Seize the Moment – Day 1197
The Sweet Balm of Joy!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, June 27.
Recently, an older man in our congregation reached out to me wanting to have a set apart time with me, celebrating the Lord’s Supper in a more formal way. He’s been going through a lot of medical issues, yet through this difficult season of his life he’s been drawing closer to God and wanted to experience the intimacy of partaking in this ordinance of the church (1 Corinthians 11:23-30). We met in the Chapel on a Thursday afternoon and walked through a formal liturgy of remembrance and celebration. We both felt the sweet balm of God’s healing presence, experiencing joy because of our shared time of worship. Truly, the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)!
Psalm 81 is a corporate psalm of praise to God for rescuing Israel from Egyptian slavery at the Exodus. It was both a remembrance and a celebration; it began with a call to worship in verses 1-4:
Sing for joy to God our strength; shout joyfully to the God of Jacob. Raise a song, strike the timbrel, the sweet sounding lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
Today’s psalm was meant to be used as a part of a formal liturgy of worship, celebrating God’s rescue of Israel from slavery, formalized as an “ordinance” of God. In the same way, the church today is called to celebrate communion in remembrance of Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, and coming again.
Seize the moment and pray Psalm 81, meditating upon the sweet balm of God’s joy, which comes from experiencing His presence through corporate worship (Psalm 16:11). Today’s psalm concludes with a promise, “with honey from the rock I would satisfy you” (Psalm 81:16b).
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.