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Hear the devotional read here: https://bit.ly/2KipiKx
1 A Psalm for the thank offering. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! 5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100 RSV)
A Blessed and Happy Thursday to you all, dear ConCafe Family, and especially for you dear Friend! I ask for ramped up prayers for my dear brother and colleague in Christ, The Rev. Rob Clopton, who finds himself hospitalized at the main campus of M. D. Anderson Hospital in Houston, TX. Pray for his healing and comfort; among the hardest thing to imagine is his being away from his wife, Sandra, during this time. Pray for Sandra, their children and all the family that God's comfort be with them during this time. Prayers also for Mr. Tom Lester, recovering from a back injury. Also, prayers for Ms. Lavonne Hyden, who underwent a heart procedure in San Antonio. Prayers for one another. Prayers for yourselves.
Among some of the things one hears post-funeral, at least in the Spanish speaking world, I used to be tickled to hear, "May the Lord have him/her in a choir of angels," and I would remember that the person they were talking about was not known for their singing ability and the temptation was to say, "Maybe God has need for a great bookkeeper, or telephone operator..." not wanting to say, "Poor sister/brother couldn't sing well at all!" Okay, that was not nice and I'm slapping my hand as I type... We close out our scriptural studies for Christ the King with this psalm. Maybe not as well known as the 23rd Psalm, but it's up there. And it begins with what I was referencing, "Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands." The emphasis was on joyful, not so much the noise, the meaning being that one should feel joy in one's heart as they sing or clap, or tamborine; our joy for and in the Lord is what matters. Right after that, the psalmist says for us to "Serve the Lord with gladness!" It's one thing to sing joyfully in church on Sunday and then loaf the rest of the week; God wants us active in serving those in need. "Come into His presence with singing!" Oops, this comes after "noise," so there's that. The meaning though is that through singing, one can be brought into God's presence by the words and music of whatever it is we are singing.
"Know that the Lord is God!" Worship should be all about knowing the Lord better and closer. And it begins with what the psalmist wrote next, "It is He that made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." Worship is about our attitude, and humility is a beginning part of knowing God. "It is He that made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." No room for "me, me, me when it comes to worship; it's "Him, Him, Him." Our hearts should be full of thanks as we gather to worship, with praise being a part of our offerings to the Lord. "Give thanks to Him, bless His name!" A prelude to what is coming next week, a time as a nation to return thanks to God for all God has shared with us. "Bless His name," means that as much as we ask for God to bless us, we should bless God too!
Friends, before the table is set this coming Thursday, may our hearts, spirits, thoughts, and energies be set to full worship and service of the Lord God. It will make the food taste better and richer, and it will bless our souls. Now, this Thanskgiving may not have all the usual people around the table, and that will make it a more somber meal, but we trust the Lord and His promises and we will be thankful for what is, and hopeful for what will be. As a dear sister pastor posted, "A Zoom Thanksgiving is better than an ICU Christmas," and we know what that means. May God be glorified!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as we await the day of giving thanks, remind us that tomorrow, just as much as the actual day of Thanksgiving, is just as good an opportunity in which to show our thanks for all You have done, are doing, and will do, for each of us. Comfort those away and apart from their families; bring healing to the hurting, and may Your joy reign in all hearts. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show your thanks for God today!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
