Psalm 97
Day 97: Be blessed
Have we become mild, quiet, respectable Christians? Has the Good News become just news? Where is the wonder?
Right now, it is thundering and lightning outside. Nature is shouting and demonstrating. It is a performance of wonder.
I hope I will ever be amazed by what happens in the sky.
Yet I hope more that I will forever be amazed by the presence of God who at times is anything but quiet, mild and soft.
He is frightening as thick clouds of darkness, v2.
He is a consuming fire, v3.
He causes the earth to shake by His lightning strikes, v4.
He forces mountains to shrink like burning wax, v5.
Bear this in mind as you worship Him today.
Or have we lost something?
Missionaries were showing the ‘Jesus’ film to a tribe in East Asia who had never heard of Him and had never seen a film.
Imagine again how it felt to see this good man, Jesus, who healed the sick and was adored by children, held without trial and beaten by jeering soldiers. Then came the crucifixion. The people could not hold back. They began to weep and wail with such loud grief that the film had to be stopped. The missionaries tried to calm them, explaining that the story wasn’t over; there was more. Then came the resurrection. Pandemonium broke out this time, but for a different reason. The gathering had spontaneously erupted into a party. The noise now was of jubilation, and it was deafening. The people were dancing and slapping each other on the back.
The missionary had to shut off the projector; this time he didn’t tell them to calm down and wait for what was next. All that was supposed to happen—in the story and in their lives—was happening.
Ben Patterson, “Resurrection and Pandemonium,” LeadershipJournal.net
Will there be weeping, wailing and pandemonium in our churches today at the sound and declaration of Jesus?
My guess is no and perhaps we do need a more orderly service.
But this thunder and lightning outside doesn’t seem to have much order to it. It’s random, loud, and electrifyingly awesome! Perhaps it is trying to say something. God is here.
The blessed understand this.
Missions Paul 