69. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. In gratitude for God's mercy, he lives, he works and he serves in worship of Him.

30 November 2020
Mercy and grace are two sides of the coin of God's unconditional love; compassion is a synonym.


My response, I give praise and worship Him for His lovingkindness.

Psalm 103 NASB
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
3
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
4
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion.


Praise and worship.

Let me share what I wrote 5 September 2017.

“Praise is thanking God, worship in Hebrew is “avodah”, same word meaning work and meaning serving the Lord.



This link expounds on the Hebrew word “avodah”. (Austin Burkhart
March 31, 2015)

“Avodah as in worship:
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ’This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship (avodah) me’” (Exodus 8:1).

Avodah as in work or labor:
“Six days you shall labor (avodah), but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest” (Exodus 34:21).

Avodah as in serving the Lord:
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve (avodah) the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

From the link: Avodah is a picture of (an) integrated faith. A life where work, worship and serving the Lord come from the same root. A seamless life of work, worship and serving the Lord.

Worship is what we do, how we live, what we do with our body in the way that is pleasing to God - our Creator, Lord and Savior; holy because He is holy.

But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16).”

“Lord, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well (Psalm 139:14). It is because of You, Lord, that I am in Christ Jesus, who has become for me wisdom from God —that is, my righteousness, holiness and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). Lord, let me be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer (Romans 12:12); I worship You, in Jesus' name. Amen.””

I have no house. There was a time I had lots of debt and was with psychosomatic disorder. I could have been dead. The Lord had compassion on me, he did not give me over to death. Now, anything else is better and everything is a bonus.

I live life with praise in my lips for God's faithfulness.

Psalm 118
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.
17 I will not die but live,
    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
    you are my God, and I will exalt you.

I had been used to work with brain and brawn, until my abilities failed me. Now, the laboring I do, I ask the favor of the Lord to bless the work of my hands.

Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.

My life and my work, I offer in worship of the Lord Almighty.

I had the chance to work with our Dear Pastor Clem Guillermo, he drew out the best in me. I have been given the chance, in turn, to draw out the best in other people, among others, a visually-impaired brother in Christ and a recent engineering graduate now involved in content writing in the church online platform, and a young honor graduate and a young licensed PT both involved with the prayer team.

“Wala ka sa Lolo ko; in gratitude for God's mercy, he lives, he works and he serves in worship of Him”, this will one day be the words of my children's children. Amen.

Psalm 19
A psalm of David.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

May you be blessed.

Maraming salamat.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

102. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. The Lord has given him a crown.

Image
25 January 2021 1 Timothy 5 4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. Let me share my reflection 7 October 2017 which I have updated. "Grandchildren. Children’s children are a crown to the aged. (Proverbs 17:6) 1 Timothy 5 9 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband,  10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. Let me make the connection between grandchildren and a widow. Marlou and I recently spent a weekend in Lipa to visit my mother-in-law. We went to Lipa New Hope Church for the Sunday worship service. From the back, I can see the petite figure of "Nanay" (...
Read more

226. We will be blessed: The Lord washed our feet, we should wash one another's feet.

Image
6 December 2021 You will be blessed. Deuteronomy 28 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God. John 13 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. Maundy Thursday. " Maundy (from Old French mandé, from Latin mandatum meaning "command"), or the Washing of the Feet, or Pedelavium, is a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations. This is also seen as referring to the commandment of Christ that believers should emulate his loving humility in the washing of the feet (John 13:14–17). The term mandatum (mandé, maundy), therefore, was applied to the rite of foot-washing on the Thursday preceding Easter Sunday, called Maundy Thursday. " From Wikipedia " As Jesus was t...
Read more

81. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. For him, the old is gone, the new is here.

Image
2 January 2021 2 Corinthians 5 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Happy New Year! 💞 2020 is gone. 2021 is here! God Bless Everyone. Let me share my reflection 17 September 2017. “Bible translation.  We have our own preference which we consider the best translation. I started using a youth Bible, Contemporary English Version (CEV), it was handy being pocket size; it is now worn out. I have now NIV Bible Offline on my cellphone; it has share menu that I can select verses for devotion. This is not literally about Bible translation. From: Soulzer by P.I. Sabbathi. “Four preachers were discussing the merits of the various Bible translations. One liked the KJV best because the English is simple and beautiful; the second preferred ASV because it is more literal from Greek ...
Read more