FACING THE GIANTS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

May Your unfailing love come to me, Lord, Your salvation, according to Your promise; then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in Your word.

Never take Your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in Your laws. I will always obey Your law, forever and ever. I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out Your precepts. I will speak of Your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in Your commands because I love them. I reach out for Your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on Your decrees.

Psalm 119:41-48

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How do you deal with adversity in life? You know, the issues that rise up like giants to challenge you and shake the foundation of your world.

Most people try and deal with these matters on their own. After all, we are prideful people who think we can work out all of our problems without assistance. We think we have the strength to meet our trials head on and persevere through their resolution.

Frankly, this approach has never worked for me although the Lord has always allowed me to try. I’m convinced He did so to show me just how much I needed Him.

You see, we don’t have to face the giants of our lives alone. God is ever ready to help us. This message is loud and clear in the following passage from the 119th Psalm:

May Your unfailing love come to me, Lord, Your salvation, according to Your promise; then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in Your word.

Never take Your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in Your laws. I will always obey Your law, forever and ever. I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out Your precepts. I will speak of Your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in Your commands because I love them. I reach out for Your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on Your decrees.

Look at the first verse because it is key:

May Your unfailing love come to me, Lord, Your salvation, according to Your promise; then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in Your word.

You see, once you have the unfailing love of the Lord in your heart and you have fully embraced His salvation promise, then and only then can you face the giants in your life without fear; those people or things that try to bring you down will do so in vain.

Truly as Paul shared, “If God is for us, who can stand against us?” (Romans 8:31) Nothing in life is bigger than God, plain and simple. And there is nothing beyond the works of His almighty hands. How soon we forget these promises and assurances the Lord has given us when problems come.

Indeed, when you have the Lord on your side, you can do all things, not by your strength but rather through His strength working in and through you. You don’t deal with your circumstances in the spirit of the world but rather in the Holy Word and Spirit of the Lord in whom you place your faith and trust. You gain a confidence that allows you to look life’s difficulties in the eye and know you are more than a conqueror over them through the One who loves you (Romans 8:37). And as you remain obedient and faithful to the Lord and His holy Word, then you walk this world in freedom and liberation, unafraid to speak and act boldly in the name of the Lord, never allowing yourself to be put to shame because you are standing firm on the foundation of God’s word.

And in the end, the courageous self-assurance that you have in the Lord draws you to love Him and His guidance. You crave His presence and instruction so much that you hunger and thirst for His righteousness (Matthew 5:6) and when you do, you find yourself filled as the promise of Jesus is accomplished.

Friends, with the Lord on our side, we need never be afraid. And as we face life’s troubles, let us emulate the actions and attitude of the small shepherd boy David who came out of the fields and away from his flock to face the mighty Philistine giant, Goliath.

What did David say when facing his giant?

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45-47

Of course, we know how the story ends but note that David’s victory did not come by his hands. No, David came in the name of the Lord who worked in and through him to conquer Goliath.

Will you allow the Lord to help you face and defeat the giants in your life today?

He’s only a prayer away.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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WHAT WE SHOULD ASK FOR

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Teach me, Lord, the way of Your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.

Give me understanding, so that I may keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.

Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight.

Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your word.

Fulfill your promise to Your servant, so that You may be feared.

Take away the disgrace I dread, for Your laws are good.

How I long for Your precepts! In Your righteousness preserve my life.

Psalm 119:33-40

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Christians consider how to gain spiritual guidance in life, it’s always a good first step to examine what Jesus had to say. Consider His words in this verse:

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-11

Ask and it will be given to you.

The words of Jesus seem simple enough right? Just ask Him for whatever we want and we’ll get it.

If it were only that simple.

For to gain a full understanding of this matter of asking the Lord for things, we need to consider all the scriptures to include this passage from 1 John:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of Him.  1 John 5:14-15

Now we have some clarity, some clearer definition toward this matter of asking for things from the Lord God Almighty.

How should we go about asking?

Well, the first thing we should do is ask the Lord to reveal His will.

Why?

Because how will we know what to ask for if we don’t know His will?

Look back at the 1 John passage that says:

If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of Him.

Once we ask for the Lord to reveal His will, then we ask for all the things we need for His will to be done and that will be what we will receive. That’s a lot different than us just asking for anything. Instead of the decision on what to ask for being based on our desires, we find our asking based on the desires of the Lord. And when our focus is in that direction, we will find ourselves directed to ask for things like we find mentioned in our passage from the 119th Psalm. Look at those words again:

Teach me, Lord, the way of Your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.

Give me understanding, so that I may keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.

Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight.

Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your word.

Fulfill your promise to Your servant, so that You may be feared.

Take away the disgrace I dread, for Your laws are good.

How I long for Your precepts! In Your righteousness preserve my life.

Direct your asking toward the desires of the Lord and you will find yourself requesting any or all of the following:

1. Teach me to walk in Your ways Lord all the days of my life through Your Holy Word and Spirit.

2. Give me understanding so I can be compliant to Your word and will, obeying it with all my heart.

3. Direct my life through Your holy and precious Word because it’s there that I find delight.

4. Center my heart on Your desires and away from selfish gain.

5. Turn my eyes toward You and things of eternal value so I will not look at worthless things.

6. Preserve my life now and forever through Your word, will, and way.

7. Fulfill Your promises Lord so that everyone sees Your faithfulness and respects who You are.

8. Remove my guilt Lord by reassuring me of Your forgiveness, goodness, mercy, and love.

Want to gain spiritual guidance in life?

You have to know what to ask for from the Lord. When you do, when you, like the psalmist yearn for the Word of the Lord to lead you, then rest assured that His righteousness will dominate everything about you and the Lord will preserve you now and for all eternity.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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BE MEASURED

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to Your word.

I gave an account of my ways and You answered me; teach me Your decrees. Cause me to understand the way of Your precepts, that I may meditate on Your wonderful deeds. My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word. Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me your law.

I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on Your laws. I hold fast to Your statutes, Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of Your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.

Psalm 119:25-32

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How does God feel about the way you are living your life?

Do you ever even take it into consideration?

My concern is that this is something often not pondered as we go through the rigors of our daily schedules. We run from place to place and complete task after task and when we’re done, it’s time to lay down and go to sleep so we can awake and do it all over again. It can be easy to not take the time to reflect.

As we’re now into the season of Lent, the days of reflection and recommitment leading up to Easter where we are to seek to get our lives right with God, today’s word from the 119th Psalm is timely and instructional when it comes to the matter of bearing our souls before God, asking Him to assess and measure us. Consider these words of the psalmist:

I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to Your word.

I gave an account of my ways and You answered me; teach me Your decrees. Cause me to understand the way of Your precepts, that I may meditate on Your wonderful deeds. My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word. Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me and teach me your law.

I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on Your laws. I hold fast to Your statutes, Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of Your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.

The first thing we see here when it comes to allowing God to measure us is to come to Him in humility. We have to see ourselves as broken before Him, laid low in the dust and weary in sorrow. We bow before God in need of His help and strength and preservation so we might become the people He wants us to be.

Next, we need to present ourselves before God as we are, giving Him a full account of our ways. When we do this, you can expect that He will answer, giving you feedback after His assessment as He seeks to lead you ever more toward righteousness and holiness.

Once we receive God’s feedback as He measures us against His will and word, the next step is to respond to Him in obedience. Look at how the psalmist hungered and thirsted for more and more from God and His word:

- Teach me Your decrees.

- Cause me to understand the way of Your precepts that I may meditate on Your wonderful deeds.

- Keep me from deceitful ways.

- Be gracious to me and teach me your law.

When we allow the Lord to assess us and earnestly seek to allow Him to make us better from the inside out, something awesome happens. We can’t get enough of His assessment and assistance. We, like the psalmist, find ourselves consistently and persistently seeking the Lord’s teaching. We yearn to understand His ways so we can make them our ways. We desire to turn from sin toward righteousness.

And God is more than willing to fulfill our longings.

So what is the end product? What happens when we seek and find the Lord’s instruction and gain His wisdom?

It’s simple. The focus of our lives turns toward God and His will and way as we permit Him to guide our steps no matter what life brings.

Like the psalmist, we choose the way of faithfulness, longing to be as committed to the Lord as He is to us. We set our hearts on His laws and hold fast to His statutes. We run on the path laid down by the Lord’s commandments, finding our understanding broadened with every stride and step.

Friends, the first step to spiritual growth is coming to God in humility, realizing your complete need for Him and His help.

Won’t you bow before Him and be measured today?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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SEEING LIFE THROUGH THE LENS OF GOD’S WORD

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Be good to Your servant while I live, that I may obey Your word. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.

I am a stranger on earth; do not hide Your commands from me. My soul is consumed with longing for Your laws at all times.

You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from Your commands. Remove from me their scorn and contempt, for I keep Your statutes. Though rulers sit together and slander me, Your servant will meditate on your decrees. Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

Psalm 119:17-24

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

One great thing about reading and studying God’s word every day is that it opens up our eyes to see the world around us in a different way, not for the worse but for the better. Look at the words of the psalmist in this passage from the 119th Psalm:

Be good to Your servant while I live, that I may obey Your word. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.

I am a stranger on earth; do not hide Your commands from me. My soul is consumed with longing for Your laws at all times.

You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from Your commands. Remove from me their scorn and contempt, for I keep Your statutes. Though rulers sit together and slander me, Your servant will meditate on your decrees. Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

How did the psalmist see the matters of life through the lens of the word of God?

1. He saw it as good.

Be good to Your servant while I live, that I may obey Your word.

The psalmist anticipated experiencing blessings as he lived in obedience to the word of God and those blessing experiences would spur him on to want to walk even more in God’s will and way. I don’t know about you but this has happened to me in my own life. As I look back across more than 20 years since I was born again, I have seen how experiencing the blessings of God spurred me on to serve and follow Him more and more. The momentum has never stopped and I’m more excited about the next 20 years (God willing) than the past ones. God’s goodness breeds that kind of excitement.

2. He saw things as wonderful.

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.

I’ve been around more than my fair share of people who had a terrible attitude about life in general. It was sad to me because it was almost like they lived in a different universe than the one I lived in. The truth of the matter is that there really are two parallel universes in play: a universe where people don’t believe in the Lord and a universe where they do. The Bible even says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that anyone born again into Christ becomes a new creation. They have passed from one spiritual universe where they were lost into a better one where they are found. And not only are they found but they find a life more wonderful than they could ever imagine, a life underscored by the word of God and illuminated by the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that everyone gets to experience this kind of life that is not temporary but rather everlasting.

3. He saw himself as a stranger on earth.

I am a stranger on earth

When we read and study the word of God and allow that word and the Holy Spirit to transform us and conform us to the Lord’s will and way, we will see that we are in the world but not of it. We have a temporary address here because through Christ Jesus, we have a new permanent home with Him and God the Father that awaits us.

4. He found himself addicted to the word of God.

Do not hide Your commands from me. My soul is consumed with longing for Your laws at all times.

Once you experience the power of the word of God, you will find yourself needing it more and more and more. The word of God will take over your heart and soul as the Lord works from the inside out to instruct you how to live in righteousness and holiness. And when you begin to commit to God like He is committed to you, then you long for Him and His word, not just some of the time but at all times.

5. He realized that the Lord disciplines.

You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed, those who stray from Your commands.

Just as we learn as a child that there are negative consequences for negative actions, the word of God shows us that the same applies when we are adults, it’s just that our disciplinarian is the Lord who rebukes and corrects those who stray from His commands in sin.

6. He saw where the Lord was His protection.

Remove from me their scorn and contempt, for I keep Your statutes. Though rulers sit together and slander me, Your servant will meditate on your decrees.

I have seen some people drive themselves crazy thinking about something mean that another said about them. Indeed, people throw around a lot of words that contain scorn and contempt, words intended to tear another down instead of build them up. In these instances, it’s a blessing that we have the word of God to meditate on like the psalmist did, a word that shows us we have God’s protection against anyone who would come against us, a word that allows us to allow hurtful words to bounce off of us because we have the love of God that is so much greater.

7. He found delight in the counsel he received in the word of God.

Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

I know I find pure joy in the study of God’s word. My prayer is that you do the same as you study and even read these daily devotions the Lord places on my heart. There is nothing that has given me more strength and confidence to boldly live my life out in faith than the mighty word of God. His words are brought alive by the Holy Spirit who Jesus sent to us as a holy Counselor. Look at this from the Gospel of John:

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:26 (HCSB)

As you enter into the word of God each day, expect your eyes to be opened – and even ask the Lord to do so in prayer before you begin study. Then open your heart and mind to the instruction of the Holy Spirit who will teach you all things and reveal the wonder of the Lord and His creation to you in such a way that you will feel delight, not just some of the time but all of the time.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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THE KEY IS GOD'S WORD

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?

By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands. I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

Praise be to You, Lord; teach me Your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from Your mouth.

I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways.

I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word.

Psalm 119:9-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I often have a concern about your youth today, especially as we watch our world become more and more liberal, advocating actions that were once forbidden as acceptable. It seems the ways of the Bible are being replaced little by little by the ways of the world, the desires of God no longer taking first priority.

In the midst of this concern, we can find ourselves asking the same question as the psalmist in our scripture passage:

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?

Further than that, how can anyone today stay on a path of purity, living in the kind of righteousness and holiness expected by the Lord?

Well, the psalmist goes on to give us the following answers and as we will see, the key is the word of God:

How can we stay on the path of purity?

Answer 1: We can hide the word of God in our hearts so we won’t sin against Him.

In order to live in a way that leads us away from sin, we need to live in accordance with God’s word and we can only do that when we know that word and hide it in our heart. This leads us to answer 2.

Answer 2: We can live in accordance with God’s word.

Once we know the word and have it hidden in our hearts, then we will begin to live in accordance with that word. Our actions, spoken words, and thoughts will all be directed by the scriptures and sanctioned by the Lord.

Answer 3: We continue to seek God with all our heart.

Consistency is paramount when we start to live fully in accordance with the word of God. As we cherish His word, we ever more cherish Him in our lives and want to seek Him more and more.

Answer 4: We ask for God’s help to keep us from straying.

As much as God wants you to be in His word and walking in righteousness, Satan wants you to be heading the opposite direction and is very crafty in getting us astray. We can’t avoid this by our own strength and so we need to ever remain connected to the One who can and will keep us living according to His will and way.

Answer 5: We seek God’s instruction.

Living a life for the Lord is a continual learning experience. We need to always seek His guidance and ask Him to teach us His will and way.

Answer 6: We tell others about what God commands.

When the word of God takes root in our hearts and in our lives, we will find it permeating every part of our being and so any conversation we have with others will include testifying to the ways and will of the Father.

Answer 7: We rejoice in following His word as one rejoices in great riches. We delight in His decrees.

Who would want to join us in following the word of God if we begrudged doing it, living in misery as we yearned to live like the world lived? The word of Lord should bring us to a place of rejoicing and praise as He leads us ever more into righteousness.

Answer 8: We meditate on His word.

Any study of the word of God needs to be accompanied by prayer as we ask God to illuminate the study of His word by way of the Holy Spirit. Prayer also helps us to galvanize our relationship with God who is our Father and Creator Parent. When we call on Him in prayer, rest assured He hears us and will answer.

Answer 9: We consider God’s ways.

How do we come into consideration of the ways of God? We study and meditate on His word.

Answer 10: We will not neglect His word.

We neglect the word of God in several ways.

We neglect His word when we choose to not read and follow it. And when we disregard His instruction and guidance, we send a clear message to God that sin is more important to us than righteousness and that’s just not going to cut it.

Yes, the key to spiritual purity is found in God’s word. Given this, it’s little surprise that we should find this statement spoken in Deuteronomy and quoted by Jesus as He combated Satan’s attempts to turn Him from the Father toward sin:

“Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Want to live a healthy spiritual life?

The key is God’s word and we need to feed ourselves well from it every day He blesses us with.

 Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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HOW DO WE LIVE UNASHAMED?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.

Blessed are those who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart — they do no wrong but follow His ways.

You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying Your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all Your commands.

I will praise You with an upright heart as I learn Your righteous laws. I will obey Your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

Psalm 119:1-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As I have ministered to people through the years, one matter that seems to be commonplace is a person’s inability to move past a mistake they have made in the past. There are many people living in shame, ashamed about the way their actions impacted another person or persons, ashamed of how their actions disappointed the God who made them. For whatever reason, they are unable to detach themselves from the things they have done.

So how can we live unashamed in life? How can we avoid being unable to move forward because we’re anchored in our past?

Well, first of all, let’s address the second question first.

Why can’t we move beyond our past mistakes? Because we lose sight of who our true judge is.

You see, we can judge ourselves and deem ourselves unworthy of forgiveness. We do it all the time.

We can also allow others to judge us and determine our forgiveness off of another person’s willingness to forgive us.

Either way, there’s a danger of never finding pardon unless everyone is willing to allow bygones to be bygones. This is what happens when we allow the world to be our judge.

Compare this now with our God who is the only One qualified and worthy to judge us. Our God will forgive the repentant sinner each and every time, not harboring ill will but rather giving a person a fresh start, right with the Lord who is ready to guide their steps and keep them from having to come for pardon again.

So the first step is understanding you are forgiven when you ask the Lord for it. The second step is to then allow God to lead and guide you in His righteousness.

This is where we come to the following words found at the beginning of the longest Psalm in the Bible, the 119th Psalm:

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.

Blessed are those who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart — they do no wrong but follow His ways.

You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying Your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all Your commands.

I will praise You with an upright heart as I learn Your righteous laws. I will obey Your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

When we allow the Lord to lead and guide us in righteousness, seeking Him and obeying His statutes with all of our heart, then and only then can we even start to approach blamelessness. For when we follow the ways of the Lord, we are walking a path that will not lead us wrong.

Our scriptures tell us that the Lord did not establish His precepts so that we might choose to ignore them. No, His direction was given with the expectation that it would be fully obeyed. There is no other option.

When we fail to understand this, our lives will be underscored by sin and that sin will draw us to feeling shame when compared against what God has commanded. If we find ourselves there, it only takes a prayer of sincere repentance to put us back on good standing with God and we can start walking His path of righteousness once again.

So given all this, how can we live unashamed?

1. We need to understand that we are forgiven when we offer heartfelt repentance and seek divine forgiveness.

2. We need to commit ourselves to walk according to the law of the Lord.

3. We need to obey and keep all the Lord’s statutes.

4. Ultimately, we need to seek the Lord with all our heart.

For in the end translation, He doesn’t desire a part of our heart. He wants all of it, fully committed to Him as He is fully committed to us.

 Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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OUR DAILY FESTAL PROCESSION

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord is God, and He has made His light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, and I will exalt You.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

Psalm 118:27-29

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When I was younger, I remember my parents taking me to parades. We would always get there early to get a good seat so we would be able to see and I would have a good vantage point to run and grab candy that was thrown from cars and floats.

These parades were always festive celebrations with bands and other marching groups. The police and fire departments would drive their vehicles in the parade and turn on their sirens as signaled, giving kids like me a thrill. 

Yes, I always enjoyed the parades as they were fun and brought me a lot of joy. Maybe you have had the same experience in your life.

Well, as we look at the end of the 118th Psalm, we find where parades were also happening in the Old Testament times only they were referred to as festal processions. Look at these verses:

The Lord is God, and He has made His light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, and I will exalt You.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

The parade the psalmist wrote about was far different than the parades I enjoyed as a child. For at the heart of the festal celebration in the psalm, there were no bands or floats or fire trucks. No, there was only God. He was the focal point then and He should be our focal point today.

The Israelites celebrated the Lord because they realized that He was ever with them, not just some of the time but all of the time, ever shining His light upon them. Indeed, the Lord would light their path and guide their steps. His love and goodness endured unto them and so they responded in a spirit of thanksgiving, forming a festal procession and proceeding to the horns of God’s altar to worship, praise, and exalt Him.

Friends, the same Lord who cast His light on the Israelites is the same Lord who illuminates our lives today. He is the same Lord who has displayed His love and goodness to us each day we have been blessed with. Given this, every day we should walk through life with a spirit of thanksgiving, joining other fellow believers in a festal procession of worship and praise unto the One who has given us life abundantly. For He and He alone is worthy of our fullest reverence and respect.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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