Feb 15 -Free throws

Feb 15

Free Throws

Heb 12:4 ¶ Ye have not yet resisted unto blood,

striving against sin.

 Who wrote the book of Hebrews?  Right!  No one knows. We do know that the author followed the sports of his day. Just look at the first verse of Hebrews 12.  It is filled with the idea of a sporting event.  The stands are filled with spectators,  the runners are not weighed down,  they are mentally prepared for a long race, and will endure the pain for the prize. Today the modern Olympics gives medals, the ancient Olympics gave the top athletes a palm leaf in their hand and a garland for their head.

As I read the verse for today I could not help but think of the comment often heard during an informal basketball game. “No blood, no foul!”  For those who are not sports minded that simply meant that if someone did something against the rules, but it didn’t draw blood on the opponent then it wasn’t a foul. It was more a joke than a real situation.

But people do get hurt playing sports.  I am amused when I see a picture of a professional hockey player holding the Stanley cup over his head. He has a band-aid on his chin, a nose that points to his left ear, and a smile that reveals several missing teeth.  His injuries are forgotten as he holds the prized cup in spontaneous joy at having finished the season a winner.

A football player who has been sidelined after a head jarring collision does not want to sit on the bench. “What day is it?  I think it’s last Thursday coach…now can I play? “ 

What on earth drives a person to sacrifice so much, train so long and so hard, endure pain, injury, and repetitious training just to compete. They know many will try but few will win the prize. Perhaps they are motivated by love of the sport, or some desire to be the best.  Whatever drives them is a force we desperately need in our churches today.

Just imagine what would happen to Christians and churches if they were driven by the same zeal that Olympic athletes have.  How much time would they spend reading the Bible. (learning all they could about the sport) meditating (mentally going over the course) responding to the Hoy Spirits leading (listening to their coach),  having the mind of Christ  (mentally focused on perfecting their performance) etc.  There are many more ways things would change. Pause a moment and think about how your church or you would be changed if you approached Christian living like Olympians strive for the prize.

Our text for today deals with striving against sin.  Let us recall sin is more than just transgressions which are like a sign saying we cannot cross over a forbidden boundary; “Don’t walk on the grass”. A sin of commission during which we “commit” some prohibited act.  I see our text more along the lines of the type of sin known as omission.  “Aim for the bulls eye”  but we miss the mark.  Sin is more than just doing what is forbidden. It is also not doing what we should.

Our verse follows sports metaphors of running, etc.  How well do we train as Christians? Have we worked at doing what we should so hard we got bloody? Have we resisted transgressing till we need  band aids?  It is a sports comparison, somewhat like “No blood, No foul” 

OK, I think we understand what the verse is asking?  Are you making any effort at all? Does it reach to the level of a person training for sports, where scrapes, bruises and even bloody noses are all in a days training.

Your turn. What do you think this verse is saying?  How should we react to that message?

Heb 12:4 ¶ Ye have not yet resisted unto blood,

striving against sin.

 

 

Feb 14 The Happy Foot Washer

Feb 14

The Happy Foot Washer

Joh 13:17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

Oh Dear, I just realized it is Valentines day, and I should be writing about husbands and wives loving one another.  Instead we are looking at Christ washing the disciple’s feet.  (Husbands, follow His example and wash your wife’s feet??) 

I heard of a pastor who was preaching through a book of the Bible verse by verse and when it came to the Christmas service he did not vary but preached on divorce!  True story. Now I know how that happens.

Enough chatter, let’s get to work. In our verse it says “If ye know these things…”  What things?  In verses 14-16 He has just explained to them that although He was Lord and Master of the group He had washed their feet.  It was an example for them to understand that if He could stoop to do the work of a slave they should also seek to serve others.  If they would learn that lesson they would be happy. 

What about foot washing? Why did they need to do it and why did the servants do it for them? In the several commentaries that sit on my shelf I was unable to  find a single one who mentioned what I think is the main reason they washed their feet before entering a home.  Have you ever driven along a country road where the Amish had a settlement?  How would you like to walk on those roads with open toed sandals?  (Yes I know there were no Amish during the time of Christ!) But there were camel caravans, donkeys, cows, dogs, and the refuse that was thrown into the streets. I think there was a lot more on those roads than the dust the commentators mentioned.  Anyway, foot washing  was a demeaning task. A good host had slaves wash the feet of guests.

But there was no slave in the room where they had supper. The room was well furnished and there was a towel, a basin, and some water. Everything they needed to wash their feet was there, except someone to do it.  Was this the Paschal meal, Passover, or some other meal? Did this account occur at the beginning, middle or after the meal?  Take your pick. Theologians cannot agree on any of this. We do know they were gathered for a meal. We also know that no one had offered to wash anyone's feet. 

Had the Apostles seen the water, the basin and the towel prepared for their use?  Did they wonder who was going to wash their feet?  Did anyone sit looking at the basin and towel and start to fidget a little, wondering why no one was going to be the foot washer.  Surely someone must take that part and wash our feet.  What is the hold up?  It really needs to be done. Or were they busy in conversation and did not notice?  Luke records that they were too busy to decide who would volunteer to be the foot washer.

Lu 22:24 And there was also a strife among them,

which of them should be accounted the greatest.

It was a common subject of discussion among them.  (Mt 20:26-27; Mr 10:43)  No wonder they did not get up and offer to be the foot washer.  If they were the greatest, someone less great should wash their feet. Finally any tension in the room was relieved as one of them got up.

Joh 13:4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel,and girded himself.  5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Did anyone notice when Christ got up from the meal?  When do you think it dawned on them what Christ was doing?  When they realized the Master was about to wash their feet what kind of mental impact do you think that had on them? 

 He laid aside his garments for the work He was about to do. He would not do a servants work dressed as a Master but as a slave.  He tied the long linen cloth around himself so one end was handy to dry their feet.  He poured water into a basin where he would wash their feet with His hands. Imagine the one who can cleanse from sin and make the heart clean, was using His hands to wash away, not their sins, but whatever they had stepped in!  The room must have gone quiet. Talk of who was the greatest must have faded away as they became aware of what the Master was doing.

      Do I need to tell you what the lesson is for us in this passage? I didn't think so! I will just quietly slip away, leaving you some verses to think about.

 

1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the

mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith,

God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

1Co 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth

 take heed lest he fall.

 

Joh 13:17 If ye know these things,
happy are ye if ye do them.

 

 

Feb 13 Ear Worms

Feb 13

Ear Worms

Ps 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD;

and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 

Ever get a song stuck in your head? You find yourself thinking about or humming or even singing out loud a phrase from a song over and over.  Ear worm is the common term for repeating a song phrase.  It isn’t a bad thing, even if we do not understand why it happens. It may be how our heads are “wired”.  Perhaps our brains were designed to think on the same phrase day and night.

 

       As I was preparing this devotional/ bible study I was thinking of the word “delight” and an old commercial popped into my head. “It’s delightful – It’s delovely – It’s Desoto”  If you are old enough you probably could sing that jingle. Or you may be too young to have heard that ad for an automobile named Desoto.  Be careful if you ask an old guy (like me) about a Desoto because they will tell you car stories from the past for a couple hours!

The portion of scripture for us today is Psalm 1:2.  This psalm starts with the word Blessed (1:1) and ends with the word perish. The first three verses talk about what a blessed man does and does not do. The last three verses tell us what an ungodly man does and that his ways will perish.  A closer look at verse two reminds us that the blessed man loves the Bible. He delights in the law of Jehovah.  The psalmist did not have the wonderful books of the New Testament, the writings of Paul, or Peter, or the Gospels.  He is talking about being delighted with the books of Moses etc.  I must admit I struggle to be delighted in parts of books like Leviticus and Numbers. But the psalmist says the man that is delighted will be blessed. (Blessed is a plural word-I think double happy when I see the word.)

Now to be practical how do we meditate day and night?  Most of us have seen the eastern religions that practice meditation by sitting cross legged, arms extended over the knees, thumb and first finger forming a circle and with eyes closed repeating “Oooommmm” over and over. Nope! Wrong kind of meditation. Instead of emptying our minds with some meaningless mantra we are to fill our heads with the Word of God. Day and night, just like an ear worm song.  

Is meditating on Scripture simply memorizing and saying it over and over? Well it might be, if that works for you. But I need to do more than simply memorizing.  Years ago I found a wonderful key which I wrote in a Bible years ago, and now can’t find. As I recall the 7 items listed as an aid in meditation were;

A command to obey

A lesson for our day

A sin to avoid

An example to follow

A blessing to secure

A new thing to learn

A link to other Scriptures.

 

(After my wife read my draft she left and found the Bible where the original list was. It differs from the one I just gave so I will add it and let the reader select whatever seems best for them.

 

1. An example to follow, 2. A command to obey. 3. A promise to rely on. 4. A warning to be ware of. 5. A prayer I can use. 6. The main lesson. 7. The best verse. 8. Something new.)  

If you think this list is missing something just ad or modify it so it makes sense for you.  As you read the Bible latch onto some significant verse or passage of Scripture and remember it. Then during the day as you recall the verse(s) apply one or more of the aids to meditation.  Is there a command to obey, a lesson for the day,etc.  If we apply that to our meditation of the day we can gain more than a simple reading would have given us.

      A command?  More like good advice. If you want to be blessed, meditate.  It is a command  in the book of Joshua.  

Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;

but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, …

A lesson for the day – We should meditate on Scripture.

A sin to avoid – Not reading may not be a sin. But it may be an indicator of a spiritual lapse.

          Usually I use this list or parts of it as I study a portion of scripture. It may also apply to a single verse.  You should be able to use the aids for meditation you develop to help you with your daily Bible readings. I will leave you with my last aid. A link to other Scripture.

Ps 119:35  Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

Ps 119:47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.

Ps 119:92  Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.

Ps 119:7  O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

Joshua Jos 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate  

   therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for

   then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

 Few of us spend the time in the Bible that we know we should. Let us develop the habit of having Bible verse ear worms.  That way we can meditate and have God’s most precious word with us all day…and into the night.

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom;

teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

 singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Feb 12 - No Red Phones

Feb 12

No Red Phones!

 1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator

between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

 As a deacon it was my responsibility to interview men who wanted to be our new pastor.  During those interviews everyone is polite. No one would ask the candidate “Have you stopped beating your wife?”, a question without a satisfactory answer either way.  One question I always tried to ask early in the interview was “When you pray does a red phone ring in Heaven? And when I pray does a black phone ring in heaven?” 

     Now that phones come in every color I need to explain.  In ancient times (prehistoric to young readers) telephones were black. If you were an everyday “Joe Lunch bucket” kind of person you had a black phone (Singular, as in one phone.  No I am not making this up. At one time a house would have only one phone!)  Really important people, like the president of the United States or the old Soviet Union would have a red phone in addition to their black phones   The red phone was a direct line to the other important person for urgent communications. When the red phone rang, everything else stopped because any message sent over a red phone was from someone important and had to be responded to immediately.

     The question I was asking with that simple reference to a red phone was “Do you believe that a pastor’s prayers are more important than a person in the pews.” (A pewster!)  I wanted to know if the man believed in sacerdotalism.   Webster says it is a person who believes a priest is an essential mediator between God and man.

     There are a number of reasons I ask that question. First and foremost to be sure the candidate’s doctrinal position is consistent with the church’s stand and my own understanding of what the Bible teaches.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator

 between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

        The one mediator in this verse is the one who sits at the right hand of God. 

Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him

from the dead, and set him at his own right hand

 in the heavenly places,      

Now I ask you what is Christ doing while sitting at the right hand of God?  He is mediating for us.

Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to

the uttermost  that come unto God by him,

 seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Another reason I ask about a red phone is to determine if the candidate for pastor views the pastorate as above the congregation.  or as a privileged position.  Over the last several years I have noticed some pastors assume a position of authority in their church.  As I mentioned recently, the pastor is not the Shepherd. The church is not his church. The people are not his flock.  Rather he has been entrusted as an under-shepherd, to care for the Bride of Christ (the church), and to feed, protect, care for the injured, seek the wandering and be responsible for Christ’s flock.  There are men who have no heart for service, but desire to be served.  Instead of feeding the flock they desire to fleece the flock. There is a wonderful country and western song that says “The evangelist stands up there, with his brand new suit and vest. He tells you to send your money to the Lord, but he gives you his address. “

What is the lesson for us who are not pastors?  We must guard our churches so they do not become a place that feeds a man’s vanity.  Before most preaching services I whisper a reminder to myself. “Sir, we would see Christ!”  then listen for that in the preaching.  Good preaching is not the result of years in a university, but having a servant's heart and love for the Savior.  The pastorate can be a wonderful, blissful and fulfilling calling. Many faithful men preach Christ and love the Savior.  They should be our example to follow. 

     Others may desire the pre-eminance, the power, and the position of controlling the church and it’s members, as if it was their church and their flock to use and abuse for their own ends.  We have in the last several years seen too many television preachers fall into the wretched pit of money, fame,  or power.  We also find some who do similar things in our churches.  The lesson for us is to keep our eyes on Christ.  Those who are born again, both pastor and pewster alike, make up the believer-priests of today. We may have differing responsibilities but the same access to Christ.  Do not let anyone or anything try to reduce your standing in Christ. No matter what color phone he thinks he has in heaven!

       1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation,

a royal priesthood, an holy nation,

a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth

the praises of him who hath called you out

of darkness into his marvellous light:   

       

Feb 11 - Speak Up!

Feb 11

Speak Up.

Ps 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,…

 Two men waited in my shop while their wives selected some woodworking products I had made.  They talked about their favorite lake for fishing. One mentioned a particular lake and said it was the largest lake in the state. The other disagreed. I thought they were about to start fighting when a third guy arrived and explained that yes they were both right. One lake had the longest shoreline and the other the largest area.

These men were total strangers and were discussing something of little importance, yet both were very vocal, did not hesitate to disagree and held firm to their position.  Yes, that seems like the recipe for starting a fight. But the psalmist did not want to start a fight. He just wanted people to praise God for his redemptive mercy.

This psalm may have been written about the rebuilding of the temple, mentioned in Ezra 4:6.  Here the Israelites had been released from captivity in Babylon and were allowed to return to their former country. Most of them had been born during the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity.  Although scattered across the Babylonian empire they were gathered and led across harsh terrain to Jerusalem. There after they had gotten settled a little, in the war torn nation and the rubble that was left of Jerusalem, they commenced the rebuilding of Solomon’s temple.

This psalm was designed to be sung in courses, with one group singing and the other group answering back. You can see some of the Chorus in this song if you look at verses 6, 13, 19, 28 where you read the same refrain.

Ps 107:6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them out of their distresses.

These verses are followed by a verse describing how God cared for them and following is the praise chorus in verses 8,15,21 and 31.

Ps 107:8 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness,

 and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

The entire psalm is one of praise.  The opening two verses are especially interesting.

Ps 107:1 ¶ O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good:

for his mercy endureth for ever.

What else could we give God but our thanks and praise. He is in need of nothing. He does not need our money, or our talent, and we do Him no favor through our religious exertions, no matter how sincere they are. We have only thanks and praise to give. Notice in the King James Version the word LORD is sometimes all capitals and other times it is not. When it is written with all upper case the LORD spoken of is Jehovah.

     God is good. He is very good to His children. The word mercy is often correctly defined as not getting what we deserve. The pardoned criminal has received mercy. But here mercy is broader, more intense than our simple word for mercy.  Here it is more than favor shown to the guilty but includes kindness, goodness, and positive feelings.  It is this mercy we celebrate in this psalm. 

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

We were in the slave market of sin. Christ was the only one who could pay the high price to redeem us. But he did more than redeem us to be a slave in His house. He took the chains of sin off from us, set us free, and placed the chains on himself to pay the ultimate price for our redemption.  Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last. 

     If two strangers will speak of lakes with great zeal, why won’t Christians, the redeemed ones, speak to others of his unspeakable gift.  When there is opportunity to speak for Christ, and we sense the Spirits leading, do we proclaim the goodness of our redeemer?  Or do we remain silent.  Do we look for times and places to praise God, or do we look for excuses not to. What could be more worthy to be discussed?  What sports figure, or celebrity, or possession, or event could be more praiseworthy? Yet while we engage in idle chatter do we neglect  to praise the one who has given us joy unspeakable and full of glory?  Oh, dear reader, please excuse me. I must go and search my own soul to be sure I am not just sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal – a writer of words.  Let us ponder the depths of our text today. May we all do better in the future than we have in the past.

Ps 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so    

 

 

Feb 10 - Excuse me!

Feb 10

Excuse Me!

Lu 14:18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 

It is commonly said “A bad excuse is better than none.”  But these excuses are so bad the only person that would use them would be the village idiot. 

In Luke Christ is using a parable about a man who prepared a dinner and invited people to come and dine with him. The first guy said “I paid for some land that I have never seen.”  Sure, he did. Imagine trying to have a conversation over the dinner table with this dimwit!

The next fellow is not any brighter. “I just paid a guy for five yoke of oxen but didn’t see if they were worth anything.”  Sure he did! 

Finally the last excuse maker says “I am married and cannot come.”  He had been invited at some earlier time and had given his consent to attending the dinner.  Now that the meal is prepared he uses his wife as an excuse. (She probably wanted him out of the house anyway!) 

The purpose of the parable is for Christ to point out that even though the Pharisee’s were invited they all had some excuse to not follow Christ.  Christ’s use of such silly excuses was to show how worthless the excuses of the Pharisees were.  

But my favorite dumb excuses are in Proverbs.

Pr 22:13 ¶ The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.

Here we should start with Webster. Slothful implies a tempermental inability to act promptly or speedily when action or speed is called for.  Or for our purposes – Lazy.

The slothful invents whatever is required to avoid doing his duty or necessary work. In this excuse, as silly as it is, he reveals both laziness and cowardice. If they were giving away free pizza across the street the fear of lions would be gone.  But the invention of the mind to avoid duty that does not suit us is sufficient. Here his argument is not there are lions in the area, but without. As though the lion sat on his doorstep.  He feared he would only make it to the street before he was slain.  I am not an expert on lions but I doubt lions lurk the streets of town in the daylight.  

      But his example is repeated by Christians who would prefer to only do work that was convenient for them, and within the realm of their own liking and at the least cost of energy or goods possible. Yet these would be the first to say they have accepted Christ’s cross.

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,

and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Cowardice lurks in the spirit of such excuses. The spies came back from the promised land and said "...the giants will step on us like grasshoppers."  Little faith resides there too. "We be not able to conquer the land.  We fear God is unable or unwilling to deliver on what he has promised."

 Pr 20:4 ¶ The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold;

 therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

He will not plow by reason of the cold and also the hot sun, or rain, or wind or whatever excuse comes to his mind without much effort.  Charles Bridges remarks on this verse “And does not the most trifling difficulty hinder, where the heart is cold in the service of God?”  That person who professes love for Christ, but avoids the inconvenience of even the least service for the Master, has little faith, if any at all. If wishing would secure heaven then all would sit waiting for it to come to them. Oh learn of the sluggard. He will not plow and will suffer the consequence when there is no harvest. He will have nothing. He shall beg at that time, as those who have refused to stir themselves to acknowledge their need of a savior. At that last day they shall beg and be turned away. Their excuses shall be too little, too late.  They shall be as the sluggard and have nothing. 

     Men may come up with all manner of reasons to avoid accepting, serving and/or sacrificing for Christ. But they are all without excuse.

Ro 1:20 … so that they are without excuse:    

Feb 9 - What Day Is it?

Feb 9

   What Day Is It?

 Ps 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made;

 we will rejoice and be glad in it.

This is the day…..What day?  Is the psalmist talking about Sunday, or the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) or the day the cornerstone was laid in Ezra 3:10 or another day?

Ezr 3:10 And when the builders laid the foundation

of the temple of the LORD,…

 11 And they sang together by course in praising and

giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good,

for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel.

And all the people shouted with a great shout,

 when they praised the LORD, because the

 foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

In Ezra 3:11 the phrase “for his mercy endureth forever” is found in the first 4 verses and also in the last verse of psalm 118. There would have been great rejoicing, joy unspeakable, and unrestrained thanksgiving for that day when the temple was being rebuilt.

     But this is the last of the Psalms that make up the Hallel.  The Hallel usually included Psalms 115-118.  It was sung for Feasts, the Passover and other times of Victory and celebration.  See Ezra 3:11 above to note they sang in courses. One group would sing a phrase and the other would respond. You can almost hear the response “…and his mercy endureth forever…” I have been in a church where one side of the congregation would read part of a verse and the other side would answer back.  One of the most obvious things in these psalms is they are Messianic. They contain language that would apply to the Messiah. (Christ) If you have time browse through these Psalms and note the prophetic utterances. 

       I like to think of everyday as a day the Lord has made with a special emphasis on Sunday.  This Sunday as my wife and I sat at the table and listed prayer requests we became so aware of God’s mercy and grace to us that we could not think of anything we needed. All we could think of was how blessed we were. I admit we did not shout or bang on cymbals as in Ezra’s day but we were pretty thankful none the less. It was a reminder to us that we needed to be that thankful every day. 

      There have been Sundays I was not so thankful. When I mechanically went through the motions of getting ready for church, mindlessly singing hymns I knew by heart and using the preaching time to organize my thoughts,  the only fleeting joy I had was that the service had ended.  Shame on me!

      Other Sundays were wonderful, joyful times. What made the difference? Me!  When I had prepared my heart prior to the service, asked God for a blessing, and meditated on the words in the hymns I discovered the preacher delivered a better message. Or perhaps I was more receptive having prepared myself. Oh, one other thing I do now. When I hear someone say “Well I didn’t get much from that service” I am reminded we should be going to church to give, not get. A worship service is just that. We go to give worship. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 

      Oh dear!  I hope no one goes to get worship!  “People will really notice my new dress”  (Do women still wear dresses to church?)  “When I sing my solo they are going to just love it”  Etc. I think you get the idea. If we go with the idea of getting praise instead of giving praise we will often leave empty handed.  But if we do our best to give God the worship He deserves we will get a blessing.

      Years ago I prepared my heart for several days prior to the Sunday services. I specifically asked God to give me a blessing. I was filled with expectation about what blessing God had in store for me. Just as I entered the auditorium I was asked to help out in children’s church.  Disappointment filled my mind. I had so wanted a blessing, but now would have to wait until next Sunday.  During prayer time a very young boy asked for pray for his knee. “Why should we pray for your knee” the director asked.  “Because it hurts!”  The simplicity of his answer was my blessing. His childlike faith reminded me that God’s simple truths can fill our hearts with more joy than the deepest doctrinal study. That was a day that I rejoiced and was glad in it.

Dear friend, why do you go to church?  Is it because you always go and it is a habit.  Some people never go to church.  They stay home for exactly the same reason you go.  It has become a habit for both of you.  Now going to church is a good habit unless you do what I used to do; mindlessly sing hymns and mentally escape during the sermon.  Let us daily rejoice that God has given us another day. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  When you prepare your heart,  attend church so you can give worship and meditate on what is sung and said, you will not be able to do anything less than to tell people “This is a good day”  Happiness really is a choice.

This is the day which the LORD hath made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.