Reading/Reflection/Prayer for Sunday, July 12
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.
Detail from “The Gardens at Abbotsford, Scotland,” painting by Bruce
Psalm 100
A psalm of thanksgiving.
1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
The psalms invite me to be a thankful person.
As I appreciate the grace of God in my life – the undeserved mercy He has given me – I can give thanks.
As a thankful person, I discover joy.
Have you noticed thankful people tend to be joyful people? Happy people? Fun people? People you like to spend time with?
Critical people, on the other hand, tend to be grumpy, angry, miserable, self-centered. Frankly, they’re not much fun to be around.
Who would you rather be at a barbecue with this afternoon?
What can I be thankful for?
I can thank God for small things. I can thank Him for the beauty of the flowers, bird songs, the blue sky, the thoughtfulness of a friend, a call from a distant relative, the warmth of the sun.
I can be thankful for important things. I can thank Him for the love of my family, income that allows me to pay my bills, my church community, my home, my health, the safety and blessing I enjoy as a Canadian.
I can be thankful for the most significant things of all. I can thank God that He loves all people - even me. Jesus died for me that our sins might be forgiven. The kingdom of God has come: ; God’s new life is in us and around us through the Holy Spirit.
I can be thankful that my life matters, today. I thank God that I can make a difference by encouraging someone, smiling at someone, calling someone, sharing God’s love in Word and in deed, today and every day.
What are you thankful for?
What small things?
What important things?
What most significant things?
How can you bless someone today?
How do I respond?
With joyful worship?
Worship is more than just singing songs to the Lord – it involves giving our entire brings – our lives, bodies, dreams, goals, decisions, finances – to Him: “Give yourselves to God because of all he has done for you. Let your life be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him” (Romans 12:1).
As we are thankful for Jesus’ love and sacrifice, as we celebrate that all that we have comes from God’s magnificent grace, we want to bless others.
How can you bless someone else, today?
PRAYER
O Lord, help me this day,
to follow you devoutly
and to serve the world lovingly.
May I do my work wisely.
May I give help secretly.
May I go to my meal thankfully
and enjoy my blessings moderately.
May I go to bed merrily and sleep soundly.
In the joy of Jesus Christ my Lord,
Amen.
Sulpicius Severus (363-425)
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I believe we need to be thoroughly human in our relationship with God. Therefore I do NOT use AI to write these readings at all – thus some grammar/spelling mistakes, etc. Oops 😊