12/1- Day 3- David the ancestor of Jesus

12/1- Mt. 1:6- David
⁶ and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.

Thoughts: Jesus has in his family line “David the king.”  All those other names in this passage after David were also kings.  But David is called “the” king because of his great example of goodness and grace.  He was not perfect, as illustrated in this passage.  The Bible does not hold out people as perfect.  In fact, some struggle with how God could use a sinner like David- but truth is, we all are sinners.  David was a great king, but he was not that great of a family man.  His own son, Absolom rebelled against him. He was not as loving to his wives as he should have been.  He was forced out of the capital and out of his palace.  Yet God used David, and David won the day. .  God uses us. Jesus is purposefully linked to David and is called “The Prince of Peace.”  

Application: How can Jesus give you more peace?  How can you bring more peace to others?  Write a Christmas card tonight or tomorrow to someone you know who is struggling. 

Prayer: Prince of Peace, may I walk in your ways and bring honor to you.

Statue replica of David by Michelangelo

Song: Once in Royal David’s City stood a lowly cattle shed, Where a mother laid her baby in a manger for his bed; Mary was that mother mild; Jesus Christ her little child. 

11/30/15- Advent Day 2 Ruth

11/30- Mt. 1:5- Rahab, Ruth and Boaz

⁵ Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,

Thoughts: Boaz was an ancestor of Jesus.  His mother, Rahab, was a sinful woman of Jericho, who turned her life around by coming to God.  Boaz was a wise and rich business man who had pity on this outsider (Ruth) who was so poor she could hardly eat.  It is a love story of how God uses all of us- rich, poor, sinner, saint to accomplish His will.  Jesus would not have been who he was without Rahab and Ruth.  But He also would not be who He was without the grace and acceptance of Boaz who no doubt learned such grace and acceptance from his mother who could have been an outcast but ended up a heroine.

Application: This Christmas, think of those you know who have failed or done bad things.  Purposefully do something kind for them in the name of Rahab and Boaz the ancestors of Jesus. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you care about all of us.  Thank you that there is room in your family and heart for all kinds of people.  Help us to come to you for forgiveness and grace. 

Sing “What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!  What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to ear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul, to bear the dreadful curse for my soul.”  (P. 215 Glory to God)

Carolsfeld- Ruth in the field of Boaz

11/29 Advent day 1

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT- 11/29/15  ABRAHAM

Activity- Light the First Candle on the Advent Wreathe.

Read Matthew 1:1-2

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: ² Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.

Thoughts: Jesus Christ has a genealogy (family) because he was not a made up character but an historical person who walked this earth and breathed our air.  The Gospels begin with a family tree of Jesus to remind us that he was truly a human being.  Matthew does not begin with Adam, but with Abraham, the father of faith and specifically calls Jesus “The Son of David” which is a kingly title. 
     Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was captured and he gathered a small group and attacked his nephew’s attackers and rescued them miraculously.  Similarly, David’s family was captured by raiders and he chased the raiders down and rescued his family. 
     Jesus, despite calls for him to do otherwise, did not claim kingship until the week before his death- and he claimed a kingdom not of this world.  He did not encourage armed rebellion or terrorism against the Romans.  Instead, Jesus encouraged trust in God even in the face of the cross and injustice.  The non-violence of Jesus stands in sharp contrast to the rebellion against the Romans in AD 70 which led to the destruction of the Temple.   Christmas is in some ways about family. Jesus’ family stuck together- Joseph, Mary, and him through it all. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you walked here among us. 

Sing: “What Child is this who laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping, whom angels greet with anthems sweet while shepherds watch are keeping?  This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing; haste, haste to bring him laude the babe, the child of Mary.” 
(P 145 Glory to God)

Come back to God- 2

13But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  (Luke 1:13-16)

Thoughts: The angel was speaking of John the Baptist.  He would bring many people back to the Lord their God.  I was not that the people of Israel didn't believe there was a God up there.  But they had lost their ability to believe in God's love and God's power.  They were stuck in legalism and the habits of being religious- but the heart of belief in God is belief in His love for you as an individual and belief in His power to help you.  John's message was to repent.  The people responded to this message.  Today, we need to come back to God.  We need to believe in God's love for us, so that we want to please Him and sacrifice to do that.  As the prodigal son came back, so we can come back to our heavenly Father.  God longs for us to come.  As Peter came back after He denied Jesus so we can come back.  As Paul, who took part in the murder/martyrdom of Stephen, came fully back to God- so we can come back to Him no matter how bad we have been.  

Prayer: Lord, draw me back to you, and use me to draw others back.  Help me to repent and believe in your power and love, and to call others to do so as well.    

Room to Come Back

31“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

33But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

34Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” (Luke 22:31-34) 

Thoughts: Our deserting Christ to go our own way- to fail Him is no surprise to God.  Jesus predicts Peter's desertion here  But He also predicts He will turn back- and He thus gives words of encouragement- to keep Peter from getting totally discouraged about his faith.  His prediction of Peter's desertion is not so remarkable- all the disciples denied, betrayed or deserted Jesus.  But that He predicted Peter's coming back is  quite remarkable.  His asking Peter to strengthen his brothers is a reminder that his calling is to build up the church- the disciples of Christ.   

Today is the day we remember St. James Intercisus, who publicly fell away from the faith when the Persian king began persecuting the church.  His mother and wife rebuked him, and he publicly came back to the faith during a new king's ascension to the throne.  The new king threatened and made good on the threat to dismember and behead him.  James knew it was better to die for what he believed in to live a hundred years shrinking back.  Today, the world needs Christians who are not afraid of death- but brave enough to be faithful- or perhaps even better- brave enough to come back to the faith and strengthen the brothers.  

Prayer: Lord, if I fail, give me grace to come back to you.  Help me to be gracious to those who seek to come back to you.  Raise up those who have fallen. 

There is always room to come back to Jesus- as the Prodigal Son came back.  

Thanksgiving at the gates

1Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his^a ;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100)

Thoughts: Enter his gates with thanksgiving.  We come to worship the Lord with grateful hearts.  There are times when we come to God with heavy, worried, and grieving hearts.  But we should not come to God apathetic or nonchalant.   We should enter to God's presence with thanksgiving.  Even when we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death we still can thank God for His rod and staff that comfort us.  The Lord is good.  For that, in and of itself, despite and through our circumstances, we can give thanks.  How do we know God is good?  Truth is (and this is hard for us in the post Enlightenment to understand), God defines good- for He is the giver of life and redeemer of it too.  He is there in the beginning and will be there in the end- His faithfulness continues- ever new- to every generation.  
    When the Pilgrims survived famine, and had lost so many  to illness and cold, they were still able to give thanks.  At one time they had rationed four grains of corn a day.   They were not bitter over their trouble- what good would that do?  They were, instead, thankful that God had seen them through to establish their colony which gave them (and us) a future. 

Prayer: Lord, draw me to yourself  Help me to come to you with thanksgiving in my heart for your many mercies.  

Thanks in that day...

4 In that day you will say: "Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:4)

Thoughts: "In that day" is repeated several times in chapters 11 and 12 of Isaiah.  What is "that day?"  It is the day that "a shoot comes forth from Jesse's branch."  It is the day that the Messiah comes.  When we know the Messiah comes, we give thanks.  When we know the Messiah- and that He has come- we are to tell everyone- tell all the nations so that His name would be exalted.
    As people who know Jesus, we should be thankful for Him.  That He has come to show us God's love is an amazing gift of hope.  Everyone should be invited to know this Prince of Peace.  In a day when people are trying to destroy the world and frighten the world, we should all seek this Prince of Peace with thanksgiving. 

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for coming and for your great love. 

Command to give thanks

1Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his love endures forever.

2Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—

those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

3those he gathered from the lands,

from east and west, from north and south. (Psalm 107)

Thoughts: Paul said to "give thanks in all circumstances" or "in all things give thanks."  Here we are told to give thanks to the Lord.  It does not say- and we should note- "If things are going well (or if you think they are going well) for you- give thanks to the Lord."  But God is worthy of our thanks all the time.  His love is not just for a moment.  His love is as constant as the sun shining.  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so- let them tell others so that they too would see that we should give thanks to the Lord.
We are too affected by our circumstances.  Some want to pursue peace by simply withdrawing so they do not have to get in the mess of the ups and downs.  But even monks and hermits still face the problems and joys of life- though in smaller ways.  Others like to ride the waves of life up and down.  Christians see God's faithfulness in the down times and the up towns as well.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to give thanks to you in all things.  Let me see your love and give you thanks. 

Thanksgiving and Blessing

4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 

5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.  (1 Timothy 4:4,5)

Thoughts: Ingratitude makes what is good bad-- Just like fussing at supper makes even the best of foods taste sour.  Gratitude over food blesses the food.  I have been to other countries and seen food that I would never touch eaten and enjoyed with gratitude.  Food like squid or locusts may seem terrible to me, but to a really hungry person (or someone who likes this food), this is food that keeps them satisfied and alive.    Their gratitude enables them to eat it whereas my ingratitude would keep me hungry.  The point is not that saying a blessing makes alcoholic or drug infested drink/food non-toxic.  To be able to eat food with thanksgiving requires we not seek to bless what is unhealthy, or seek to overindulge because we can.  Rather, thanksgiving to God means we seek to please God with the what and how of what we eat.  For the alcoholic to thank God for what would poison their liver would be an abuse of thanksgiving.  True thanksgiving, by its nature requires a measure of holiness. 

Prayer: Lord, may the way I give thanks and what I give thanks for honor you.  Thank you for your blessings in life.  May I use these blessings in honorable ways in order to honor and serve you. 

Blessing and Thanksgiving

11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. (2 Corinthians 9:11,12)

Thoughts: God blesses- we respond with generosity and this results in Thanksgiving.  Paul was prophesying that God would bless them so they could be be a blessing.  Paul also speaks of giving as a way to minister or serve- meeting needs and causing thanks to God.  

    People who are blessed need to see that blessing is from God.  If we use that blessing in good ways we keep things going the way they should.  The other day I was washing my car.  The hose was working fine and then it just slowed to a trickle- there was a kink in the hose.  Cheaper hoses would explode.  My current hose just got out of shape and didn't function as it should.  It was advertised as a hose that would never kink.  When all we do is receive blessing from the giver of the water of life- then we block the output and become bloated.  Keep the water of blessing flowing- be generous out of thanksgiving and you will spread the thanks and glory of God. 

Prayer: Lord, may your blessing and gratitude flow through me and from me to others.   

Thanks and Offerings go together

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name.  Bring an offering and come into His courts.
(Psalm 96:8; 1 Chronicles 16:29)

Thoughts: When we are able to recognize God is the blessor and we are the receptor, then we glorify Him.  We recognize He is the one who blesses us when we give of ourselves to Him in worship.  We fool ourselves thinking that we can recognize God in our heads but not let that affect our lives.  Yet many say that are grateful to God but do nothing to really recognize that.  We do not simply bless ourselves- so much is out of our control.  But to say we are grateful to God but not show that gratitude in concrete ways fools ourselves, and eventually our ability to even recognize God blesses us fades, smothered by a wet blanket of selfishness.  Time is a gift from our Maker- it is not simply ours.  Our possessions are blessings.  Our ability to earn them- including our health, our brains, our being in a place to receive a decent education are gifts.  This thanksgiving, give thanks- ascribe the blessing to the Lord- and do it by bringing an offering and coming to His place.

Prayer: Help me to bring myself to you, O Lord.

Thankful for Grace

4 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.

5 For in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge-- 

6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 
(1 Corinthians 1:4-6)

Thoughts: Paul uses an absolute word of thanksgiving here.  He ALWAYS thanks God for them.
He thanks God for them because God's grace has been poured on them.  Ultimately we are always thanking God for glimpses of His grace.  It is grace that we have life at all, and that our lives are sustained by Him.  Each minute is a gift- a precious one.  But that we know God and have eternal life- that is a great gift as well.
Paul believes they have been enriched "in every way- in all your speaking and knowledge."  The Corinthians were well known for their gifts of the Spirit.  They had been blessed with an outpouring of power that showed in what they said and what they knew.  The charis (grace) was shown in their gifts of grace (charismata).
He thanks God that his testimony (the power of God to change people) was confirmed in them.  Corinth was the center of paganism at the feet of the Temple to the goddess of pagan love, Aphrodite.  It is grace that enables people to change.
     So... Paul could also thank God for every believer reading this, and say he ALWAYS CAN.  Grace does not go away- salvation does not disappear
     No matter what you are facing this Thanksgiving week, God's grace will not leave you.  Thank God for those around you who have experienced and recognize God's grace. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to be thankful for those around me who know and appreciate you.  

SEVEN DAYS OF THANKSGIVING- Day 1

1Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his^a ;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100) 

Thoughts "Enter the Lord's gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise."  This is a phrase of someone excited and commanding others to be excited about worshiping God.  The gates were the gates of the Temple- or perhaps the golden gate of Jerusalem near the Temple.  The courts were the courts of the Lord where the people gathered to hear the Word of God, pray, and sing.  It is in these courts that we can sing to God's glory.  Why should we give thanks? 1) The Lord is God.  We can know that.  When we know God in our heart- then this is something for which we can give thanks.
2) He made us- that in itself is enough.  If we have life- give thanks for it while you can. 3) We are His- and He is ours.  There is this relationship of love between us and our Maker. We are not alone, but He watches over us.  4) vs. - His love endures forever- to every generation.  His love is new. Really, we have much to give thanks to the Lord.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your great love.  Thank you that you gave me life and gave me eternal life- knowing you.  You make me overflow with joy and thankfulness.   

Passing the Faith On

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)


Thoughts: In this passage, Paul emphasizes that we are to pass the faith on.
There are several generations of people passing the faith on. 
1. Paul
2. Timothy (The things YOU have heard ME say)
3. Timothy's converts- (entrust to reliable men)
4. Timothy's grandconverts, Paul's great-grandconverts (who are able to teach OTHERS). 

The faith is meant to be shared. This is a key part of discipleship.  Jesus also was wanting his followers to make disciples.  He said, "Go into all the world and make disciples, teaching them whatsoever I have commanded you."  He was also asking his disciples to make disciples who would be taught to make other disciples.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to do my part to pass the faith on to the next generation.  

Concern for the next generation

I will utter hidden things, things from of old—

3things we have heard and known,

things our ancestors have told us.

4We will not hide them from their descendants;

we will tell the next generation

the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,

his power, and the wonders he has done.

5He decreed statutes for Jacob

and established the law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors

to teach their children,

6so the next generation would know them,

even the children yet to be born,

and they in turn would tell their children.

7Then they would put their trust in God

and would not forget his deeds

but would keep his commands.

8They would not be like their ancestors—

a stubborn and rebellious generation,

whose hearts were not loyal to God,

whose spirits were not faithful to him. (Psalm 78)

Thoughts: We will not hide God's power and grace from the next generation.  We willl not let them make up their own minds without hearing our story- the story and miracle God gave us.  The faith is meant to be passed on to our children's children children.  

Prayer: 

The Lord's Purpose and Ours

6By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

7He gathers the waters of the sea into jars^a ;

he puts the deep into storehouses.

8Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the people of the world revere him.

9For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

10The Lord foils the plans of the nations;

he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

11But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,

the purposes of his heart through all generations.

12Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people he chose for his inheritance.  (Psalm 33)

Thoughts: God's purpose was there before the world was made, and His purpose will be true- ever new- to each generation.  God is not absent from the throne.  He thwarts plans of powerful people so that they would know they need to turn to Him.  The plans of Isis can be thwarted, but our plans and expectations can be thwarted as well if they go astray from God.  It is time for us to turn to God as our source of blessing. He is the One who has blessed us in the past- not simply ourselves or our technology.  To seek God's blessing, we should want to please Him.  When we are blessed, there is a steadfastness, safety, and blessing.  We should seek that blessing by blessing the Lord. 

Prayer: Help us, O God, to be a blessing to you that we might be blessed by you.  

A Song Instead of Grumbling

1Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

2Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and extol him with music and song...

Today, if only you would hear his voice,

8“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,^a

as you did that day at Massah^b in the wilderness,

9where your ancestors tested me;

they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

10For forty years I was angry with that generation;

I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,

and they have not known my ways.’ (Psalm 95)

Thoughts: The people of God faced difficult times- and they handled it by grumbling, doubting, and pride.  They had escaped from Egypt and from the mightiest army, but they were without water.  They hardened their hearts and wondered if God had left them, or even existed.  Because they doubted God and turned away they incurred God's disappointment and anger- for He had provided everything for them- even manna in the desert every day.  God, however, was not God to just the generation that left Egypt.  He is God from generation to generation.  In contrast to turning away is this call to worship and song to the Lord.  Worship and singing is always a sign of hope. Whereas grumbling and skepticism is a sign of wanting more control- and not having it.  Come and sing on the Lord's Day in a house of worship. 

Prayer: Lord, give me a song in my heart and on my lips to you.  

God our Dwelling in the Face of Terrorism

1Lord, you have been our dwelling place

throughout all generations.

2Before the mountains were born

or you brought forth the whole world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3You turn people back to dust,

saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”

4A thousand years in your sight

are like a day that has just gone by,

or like a watch in the night.

5Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—

they are like the new grass of the morning:

6In the morning it springs up new,

but by evening it is dry and withered.

7We are consumed by your anger

and terrified by your indignation.

8You have set our iniquities before you,

our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9All our days pass away under your wrath;

we finish our years with a moan.  (Psalm 90)

Thoughts: In the face of terrible, wrathful, horrible attacks that shatter our security and peace, it is important to know where our refuge is.  God is our dwelling place- our shelter in every generation.  In the past our ancestors found God to be a shelter and help, and we should still find our hope in Him.  He is the eternal hope even in the face of terrorism.  This life doesn't last forever.  But God is there for all of us.  

Prayer: Lord, be with the people of Paris.  Also be with us.  May we look to you to be our security and strength.  

Faithfulness to all Generations

89Your word, Lord, is eternal;

it stands firm in the heavens.

90Your faithfulness continues through all generations;

you established the earth, and it endures.

91Your laws endure to this day,

for all things serve you. (Psalm 119)

Thoughts: God's faithfulness continues for all time- to each new group of people- each new generation.  It is not that God used to be faithful in the time of David but no more.  It is not that God was faithful in the New Testament but his promises are no longer valid or trustworthy.
    But the basis of His faithfulness to all generations is He has given His Word.  God sets the standard for integrity.  His Word, His Law (vs. 91) will not fade or wither like grass or flowers.  The promises and Law of God are out there like a steady lifeline to guide us and for us to grab onto and hold onto.  The promises of God are steady lights shining in darkness- like lighthouses.  The word of God stands firm in the heavens and the constancy of the earth points to them.  We are designed- every generation of us- to listen to them and to serve and honor God.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to trust your steady Word.  Let me look to you for faithfulness in a fast-changing world.   

Thanks forever!

6Your sons will take the place of your fathers;

you will make them princes throughout the land.

17I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;

therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever. (Psalm 45:16,17) 

Thoughts: Thanksgiving is to be passed on.  The sons are to take the place of the fathers who used to give thanks to the Lord.  They take up the song.  We are called to perpetuate his memory in every generation.  The nations are called to praise Him forever.  All people- all time- all classes of people are called to give thanks and praise Him.  He is worthy of both- He made all that we see and gives us hope and meaning.  

Prayer: Lord, may thanksgiving not stop with me.  May all people in every time and place and cirmustance praise you.  

The Church in Every Generation

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Thoughts: This is a great, and often-overlooked benediction or exclamation.  Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine?  Jesus is able.  It is His power that is at work within us to do this.  It is not that we are the source of power and simply by wishing or positive thinking we can accomplish miraculous things- it is His power in us.  He gets the glory for what He does in and through us, with us, and sometimes despite us.
     But to go with our theme of generation to generation, His glory in the church and in His person lasts forever.  For some, the church seems despised, crucified, weak, one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peal.  But the glory of God's beloved people lasts forever.  When the politicians are in some long forgotten book or obscure internet site; when the empire has disappeared; when our innovative devices are passe- the church's glory and the glory of Christ lasts.  We should not be embarrassed to invest ourselves in the church- though it is sinful, weak, torn by schisms and by heresies distressed.  The church is Christ's bride and we would do well to love what/who He does.  His glory and the glory of His bride- the church- lasts forever (from generation to generation-all generations). 

Prayer: Help me to know your power at work in me and in the church.   

The Forever Song

1I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;

with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known

through all generations.

2I will declare that your love stands firm forever,

that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

3You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,

I have sworn to David my servant,

4‘I will establish your line forever

and make your throne firm through all generations.’ " (Psalm 89"1-4)

Thoughts: The concept of eternity or forever is hard to grasp with our finite minds.  But the idea becomes clearer if we take it one generation (or 40 year bite) at a time.  "Through all generations" is synonymous with forever, but it is saying a bit more.  The promises of God are not just winning out at the end- they are valid in the present and in the midst of every lifetime- every generation.
     The song we will sing is not just for now.  It is a song that we will sing now, in the future of our lives, at the end of this life, and in the life to come.  It is a song we can sing- a song of God's great love- forever (vs. 1).
       The promises and reality of God and His love are not irrelevant to us.  In fact, they are the most relevant thing in this life.  All else- all the toys, all the entertainment and sports, all the distractions, all the work, all the stuff of life is secondary.  We are not made merely to pass the time in play, study, and work.  We are made for a much higher purpose by an eternal, loving being whose song we can sing now and forever. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to sing of you- from my soul and consistently.  May my life be a song added to the millions of other voices in your choir that echo your love song.