Let’s sing of God’s great love for us.

Let’s sing of God’s great love for us.

‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever; with my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness through all generations’(Psalm 89:1). Many years have passed since these words were written by the Psalmist. Many generations have come and gone since Jesus Christ came to our world. The years come and go. The centuries run their course. One generation gives way to another generation. Time moves on relentlessly. None of us can halt the march of time. Many changes have taken place over the course of time. There is something which must never change. The Lord is to be praised ‘for ever’. He is to be praised ‘through all generations’. We must look back and remember. Jesus Christ was crucified for us. Jesus Christ has risen for us. This is the Good News which inspires our praise: ‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever…’

Let’s receive strength from the God of our salvation.

By the grace of God we are called to salvation – ‘saved through faith’ – , sanctification – ‘for good works’ – , and service – ‘according to the gift of God’s grace… by the working of His power’, we are enabled ‘to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ’ (Ephesians 2:8-10; 3:7-8). When we consider all this, we say in our hearts, ‘To God be the glory’! (Ephesians 3:21). We are ‘strengthened with power through His Spirit in our inner being’ so that we might live as those who are saved, sanctified and serving. Even when we are deeply conscious of our own great weakness, we draw encouragement from this: God is ‘able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us’ (Ephesians 3:16, 20). We grow in grace as we share in fellowship – ‘eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit’ (Ephesians 4:3).

Strengthened by our Saviour, let’s share His love with others.

Christ saves – and satisfies: We feed on Him and we are ‘satisfied’(Mark 6:42). Apart from Him, the human search ends in this: ‘I can’t get no satisfaction’. In Him, there is satisfaction – He is the Saviour. Saved, satisfied and sharing – this is what we are to be. To His disciples, He still says, ‘You give them something…’ (Mark 6:37). We say, ‘We don’t have enough’. He says, ‘I am more than enough’(2 Corinthians 3:5). Many are ‘like sheep without a shepherd’. We must not fail them. We must ‘teach them many things’(Mark 6:34). The storm is raging: ‘they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them’(Mark 6:48). Jesus draws near, and there is peace: ‘the wind ceased’(Mark 6:51). Another ‘storm’ continues to rage: ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders…?’(Mark 7:5). How did Jesus respond to this ‘storm’ of criticism? – He exposed the hypocrisy of those who made the tradition of men more important than the Word of God (Mark 7:7-9,13). He invited ‘the people’ to come ‘to Him’, to ‘hear’, to ‘understand’. His Word was addressed to ‘all’ of them (Mark 7:14). Jesus emphasizes this point: ‘man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart’(1 Samuel 16:7). The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Which will it be? – ‘Their hearts were hardened’(Mark 6:52) or ‘Loving the Lord your God with all your heart’(Mark 12:30).