A LIFE OF WORSHIP BEGINS AT THE FEET OF JESUS!
Psalm 95:1-2
Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
Take time right now to worship God! Take time to reflect on
Jehovah. Think about His character; remind yourself of who God is. As you are
refreshed and sobered by these thoughts, meditate on the fact that He is your
firm foundation and Savior. The most holy God has revealed Himself to you,
changed your heart, and brought you from darkness to light. Taking time to
think on these things will produce gratefulness in us. Take time to thank God
specifically for His many attributes, especially His astounding grace. Having then
prayed, our joy should be full and we should be praising God by now.
Did you do it? Did
you take time to go through these steps?
The writer goes on to remind us
that God is the Creator.
Psalm 95:3-5
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
We need to remember that God has created all, that there is
nothing that is not His, and that He is in control of all. God’s creation
culminated with the creation of man.
Psalm 95:6-7
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
These truths should produce worship. In worship, we
recognize who God is and we remember who we are. The normal reaction should be
to bow down in respect and awe over our privilege. The God of the Bible is OUR
God! Does it make a difference in your life? We are His sheep, He has promised
to provide, He cares for us personally, for He holds us in His hand!
John 10:14-15
I am the good
shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I
know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
We are privileged to have an intimate relationship with
Christ, and we are cared for. The one who did not spare His Son to purchase us -
will He not have special care for those who cost Him so much?
Does God care about our reaction to these truths?
Psalm 95:7-9
Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
The Israelites questioned the love of God when they were in
the desert without water. Their complaining angered God. In fact, another
passage of the Bible explains that their complaint, in actuality, was
questioning the presence of God in their midst.
Complaining is the result of a hardened heart; a heart that
has grown cold to the truths that this psalm has presented to us. God punished
the children of Israel
because they saw the works of God and doubted Him.
Our complaining, ultimately, is always directed to God! When
we complain we are questioning the presence of God in our lives. We are
questioning His wisdom, His power, and His love for us.
Has your heart grown cold or bitter? Are you testing God
with your behavior? When this psalm was written, God’s intention was that we
would not repeat the same sin. Maybe you have grown accustomed to complaining,
assuming and you have felt that it was really not a big deal. The reality is
that God views complaining as sin.
I know I have been guilty of this and that I am very prone
to this sin. Careful meditation on who God is, His salvation, and His care for
me are the best deterrents to my questioning about whether God is really active
in my life.
Let us go out today with grateful praise on our lips!
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