“The Lord is wonderful!”

25 Friday Dec 2015

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Our Lord, let your worshipers rejoice and be glad. They love you for saving them, so let them always say, “The Lord is wonderful!” (Psalm 40:16, CEV).

Christmas-Greeting-Card-Nativity-Scene-by-Dona-Gelsinger

Christmas-Greeting-Card-Nativity-Scene-by-Dona-Gelsinger

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is love. Love was born on Christmas Day.

Today we gather around you, Lord Jesus. We come to worship you even as the shepherds came. We rejoice and praise God as they did. We love you because you came to save us.

Today we join with the psalmist to say,  “The Lord is wonderful!”

Response: LORD God, thank you for the love and joy of Christmas. As we gather with family help us to sense you right there with us.  Thank you for the gift of salvation. Amen.

Your Turn: How will you worship the heaven-sent King today?

From the Temple to the Stable

24 Thursday Dec 2015

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I love the temple where you live, and where your glory shines (Psalm 26:8, CEV).

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Prairie Farm — photo by Donald Adam

Reflection

As we count down to Christmas Day, this week’s I Love the Psalms theme is love.

Where is God’s temple? The answer is where God lives. All too often we want to keep God at a safe distance. Heaven seems like a logical place for God to dwell. But guess what? God is not content to stay there. He wants to live with us.

That’s why Jesus came into the world. He came to live with us. Paul reminds us of this truth with these words, Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? (1 Corinthians 3:16, NIV).

Today let God’s glory shine from your life.

Response: LORD God, thank you for sending Jesus to be born among us. Thank you for coming to live in my heart. I make room for you. Amen.

Your Turn: How can you let Jesus shine from the temple of your heart on this the eve of his birth?

Fenced in or Free?

23 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by in Mid-Week Medtiation, Psalms

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When I was fenced in, you freed and rescued me because you love me (Psalm 18:19, CEV).

D Adam Banff

Jasper National Park – photo by Donald Adam

Reflection

As we count down to Christmas this week’s I Love the Psalms theme is love.

Wow! I love today’s verse from the Psalms. When I was fenced in, you freed and rescued me because you love me (Psalm 18:19, CEV).

What a magnificent truth. I was fenced in by my sin, but Jesus came. He came to free and rescue me. Best of all he did it because he loved me. That’s just amazing—the amazing love of God!

He will do the same for you because Jesus is a loving Savior.

Response: LORD God, thank you for sending Jesus to set me free. Help me to walk out each day as someone who has been rescued by the shed blood of Jesus. Amen.

Your Turn: Are you grateful for the love of Jesus?

Sing to God

22 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by in Psalm 68, Psalms

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Reading:                                     Psalm 68

Verses 32-35

Sing to God,

you kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
to him who rides across the highest heavens,

the ancient heavens,
who thunders with mighty voice.
Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the heavens.
You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power

and strength to his people.

Praise be to God! (NIV).

Reflection

Psalm 68 ends with a call for us to sing. Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord, to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens, who thunders with mighty voice.

Deer on Farm

Deer on Kitz family farm, MacNutt, SK —photo by Char Kitz

Have you noticed how important singing and music are to our celebration of Christ’s birth? Take music and song out of Christmas and there is little left. In many ways carols define the season and add sparkle and joy. And so it should be. Heaven saw fit to announce the Saviour’s birth through song. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:13-14).

God sent an angel choir to celebrate the birth of His only begotten Son. And earlier during her pregnancy, at the home of Elizabeth, Mary burst out with what is commonly called the Magnificat or Mary’s Song. See Luke 1: 46-56.

So yes we should sing praise to the Lord, to him who rides across the highest heavens. He sent his star to guide the way for the magi. One glorious night the heavens joined in to declare the glory of heaven’s Son, who had come to earth to be born among men—men and animals.

What a grand descent! From the highest heavens to a lowly stable. That’s the glory of Christmas. God transferred His sanctuary—His dwelling place—from heaven to earth—from heaven’s throne room to a stable. Now we can join with the psalmist and the shepherds with these words of praise:

You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power

and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

Response: LORD God, thank you for sending Jesus. Thank you for coming in frail human flesh—flesh like our own. Thank you because now we can know you as one of us—God with us. Amen.

Your Turn: Has the Lord brought you near to Him in difficult times?

As Sure as the Sunrise

21 Monday Dec 2015

Posted by in Monday Meditation, Psalms

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I trust your love, and I feel like celebrating because you rescued me (Psalm 13:5, CEV).

D Adam Lake

Photo by Donald Adam

Reflection

As we count down to Christmas the I Love the Psalms theme is love.

I went to bed last night fully expecting the sun to rise in the morning. The sun always rises in the morning—always has always will. We can trust the sun to rise due to a flawless record of performance.

In the same way we can trust in God’s love for us. The LORD’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. The LORD can always be trusted to show mercy each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23 CEV).

Watch for God’s love and mercy today. He has a flawless performance record.

Response: LORD God, thank you for loving me even when I don’t deserve love. Your love is as sure as the sunrise, as sure as a babe in a manger, as sure as Jesus’ death on the cross and as sure as his resurrection on Easter morning. I celebrate your love. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you come to trust in God’s love even in hard times?

My Heart Leaps for Joy!

18 Friday Dec 2015

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The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him (Psalm 28:7 NIV).

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Percé Rock. Percé, QC – photo by David Kitz

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is joy.

In Psalm 28 we read that David’s heart leaped for joy and he sang out his praise to God. But in this Advent season we read of someone else who had a similar experience.

Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist reports having this experience when she was greeted by the mother of our Lord, “As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:44-45 NIV).

Jesus our redeemer is coming into the world. Leap for joy!

Response: LORD God, thank you for sending Jesus – a real flesh and blood baby into the world. You fulfilled all your promises and have come to dwell among us. Oh, what joy! Amen.

Your Turn: Is Jesus dwelling in your heart through the Holy Spirit?

Right Living Produces Joy

17 Thursday Dec 2015

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The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes (Psalm 19:8, NIV).

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Percé, QC – photo by David Kitz

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is joy.

To put it simply the LORD’s ways are higher and better than our ways. I always want the shortcut, the easy way. But my shortcut and my quick fix can short circuit the excellent plan that God has in mind for me.

We all want joy, but that joy comes in fullest measure when we patiently obey God’s commands. There is a joy that comes from doing His will that the world cannot receive or comprehend.

Response: LORD God, I want to experience your joy. Give me eyes to see your beautiful plan. Give me a heart that willingly obeys your word. Amen.

Your Turn: Is your life built on the rock solid word of God?

A River of Joy

16 Wednesday Dec 2015

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A river and its streams bring joy to the city, which is the sacred home of God Most High (Psalm 46:4 CEV).

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Lake Placid, NY — photo by David Kitz

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is joy.

Are you drinking from streams of joy? Jesus promised that through the gift of the Holy Spirit we would become a source for joy. “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:38 NIV).

Where the Spirit of God is moving there is newness of life and joy.

Response: LORD God, I want to experience your joy. Give me a greater measure of your Holy Spirit. Fill me to overflowing. Amen.

Your Turn: Is Jesus a source of joy in your life?

Kingdom Conquests

15 Tuesday Dec 2015

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Reading:                                     Psalm 68

Verses 24-31

Your procession, God, has come into view,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
Praise God in the great congregation;
praise the LORD in the assembly of Israel.
There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,
there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

Summon your power, God;
show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings will bring you gifts.
Rebuke the beast among the reeds,
the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may the beast bring bars of silver.
Scatter the nations who delight in war.
Envoys will come from Egypt;
Cush will submit herself to God (NIV).

Reflection

All of Psalm 68 is a hymn of triumph—national triumph. In today’s reading it is apparent that this psalm is a triumphant processional song penned by David. The enemies of Israel have been vanquished and God’s army has returned victorious.

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Percé Rock, Percé, QC — photo by David Kitz

For Christians today, does this psalm hold a deeper significance? Does it signify more than a celebration after a military conquest?

The King we serve—the one born in a stable—didn’t come to establish an earthly kingdom by means of guns and war. In his defence before Pilate Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).

Make no mistake; Jesus calls us to be citizens in his heavenly Kingdom. It is a Kingdom that is headquartered in heaven, but its address on the earth is the human heart—your heart—my heart. Furthermore, that Kingdom grows in power and influence as we yield our will to God and joyfully become more like His son, Jesus. For followers of Jesus, battles are won as we submit our will to God.

There are nations—Egypt and Cush (the upper Nile region) are mentioned here—that will submit themselves to God. But personally for us today, submission must first come from our own stubborn heart.

Response: LORD God, I yield my will to you. Conquer my heart with your love. Through Jesus sacrifice on the cross I am yours. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you been conquered by the love of God?

The Joy of Forgiveness

14 Monday Dec 2015

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Our God, you bless everyone whose sins you forgive and wipe away (Psalm 32:1 CEV).

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One falling leaf, Gatineau Park, QC — photo by David Kitz

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is joy.

What is your greatest joy? For me many things spring to mind. But the more I think about joy, the more the thought of forgiveness presses to the forefront. God through the grace of a babe laid in a manger has forgiven me.

I am accepted. I am redeemed. I am forgiven. Those thoughts bring joy.

Response: LORD God, thank you for the forgiveness you extend to all through Jesus suffering, death and resurrection. Lord Jesus, I find my joy in you. Amen.

Your Turn: Does forgiveness bring you joy?