Image from heartlight.org
God rules: there's something to shout over! On the double, mainlands and islands - celebrate! Bright clouds and storm clouds circle 'round him; Right and justice anchor his rule. Fire blazes out before him, Flaming high up the craggy mountains. His lightnings light up the world; Earth, wide-eyed, trembles in fear. The mountains take one look at God And melt, melt like wax before earth's Lord. The heavens announce that he'll set everything right, And everyone will see it happen - glorious! All who serve handcrafted gods will be sorry - And they were so proud of their ragamuffin gods! On your knees, all you gods - worship him! And Zion, you listen and take heart! Daughters of Zion, sing your hearts out: God has done it all, has set everything right. You, God, are High God of the cosmos, Far, far higher than any of the gods. God loves all who hate evil, And those who love him he keeps safe, Snatches them from the grip of the wicked. Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God's people, Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil. So, God's people, shout praise to God, Give thanks to our Holy God! (Psalm 97 The Message)
A joyous Wednesday be yours, dear Friend. May our time together be a time of blessing and joy. May we be blessed in connecting and being more deeply rooted in Christ Jesus. In your prayers, pray for one another and pray for yourselves. Please continue in prayer for the family of José Refugio Garcia, father of our son-in-law, Jorge Garcia, husband to our daughter, Nellie. Mr. Garcia was diabetic and just last week had a foot amputated. Pray for God's comfort to be with the family.
Handcrafted. Isn't that a unique word? What thoughts come to mind when you hear that word? I think of the two special pair of boots that I have from Refugio, Texas. Handcrafted for me. I think also of the national franchised coffee chain that for a time had handcrafted soft drinks. For us, it means special care and attention and the use of human hands to make the product extra special. For the people reading this psalm, it's a dig at what Isaiah 44 addresses; human efforts to build for themselves handcrafted gods from trees or metals. To God, it is the funniest thing; to abandon worshiping the Creator and to create our own idols and give them the rightful place of God in our lives. David, as the psalmist, knows that God is the only God in existence. We may try to make our own, but they can never take the place of our God. This psalm is designed to remind us of that. It is a psalm of worship and he describes all the awesome attributes of God so that we can understand more deeply that awesomeness of God.
"God rules: there's something to shout over!" The next command is to celebrate. Justice and right belong to God and God can share those with us. The announcement from Heaven is that God will set everything right. And all will see it happen in a glorious way. Who will be the sorry ones? The ones who serve handcrafted gods. They will see the foolishness of their ways; graven images can do nothing for us. Our job is to worship God. Songs and hymns should break out of our mouths in worship. God deserves it, for God is a God of love and disapproves of those who love evil. God protects those who love Him. God provides freedom from the grip of wickedness. This should prompt praise! We have "light-seeds planted" in our souls, and "joy-seeds" in our hearts. use them to praise Him!
PRAYER: Awesome God; may our actions today and all days be handcrafted works of service and praise to You. Lord, bring to life the light-seeds and joy-seeds. May we radiate light and joy to all of those around us, especially those who are still awed by the handcrafted gods. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Remember you have light-seeds and joy-seeds planted in you. Bring those to life!
Blessings of love,
Eradio Valverde
