“The Lord delights in his people….” Psalm 149.4a NLT

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17 NLT

Day 8 of 40: The theme of this week is worship. “We were planned for God’s pleasure.”

One way to look at it: God says “I love you.” And we respond, “I love you too.” God wants His love for us to be so implanted in our hearts and minds that “I love you too, God” is expressed in everything we do… it becomes our lifestyle.

My kids are both adults, each with four children of their own. But I still say: “I love you” to them. And they respond: “I love you too, Dad.” It’s not just a family ritual – we have a long history of mutual love and respect demonstrated by acts of caring and support… and mutual lifestyles that bring honor to our collective families. But it all started with Barbara and me… saying, expressing… even singing our love over our children.

And so it is with God – Worship begins with God singing His love over us.

The question today is: What common task could I do today as if I were doing it for Jesus? But I want to back it up a bit. I want to quiet down and listen to God’s love song… to me.

You may not be a Joe Cocker fan… but I sang this song to my kids. They both are “beautiful to me.” My daughter and I danced at her wedding to this song. And today… I’m hearing this song as God’s word to me:

I played this song at my Mom’s funeral… and today it’s for me. Imagine, God singing over us. Amazing.

 

“For everything comes from [God] and exists by his power and is intended for his glory.”  Romans 11:36 NLT

Day 7 of 40: I’m not very good at seeing God’s glory… particularly in the everyday experiences of life.

This morning I straightened the picture hanging in our entryway. It’s a print from the Met (NYC) of an angel done originally in glass by Tiffany studios. It’s really quite stunning and welcoming… but, this morning, my attention was on the frame – off by 1/4 inch.

I’m a “fixer” by nature and so… have a tendency to want to “straighten things out.” That’s why my attention was on the frame and I robbed myself of simply enjoying the picture.

I do recognize God’s glory in the big things… the birth of a child, the beauty of a sunrise, the grandeur of mountains, the wonder of thunder and lightning… those things are in my face – hard to miss. And besides, they are beyond my fixing.

It’s God’s glory in the little things, the everyday things, the things of life with their imperfections that I miss out on.

Today’s question is “Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God’s glory?”

I think I’ll take the dog for a slow walk this morning… and take a look.