August 28

Happy Tuesday! How is it at your house today? Last night, just before the storm began, I was trying to “batten down the hatches” on the patio and I glanced up to see the sky in all of its glory. What a marvelous Creator to not only fix us with all we need, but to make it so perfectly amazingly beautiful! 


“Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord. Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and praise the Lord. May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭134:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬


This 134th chapter brings us to the final Psalm of Ascent. Even though it’s short and sweet, we can not miss the powerful truth in these three verses. It is a passionate appeal to bless the Lord - a call to worship even when the sun has set and travelers are surely weary (at least I know I am when the sun has set). What we learn here is God is deserving of our devotion at every hour and in every season of our lives. Our present circumstances nor our feelings should determine whether He is worthy of our praise. 


We also notice that there is no assumption that we will come before the Lord with the hopes of receiving, but rather we will come before Him to give Him blessings and adoration. We cannot allow ourselves to forfeit the blessing that comes from giving to God. We deprive ourselves by only taking from Him whenever we come before His presence. The highest joy of man does not come from anything relating to himself, but from the very being of God—knowing Him and being known by Him, the treasure ad infinitum, our Great Reward.


Right now, no matter the hour of the day, whether you are surrounded by a flurry of busyness or a numbing monotony, remember your Great Reward. Give Him all your cares, give Him all your praise. Give Him blessings and honor and offerings and thanks and glory. Give back to Him the life He gave you. Give Him your entire heart. He is worthy of it all. 


Lord of Heaven, thank you for the Psalms of the Ascent to the Temple Mount and what they mean to us. We praise you Lord and we lift our hands toward the sanctuary. We pray that you who made the heaven and earth, would bless us from Jerusalem. God you are amazing and you gave us life, freedom in Jesus, and sustain us everyday. Let today be a day that our souls sing to you in praise. Father, we pray right now for our friends who are fighting disease, illness, and injuries of all manner. Please surround them and let them feel your loving, healing presence. We love you Lord. Teach us Lord to be more like you and to love others like you first loved us. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one,

Pam



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