Worship the Lord with gladness

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs." Psalm 100:2

When I was young, my parents took me to St. Mark's Episcopal church in Dayton, Ohio. I remember reciting Psalm 100 as part of our Sunday morning liturgy. I recall "going through the motions" at church until it was time to go to breakfast and get back home. I continued in this same monitone worship mode for 45 years until I left the Episcopal church four years ago.

It wasn't until I really took my faith seriously that I felt the power and sheer joy of a worship experieince in which I really did shout for joy and worship my Father with gladness! Oh how I had missed what David meant when he wrote the words of this wonderful Psalm.

It continues, "Know that the Lord is God. It is he who has made us and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

Psalm 100 is so powerful and speaks so emphatically of David's passion for worship. The pure joy in his words demonstate how much he loved his Father. Now it is our turn to show our Father how much we love him and how joyful we are because he adopted us into his family. Let's truly worship the Lord this weekend and offer our thanksgiving that He is God!

Worship is one of our greatest acts of obedience. It must come from the heart and overflow with joy. I pray that our worship is always a celebration that is pleasing to our King!