October 17, 2023

Living in the Spirit

Reading: Psalm 99

The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
   He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
   he is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
   Holy is he!
Mighty King, lover of justice,
   you have established equity;
you have executed justice
   and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our God;
   worship at his footstool.
   Holy is he! –Psalm 99:1-5

I do not know how God wants to be perceived by us. Trembling does not come to mind when I think of my relationship with God.  To tremble* means to be agitated, quiver, quake, be excited, and perturbed. Thus, it would seem trembling can result from both good and bad experiences.  Life throws all of us into both good and bad experiences, and God is present within either or both. The presence of God with us is extraordinary when we realize God is willing to have a personal relationship with each one of us in all circumstances.  The poet of the above scripture adds a caveat.  God prefers that we live in justice and equity with one another in the good times as well as the bad.

 Scriptures tell us to love God.  The Greek word for love is agapaó**, which means, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem. Love is not a one-way street. God loves us, but we must actively love God as Micah 6:8 says, by doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with  God. It is as easy and as hard as that.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for loving me no matter what. Lead me to love you in the way that gives you the greatest sense of my love for you. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/7264.htm

**https://biblehub.com/greek/25.htm

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.