Intro: In our passage from the psalter today, this worship leader is inviting the singing worshipers of the Lord to come into God’s presence with exuberant praise. This is not a picture of a solemn and mechanical worship time; rather, this is like a love-filled bride running to the altar in order to merge life with her Groom. Worship should be joyful, because we are coming to enjoy our Lord who is our faithful and good Maker! We worship the Lord in a grateful way because we know who we are when we try to live WITHOUT HIM [empty and sinful creatures], as well as know who we can be WITH HIM [made new by his righteousness]. We cannot know ourselves and who we were created to be until we know God! We need the salvation offered by Jesus, because he is the One who connects us with our Creator! If you haven’t asked Jesus into your heart and life, you need to do so, today. Don’t wait!
Father God, who is Love and Life, made us in his image (Gen 1:26). Therefore, we belong to him and our love and worship is due him. It is much easier for me to believe the Scripture, as Truth, which proclaims we have been fashioned and knit together in our mother’s womb by a loving Creator, then to believe that we were developed by a long chain of natural selections from floating atoms which mysteriously assembled and organized themselves into a human being [Psalm 139:13-16]. If I purchased every piece of building material to make a whole house and threw it on my empty lot, would it organize itself and begin to fabricate the house without a builder? Perhaps that is a ridiculous example, but for me it is equally ridiculous to think there is life apart from God (Gen 1:27).
For this reason, I believe at conception a living person is already being formed by the hand of God in a woman’s womb. A baby is the miraculous and glorious workmanship of Creator God; a blessing and life fashioned by love and for love. We did not create ourselves; it is God who is at the center of creative life and it is God who forms us and gives us our unique personalities, abilities, and gifts. Therefore, when we begin to really know and love God, as well as the life he alone can bring, we worship him with joy and gratitude because he alone is our Maker and we live for him!
Psalm 100 A psalm of thanksgiving
1
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2
Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.
3
Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5
For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Prayer: Father, thank you for being the Creator of love and life. I acknowledge you as my Creator and Lord. Hear my praise and receive my gratitude, because I treasure the life and breath you gave me. I worship you and spiritually run to merge life with you each day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.