Psalm 100 verses 4-5 (NIV)
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Its Sunday again so it seems appropriate that this was one of the readings for today, and the one which caught my attention. David is in effect issuing a command in verse 4. Come to God’s house with thanksgiving and praise. Its not an option. But I wonder if we always do? God has done so much for us that we should be without excuse. If we set our mind to do as David tells us to, for that short time, no matter what else is going on in our lives, we find that it can affect our receptiveness to what God has to say to us in the sermon.
And isn’t it good to start off our week by bringing praise and thanksgiving to God? Even if the preceding week has been a difficult one, why not set off into the new one with the right attitude. If we put God first at the start of our week, giving Him the praise and thanksgiving that He deserves, we can find a way of putting things into place for the week ahead. After all, Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of God and everything else we need will be given to us. (Matthew Chapter 6: Verse 33)
Dear Lord,
Help me always to come to You in worship with the right attitude of praise and thanksgiving in my heart, trusting that if I seek first Your ways, You will guide and direct my steps. I ask in Jesus’ Name.
Amen.