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: This is a great Psalm reminding us to be grateful for what we have. There are many studies that show gratitude is a sign of mental health and a well life. It moves us away from self-centeredness. Thanksgiving allows us to do real giving. It brings joy and hope for life, enabling us to appreciate what we have instead of just looking at what we wish we had.
When we are grateful, then the next question is to whom should we be grateful? The Psalmist had no doubt. We sing with joy to the Lord. We know that He made us- and all we have is a gift. When we are grateful, we want to come to Him in worship- we do not want to stay away. The petty objections to worship (the nursery is too small, the sound system is not right, the songs are too slow, the preacher doesn't preach the way I want, the heat is a tad too hot, etc) melt away. We do not worship (and should not stop worshiping) because of such things. In our consumer culture, we think the church does not cater to our needs, and therefore we can just move on. But then we miss the gratitude, and the joy of worship. I remember Mr. Anderson in my Asheville church. Mr. Anderson told me every week it was a great sermon- and always smiled. My head was big until about a month later I realized Mr. Anderson was completely deaf and never heard a word I said. I later communicated to him my puzzlement that he would say this each week when he never heard. He said, I did not come to hear you, I came to worship God. He appreciated my being there, and I appreciated being in His presence. We are not to be entertained. I have worshiped with saints outside underneath trees because they could not afford a building at all- but they smiled with gratitude to God for His salvation and love. Of course, a church should do all it can to help people feel good in worship. But there is a balance.
We do not worship because the church is good or the people are good. we worship as the Psalmist says, "Because the Lord is good. His love endures forever and His faithfulness to every generation." HE is worthy of our praise and gratitude.
When we are grateful, then the next question is to whom should we be grateful? The Psalmist had no doubt. We sing with joy to the Lord. We know that He made us- and all we have is a gift. When we are grateful, we want to come to Him in worship- we do not want to stay away. The petty objections to worship (the nursery is too small, the sound system is not right, the songs are too slow, the preacher doesn't preach the way I want, the heat is a tad too hot, etc) melt away. We do not worship (and should not stop worshiping) because of such things. In our consumer culture, we think the church does not cater to our needs, and therefore we can just move on. But then we miss the gratitude, and the joy of worship. I remember Mr. Anderson in my Asheville church. Mr. Anderson told me every week it was a great sermon- and always smiled. My head was big until about a month later I realized Mr. Anderson was completely deaf and never heard a word I said. I later communicated to him my puzzlement that he would say this each week when he never heard. He said, I did not come to hear you, I came to worship God. He appreciated my being there, and I appreciated being in His presence. We are not to be entertained. I have worshiped with saints outside underneath trees because they could not afford a building at all- but they smiled with gratitude to God for His salvation and love. Of course, a church should do all it can to help people feel good in worship. But there is a balance.
We do not worship because the church is good or the people are good. we worship as the Psalmist says, "Because the Lord is good. His love endures forever and His faithfulness to every generation." HE is worthy of our praise and gratitude.
Prayer: Lord, may my eyes be fixed on you, and not my own comfort. Give me the ability to worship you wherever saints are gathered in your name, with gratitude in my heart.
