Living in the Spirit
August 17, 2022
Scripture Reading:
Psalm 103:1-8
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works vindication
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
We serve a mighty God, a loving God. Like a parent, God watches us mature and struggle with good and bad choices. We need to learn from our mistakes and our successes. We need to recognize God in the work we do. I shared a story in my Sunday school class recently. How I withdrew from a club when I thought it had mistreated my sister. My sister continued in the club until she graduated from high school. I then added something that even surprised me. I said I guess I am more like my mother than I thought. I often describe my mother as the great egalitarian. I pale in comparison. Loving everyone was buried deep in the marrow of her bones. My sister is actually more like my mother than me. They both loved to work in the garden and sew. As we are all somewhat like our human parents, we all have been gifted by God with Godly traits that God expects us to develop and use to God’s glory. This Psalm invites us to recognize that and also that God is always with us in all situations.
Prayer: Lord, help us to grow and develop the art of loving others you imprinted in each of us. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.