Deut. 9:23--10:5
Heb. 4:1-10
John 3:16-21
Psalm 50
1The mighty one, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
3Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him.
4He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5“Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge.
7“Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds.
10For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.
12“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.
15Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
16But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips?
17For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
18You make friends with a thief when you see one, and you keep company with adulterers.
19“You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
20You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother’s child.
21These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one just like yourself. But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
22“Mark this, then, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
23Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
How often do we forget in the midst of our busy lives to give thanks to God? Ps. 50 is written as a challenge from God to the people—to us. It is a reminder of how easy it is to do the ‘right’ and rote worship. We go to church to sing and pray, but how often are our minds far from the One we seek?
1The mighty one, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
3Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him.
4He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5“Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge.
7“Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds.
10For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.
12“If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.
15Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
16But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips?
17For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
18You make friends with a thief when you see one, and you keep company with adulterers.
19“You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
20You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother’s child.
21These things you have done and I have been silent; you thought that I was one just like yourself. But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
22“Mark this, then, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
23Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
How often do we forget in the midst of our busy lives to give thanks to God? Ps. 50 is written as a challenge from God to the people—to us. It is a reminder of how easy it is to do the ‘right’ and rote worship. We go to church to sing and pray, but how often are our minds far from the One we seek?
I know that too often my mind is ranging far from the church service and the great mystery of the Holy Communion. I show up in body, but my mind and heart are worried about how to get everything done after church or what the next week will bring or distracted by the whispers of those nearby.The psalmist graphically reminds us that what God really desires is a thankful heart. All the sacrifices and other offerings in the world are really nothing, when done without a conscious thankfulness to God. How often are you consciously thankful for what God does for you? When something big and great happens, it's easy to say 'thanks', but the little daily blessings are easier to take for granted.
Thankfulness and response to God are what bring us into closer relationship. The one who does approach God with thanksgiving, however, will see the salvation of God and “I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” says the Lord.
For your journal: Make a list of things you are thankful for. This is an especially good exercise if you are feeling down. It will remind you of all the good things you do have. Don't forget to list the little blessings like being able to see and smell and love.
For your journal: Make a list of things you are thankful for. This is an especially good exercise if you are feeling down. It will remind you of all the good things you do have. Don't forget to list the little blessings like being able to see and smell and love.
