on a firm foundation; He treats everyone fair and square. 11 Let's hear it from Sky, With Earth joining in, And a huge round of applause from Sea. 12 Let Wilderness turn cartwheels, Animals, come dance, Put every tree of the forest in the choir - 13 An extravaganza before God as he comes, As he comes to set everything right on earth, Set everything right, treat everyone fair. (The Message)
The psalmist knew years and years before it all happened, that when it did finally happen, the whole earth would be involved. Notice, earth, not people; we're still working on those types right about now. But the psalmist knew that God would act on our behalf in an awesome way and nature would be involved. From verse 11, "Let's hear it from the sky," yes, a star led the way; forthe shepherds an angelic choir sang God's praises at the birth of God's Son. "With Earth joining in, and a huge round of applause from Sea, Let Wilderness turn cartwheels, animals come dance, Put every tree of the forest in the choir,: yes, it was this big an event.
How will you celebrate? Yes, we're eyeing the worship times for Christmas Eve and we're hoping that all our gift buying is complete. We're trying to time and target those places least crowded (and good luck with that!), and all in the name of someone else's birthday, Whom we sometimes tend to ignore. Christmas is about Christ's birth. Christmas is about our joining in with all who love and know the Lord, in singing and praising Him as we should.
How will you celebrate?
PRAYER: Loving God, may my song and praise join that of nature on that night; a joyous praise of You and Your love. Help me with the things that I want to do for family and friends, but don't allow them to take the place of Your worship and rightful place in my heart. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
