Joy in the House of Worship

Photo by Ismael Paramo on Unsplash

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. -- Psalm 100:4-5 (NKJV)

While reading Psalms this morning, these verses jumped off the page and seemed to interpret themselves. Whew! I recognized that our Heavenly Father wanted me to look closely at these words. Not just look but analyze and apply them for this devotion. And remember that He is truth!

I love when that happens. The more I spend quiet time with Father, the closer we get. He reveals things that I know for a fact could not have come from my little brain. What about you? Do you see, hear, or feel His Word? Or sense His Holy presence in your heart?

What are you talking about, Laura?

A little background about me. As a kid, I attended a mainstream denomination church every Sunday with my family. Sunday School first, then a worship service that lasted exactly one hour with the same routine and format each week. I grew up thinking that's how church is, "kinda" like public school but on Sundays.

Fast forward to my teen years, a time when friends invited me to their churches. Imagine my reaction when I saw people shout "Amen" and answer back, out loud, to the pastor during the sermon. Even though these reactions were completely foreign to me, I loved seeing raised hands and heartfelt praise to Jesus during worship. And bold expressions of joy with shouts of Hallelujah! My heart recognized there was so much more to our worship!

As I grew older, I searched for the right church. I prayed that God would align my family not only with church leaders immersed in God's Word, but also with fellow believers regularly worshipping Him with praise and thanksgiving, and gladly serving others. My family found such a church. What a difference! I now understand what Apostle Paul meant when he said "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!" (2 Corinthians 3:17, NKJV)

What does this mean for you?

I believe that our Heavenly Father aligns us with a church where we feel welcome and at peace because He always wants to bless us. He created us, He loves us, and He always sees the big picture. He knows our hearts very well. He knows the family challenges we will encounter, the skills we have, and the blessings we will bring to a particular church family. It helps to remember that we are indeed the sheep of His pasture, led intentionally to His gates. We worship Him but we connect with others to serve alongside them.

Let's look closer at today's Scripture:

Psalm 100:4 We enter His gates with Thanksgiving - We knowingly and purposefully come to His pasture, set apart from the outside world for our protection by "His gates", and we give Him thanks for His mercy and grace.

And into His courts with praise - We draw near to the heart of God "into His courts", into His Holy space, worshipping and praising Him!

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. We can never thank Him enough for His mercy and grace. But, He loves it when we worship Him and bless His Holy Name.

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good; - as Jesus said, No one is good but One, that is God, the Father. (See Mark 10:18, NKJV). We worship and honor Him because He alone is good.

His mercy is everlasting, - We are as filthy rags before Him, (See Isaiah 64:6, NKJV), but Jesus and His death on the Cross made a way for us to receive God's mercy and grace forevermore.

And His truth endures to all generations - Our Heavenly Father lives outside of our natural world of time and space. He alone is Holy, Righteous and True. He is the Alpha and Omega, (See Revelation 1:8, NKJV) - without beginning or end. And knowing that truth, that He is eternally God, we can find our joy as we rest in Him.

Questions for Reflection:

1. How do you worship our Heavenly Father and express thanksgiving?

2. We all go through challenges in life. When you are in the midst of difficulties, what are some ways that you can worship Him, praise Him, and bless His name?

3. In Jeremiah 29:11, (NKJV), it is written: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." How does this verse impact your mindset as you approach God in worship?