Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Bless God's Holy Name

Acts of Worship
Learning to Pray


A Model for Prayer

Psalm 103:1-18  The Message

A David Psalm

103 1-2 O my soul, bless God.
    From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
    don’t forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
    He heals your diseases—every one.
    He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
    He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
    He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
    He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
6-18 God makes everything come out right;
    he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
    opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
    not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
    nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
    nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
    so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
    he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
    God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
    keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
    like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
    leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
    eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
    as they follow his Covenant ways
    and remember to do whatever he said.
 
For Reflection
God is not the Holy Gotcha!  God does not lurk in dark corners, waiting to catch the unsuspecting engaged in sin.  God is not the moral cop.  God is the healer.  God acts in love.  God knows what is right and true and makes all things work for good.  God holds no grudges. God has our best interest as God's first interest.

Pray
prayers of praise for the living God.  Pray so that you may become more intimately related to the God who has made you.  Pray so that, by example,  you will carry God's will into the next generation. Pray so that you will become infected with the goodness of God and enlarged in love and thankfulness.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please post comments here.