Gladness in God's Presence
Scripture Reading — Psalm 100
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100:2
Today millions of Christians in many countries will come together to worship. Some who are unable to gather with God's people will worship in their homes by way of television or radio. Others will gather in small unimpressive buildings, or in cathedrals or parish churches, or in spacious church auditoriums. Others, for fear of persecution, will meet in secret locations.
But regardless of how and where we worship, we are all called to worship the Lord. The psalmist says, "Worship the LORD with gladness," and in John 4:23 the Lord Jesus says that "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth." In the words of a song, we are called to "forget about ourselves and ... worship Christ the Lord."
We come to church to celebrate God's grace and to praise God for his faithfulness. According to the psalmist there is no excuse for sitting through a worship service with a long face.
During this coming week, pray for all who are responsible for the worship services in your church. Before you come to church, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with the joy of the Lord so that you'll be able to come before the Lord with praise and thanks. Ask God to send his Holy Spirit into your church so that together you'll be able to worship the Lord with gladness.
Father in heaven, thank you for the privilege of being able to worship you. Holy Spirit, fill us with your joy so that we can come together with gladness. To your glory, Amen.
About the author — Arthur J. Schoonveld
Rev. Art Schoonveld is a retired minister in the Christian Reformed Church. Before retiring in 2001, he served churches in California, Illinois, and Michigan. Since his retirement he has worked part-time for the denomination and has served as an interim pastor. Art and his wife, Anita, have four children and nine grandchildren.
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