In the dictionary, among the meanings for the word "glory", I find: exalted honour, splendour, radiance. As I read this psalm it made me remember nights at the lake when the stars literally bounced in their brightness and I could see the entire sky. This is not possible in the city, amid the lights and the hustle, and as I stretched out on my back I was able to experience the splendour and radiance in a unique way: in quiet wonder.

The King James Version says that the heavens declare the glory of God, and in a physical way that has happened a good deal lately. We continue to hear astronomers in our day, by their speech and knowledge, telling of new discoveries, previously unheard of. Yet the psalmist in those early days was inspired to write in terms that relate so vividly, reaching beyond the knowledge of his day. The universe spoke to him of the glory of God as creator. Creation was to him the first word of God and the first word about God. No wonder Paul wrote that all people everywhere have some accountability to God because of what they can observe of Him in creation.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, God of creation, help us to honour you in all that we do. You are all around us in your splendour, radiance and love. All this comes together for us in Jesus who died so that we can be brought back into your family. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

This week my wife and I lost a dear friend through death from cancer. She died painfully, struggling to the very end. It is so easy to ask, "How can this happen? Why? Why?" If we try to find a solution through human intelligence the answer continues to escape us. The answer can never be made to look sensible to those who judge things only by the standards of this world. At the heart of the answer is a concept that fallen human nature cannot cope with. "Happy are those that mourn." "Love your enemies." "Fear not those that kill the body." Who can understand this language using human intelligence? The answer finds its fulfilment at Calvary where ultimate suffering occurred when our Lord Jesus was willing to endure not only the physical pain, but the pain beyond any human understanding, separation from God the Father so that you and I could be restored to abundant life in His Kingdom. Surely He feels our pain more than we can ever know.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, sometimes it is so difficult to understand the pain and suffering of those we love. We praise and thank you that you have been there before us in a way that is deeper than human understanding. Thank you that you love each of us so much that you gave the best that you have. Thank you that your peace is deep and like a warm glow that starts in our very soul, lifting us above the pain and suffering of this world. Amen.

WOW! Who could measure up, who could enter His tabernacle on those terms? I think of Job in the passage where he tells God that he does not deserve his severe suffering because he has lived an upright, blameless life. Pretty serious claim. Perhaps he made it on the basis of having lived up to the required sacrifices and ritual of that day. In our day, the Light of the World shines through in Christ! Often when I pray I feel overwhelmed with the need to somehow express adequate thanks to God for what He has done, and I soon realize it is impossible to do so. I get an inadequate feeling because of the immensity of His grace and my inability in human language to tell him how I feel. And then I remember the passage where we are told the Holy Spirit is our intermediary, interpreting our feeble attempts at thanksgiving into something worthy of our eternal God who has shown us such awesome grace (Romans 8:26). I am brought through the process to a feeling of exhilarating celebration. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, in the midst of Your awesomeness, we rest in the beauty and security of the peace and joy you give us in Christ Jesus. Thank You that we can see You in Him. This helps us to feel at home with You even though Your greatness is beyond our understanding. Amen.

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized Everybody wouldn't do it. So Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Anonymous (wouldn't you know!)

It is a fact that in most organizations 20{8395b6ce96fcf25a14d80edc3b65c36a8995b6c1ba5f8c16ac11d8adaa79f35b} of the members do most of the work and carry the load of the remaining 80{8395b6ce96fcf25a14d80edc3b65c36a8995b6c1ba5f8c16ac11d8adaa79f35b}. Unfortunately our churches sometimes fall into this dilemma. Imagine what would happen if these figures were reversed and the majority of members got turned on to the excitement of who we are, whom we are called to serve and what power is available in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Heavenly Father it is beyond our understanding how You have set us apart, made us acceptable in Your sight by sacrificing your greatest possession, Your Son Jesus Christ. As if that weren't enough, you have sent us your Holy Spirit, our constant Companion. Lord God, give us, each one, a new understanding of what this means. Give us a new excitement and focus that we, like the early church, may turn our community upside down. Amen.

When Jesus faced the Pharisees concerning the disciples picking the heads of wheat on the Sabbath, He was facing their mis-representation of God. The God their Sabbath rules represented was negative and petty.

When I was growing up a generation ago I remember as a boy the strictness attached to the Sabbath by those around me. My cousin was severely whipped for swimming on Sunday. My mother would never knit on Sunday, and so on. No doubt those making such rules were sincerely convinced they were necessary. I spent much of my life trying to find my way through to what Jesus said in the verses in Mark. Gail Sheehy in Passages wrote, "Many people locked in early to a tight religious tradition find themselves struggling by mid-life against absolutist positions that no longer correspond to their experience."

Jesus insisted that the Father established the Sabbath for the good of all people. It is an opportunity to move away from repetitive everyday toil so as to add wholeness to life through activities that refresh and strengthen faith. To turn such a gracious provision into a burdensome, harsh observance was, for Jesus, a gross distortion. Rather than use the day in a wholesome way that enriches life, the Pharisees were restricting and prohibiting the most innocent of activities. The Sabbath is a time for worship but it is also a time for family life and fun and for enjoying God's beautiful world. A Sunday that is positively different is so much truer to the Creator's intention than a Sabbath that is negatively dull.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, on Sunday and each day of our lives, help us to rejoice in gladness, and worship you in praise and thanksgiving for the grace of your forgiveness which is beyond our understanding. Amen.

This week I read a piece on "Worship" which compared it to a birthday party. At first I thought this rather frivolous until I read further. The birthday person is the centre of attention and the birthday cake honours him or her. That person is the centre of attention and the rest of us, no matter how important we are, take a back seat. We sing and celebrate the fact that the birthday person was born. This says something about how important a birthday person is. We don't usually celebrate a dog's birthday. The fact is that on this day, so many years ago, God's image came into the world in the form of the birthday person, unique and special, different from anyone else on earth.

When we honour something that God has made, we honour Him. All creation shows His glory, most of all, human kind. When we honour someone for their achievements, if we really think about it, we honour God the Giver, the Enabler.

What does it mean to worship? We are the only creatures on earth given the freedom and intelligence to worship Him as we choose. It is in the act of worshipping our Creator that our dignity is most evident. Worship takes many forms. Like the birthday party it can be a sense of joyous and uninhibited celebration. God is alive! He reigns over the whole world!

Prayer: Heavenly Father help us to worship you with awe, with celebration, in spirit and in truth. In Jesus' name. Amen.

My earliest recollection of this verse goes back to Sunday School days and my perception of it was that if a child were brought up in the church and if the teachings of Christ were a part of his or her life, when the child was older, the lifestyle would be maintained. When I saw that, in actual circumstances, this did not always occur, I found this verse very difficult to understand. Much later in life I came to know the beautiful meaning not only for a child, but for adults as well. God has given all of us certain gifts, certain natural talents and when we concentrate on going in the direction where he can use these talents for His glory and for the benefit of others, usually, great things happen. Other people receive the benefit of a natural ability and the giver experiences joy in giving because of operating out of "God's groove".

Getting back to the scripture verse, how blessed is a child whose parent recognizes God-given talent and assists that child to develop "in the way he (she) should go" so that in later life they experience the fulfilment of enjoying what they do and knowing that God can bless their efforts in a special way. The Living Bible puts it this way: "Teach a child to choose the right path and when he is older he will remain upon it."

Prayer: Heavenly Father You have blessed us with things we can do for You in special ways because each of us is Your special creation. With joy and thanksgiving, help us to experience the power of Your Holy Spirit in all that we do, to be open to Your leading in a world that desperately needs the touch of Your love through Your people. Amen.