Devotions_CelebratetheLordwithMe

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March 28, 2005

“Celebrate the Lord with Me!”

By:

Sylvia Kirkland

“Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together”

Psalm 34:3

Have you ever thrown a birthday party for yourself and invited only one guest - yourself, and maybe stuck a lone candle into a cupcake as you sang to yourself: Happy Birthday to ME…?

Without friends, it’s not a very exciting party, is it? Celebrating special events like birthdays, a new job, a car, a marriage proposal or your baby’s birth are more joyous with friends. Sure, you can sing you own happy birthday song by yourself in your shower, and have a good time at it, too, but these happy occasions are more eventful when others are there to share in your excitement and help you celebrate.

Take for example, the man and woman in Luke 15. They both lost something that was very precious to them - the man lost his sheep; the woman lost her money.

I lost my tax return one year, and after turning the house upside down, I found it in the trash bin between some newspaper circulars. Was I excited? You bet I was! Have you ever lost something that was really important and finally found it? Then perhaps you can understand why the man and woman, after finding their sheep and money, wanted to celebrate in style by calling their friends and neighbors. “Rejoice with me!” they said.

If you read the rest of the chapter, you will find a similar joyous response from a father whose son had just returned home: “Lets have a feast and celebrate” (V.23). They all wanted somebody to help them celebrate their big day.

David, too, when he wrote Psalm 34, had a reason to celebrate: he was alive! He had just escaped enemies who could easily have killed him (1 Samuel 21:10-15). Listen to his excitement bursting out in the Psalm: “Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3). Of course he could have celebrated by himself, but he desperately needed somebody - anybody to help him make this celebration truly eventful.

Think of one marvelous thing God has done for you - just one. Does that cause you to rejoice? You are alive today - that’s reason enough to celebrate - don’t you think? That’s a reason to sing praises to Almighty God all the time. There’s a reason for gathering with others in Church who are also excited about all that God had done. So let’s celebrate God’s goodness together in style. Let Sunday and every day be a day of celebration in God’s honor where we shower Him with praise for His many blessings to us.

God has done something for me; has He done something for you? Then let’s give Him the praise that He truly deserves. Let’s sing at the top of our lungs; let’s dance and clap. Come on, celebrate the Lord with me!

Rejoice with me for our God is truly awesome!

Sylvia Kirkland

Scripture -- Luke 15:3-10Luke 15:3-10

Then Jesus told them this parable: [4] "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? [5] And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders [6] and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' [7] I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
[8] "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? [9] And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' [10] In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."