God fulfilled what He had foretold through all the prophets, sending Jesus Christ, His Messiah, to suffer and be raised from the dead to save us. Now we turn away from our old ways of thinking, being, and doing and re-turn to God, so that our sins may be wiped out and that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. (Acts 3:18-19, paraphrase)
Praising Our Loving God
One metrical paraphrase of Psalm 23 begins like this:
The King of love my Shepherd is, His goodness fails never.
I lack nothing if I am His, and He is mine forever.
Then the Psalm goes on to enumerate many ways the Lord Jesus demonstrates care for His followers. In the New Testament, Christ is called the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, and the Chief Shepherd. He lays down His life for us and takes it up again to guarantee new life for us and our future resurrection. Surely Jesus deserves our trust and allegiance!
Johann Sebastian Bach said that the goal of all music should be to glorify God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and to refresh our souls. Likewise, all of life is given to us by the Lord for praising, honoring, following, and enjoying Him. Scripture calls us to rejoice in Christ always, to delight ourselves in Him, and to be cheerful and glad in Jesus. To help us do this, we began last time by looking at John Keble’s hymn, “New Every Morning Is God’s Love.” Here are two more stanzas from the hymn with comments. We focus on Jesus to experience life and eternal pleasure in His presence, even on stressful days.
If you missed it, you can read God’s Love: New Every Morning (Part 1).
Stanza 3
Hymn: If, on our daily course, our mind Is set to hallow all we find,
New treasures still, of countless price, God will provide for sacrifice.
Comment: Hallow is an Old English verb meaning to set apart as holy or sacred. Nowadays, we tend to use that word only in older versions of The Lord’s Prayer. God calls us to devote all of life to Him. Our work, family life, hobbies, and interactions with people we meet provide us with countless opportunities to honor God, every minute, every day.
In view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
Don’t wait for big ways to serve the Lord. Let’s serve Him in ordinary ways by helping others. Here are some suggestions:
- Befriend strangers outside your comfort zone.1
- Call, write to, or visit someone.2
- Pray for people in need.3
- Share your food, time, money, other possessions, talents, and God’s word with others.4
- Remember Jesus’ command to help the hungry, thirsty, naked, foreigner, sick, and those in prison.5
- Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.6
- Offer to help people, then do it cheerfully as unto Christ Himself.7
Christians are children of the compassionate and creative God. He will enrich and help us as we are flexible and kind in serving others. The Lord will give us the energy, wisdom, ability, and love we need as we ask Him. Jesus will give us new treasures and resources to love God by helping others.
Stanza 4
Hymn: Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, As more of Heaven in each we see.
Some softening gleam of love and prayer Will dawn on every cross and care.
Comment: This hymn is about a heavenly-mindedness that sweetens all we do. Christ tells us that in this world we will have troubles. These are our crosses, cares, pains, and problems. But we are to serve courageously, because the Risen Jesus has overcome the world.8 Christ will return for us soon to take us home to enjoy our inheritance in Him and with Him.9 We will also be united with all of God’s people who have gone before us, from Bible times until the Last Day.
The ending page of the Bible is Revelation 22. It says:
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Rev 22:3-5)10
The main point of Revelation is that God and His people win! We already know the final outcome of human history. The whole Bible is hopeful, giving us a bright and beautiful vision of the future to help us live faithfully for Christ in the present. Until Jesus returns, He urges us to trust and follow Him, especially in hard times. He says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms, and I am going there to prepare a place for you. And I will come back and take you to be with Me.”11
By God’s grace, Christians are on the victorious side of history. Heavenly-mindedness helps us to appreciate that now, even in the muck and mess of current events. When we see the present in light of eternity, even little choices become very important. After death, we will never have another chance to share Christ with people who can be saved from Hell, to give a cup of water to the thirsty, to invest money to help the helpless and find the lost, or to share our homes, stuff, time, and love with people in need.12
Take time to be holy, Speak often with your Lord.
Abide in Him always, And feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children. Help those who are weak.
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.13
Prayer
Heavenly Father, guide and strengthen us to serve others. Remind us that every person we meet is created in Your image and deserves to be loved and respected. Empower us to see people’s needs and help in any way we can. Give us courage and compassion to serve others selflessly, offering listening ears, kind words, and helping hands. Teach us to notice lonely, hurting, and overlooked people. Assist us to reach out to them in love, showing that You have not forgotten them. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.14
To be continued
Notes (various Bible translations, including my own): 1 Deut 10:18-19; Heb 13:2. 2 Gen 40:14; Gal 2:10. 3 1 Tim 2:2-4. 4 Prov 11:17; Heb 13:16. 5 Matt 25:31-46. 6 Rom 12:15. 7 This list was suggested by Darla Noble. 8 John 16:33. 9 1 Cor 13:13; 2 Cor 5:8. 10 See also Isa 11:69, 35:9, 60:18-20, 65:25; Ezek 37:26-28. 11 John 14:1-3. 12 These thoughts are adapted from Randy Alcorn. 13 From the hymn by William Longstaff (1887). 14 Adapted from Stephanie Reeves, abide.com, June 2, 2023.