He Changeth Not

Psalm 100:1-5 - Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. 

Praise Your name! Praise You for Your grace and mercy upon us, that Your arms are ever extended to all to come to You for that grace and mercy. How is it You put up with us day to day?? You changeth not! Your loves remains the same for all...and so does Your judgment to those who do not choose You. You are about goodness and mercy...and judgment. We will never be good enough, but You have made a way for that through Your Son, Jesus. Praise You. It's all about You, always.

All the things going through my head Sunday morning. I didn't really feel like going to church but didn't know why. The devil's ploy, no doubt. I couldn't concentrate on wanting to ready myself to meet with God at church. Mind was aflutter. Hard to shake it off. Sunday school seemed flat. Should I just go home? No, people will think I'm sick and I'll have to explain myself!! It feels like a full moon... Ach!

Then came worship and the tears flowed. I still don't know where that all came from. I knew it was all about You. I just knew. And then the sermon...it IS all about You! You as much as shouted it in my ear...even before I knew what the sermon would be about..."It's about ME, Laurie. It's about ME. No matter what happens, no matter what is going on, it's about ME. Stay focused on ME. Friends will come and go, or those you trust or admire you will find are not perfect and can hurt, too. It doesn't matter. It's about ME."

The sermon! Our worship is not just in the music but in all we do in our lives that pleases Him. What we do to honor Him. When we are in His will. When we lay aside our feelings (like I struggled with earlier) and begin and stay focused on Him.

How I desire one heart within our church, that we worship in one accord. How I desire we all act as though we are lesser than the next person. All parts of the body are necessary and play important roles. Can we all show humbleness to one another? It's not about us; it's about Him. It's about what He desires we do. If we enter into worship, in spirit and in truth, He will be there. Are we still a disjointed people in our church? Are we getting any closer to being something other than what we've been and becoming closer to what He desires? 

Where was all this coming from?? Father God, You watch from Your heavenly throne. What must You think? Sheep straying, needing that Shepherd to guide us. Lips flapping, tongues clacking, each of us  making disagreeable noises... Forgive us all Lord. And keep our eyes focused on You. Let us try harder not to judge others. Let us love instead. Let us take the scowls off our faces when we don't like something we see or hear or when something doesn't go our way. Let us see through Your eyes. Help us Lord.

In the days ahead it will be even so much more necessary to praise Him. The more we praise the more He gives. I'm not just praising here to say I've done my share of praising for the day because it's my responsibility. I'm praising because it's what I feel in my spirit. All He has done for me; all He is doing; all He will do. Lamentations 3:22 says Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. His compassions never fail...He changeth not! His love covers us.

Sorry if this all sounds so disjointed! I know He knows what I mean... It's all about Him.

Again, praise Your name, for Your mercy endures forever. Thank You for that mercy. And thank You for the undeserved grace Jesus brought/bought for us. You bore all the sins of the world past, present and future, for me. And You did it for all who choose to follow You. And You search the hearts and minds looking for those who WILL worship You in Spirit and in truth. All the praise, honor and glory belong to You, Lord God.

Psalm 113:3 - From the rising of the sun to its going down, the Lord’s name is to be praised.