Thought for May 10, 2024

•  1267: Vienna's church orders Jews to wear special garb
• 1427: Jews expelled from Bern Switzerland
• 1503: Columbus discovers the Cayman Islands
• 1508: Michelangelo begins painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling
• 1775: Green Mountain Boys capture Ticonderoga
• 1797: First US Navy ship launched--"United States"
• 1865: Jefferson Davis captured
• 1869: Golden Spike driven at Promontory Point Utah
• 1872: Victoria Woodall is first woman nominated for President
• 1908: First Mother's Day observed--Philadelphia
• 1924: Hoover appointed head of the FBI
• 1940: Churchill becomes Prime Minister
• 1960: First submerged circumnavigation of the globe--Triton sun
• 1994: Nelson Mandela becomes President of South Africa
• 2016: 70 year-old woman gives birth to a baby--India
• 2020: Global Covid cases exceed 4 million
• Born: John Wilkes Booth, Feed Astaire, David O Selznick ["Gone with the Wind"], Maybelle Carter, Pat Summerall, Bono, Missy Franklin, Gosselin Sextuplets, 
• Died: Paul Revere, Stonewall Jackson, Henry Morton Stanley, Big Daddy Lipscomb, Joan Crawford, John Wayne Gacy, Shel Silverstein, Carroll Shelby

Thought:

Over the past few days, we have talked about the blessings of the Lord and the instructions in Psalm 1. Today, I am reading a really short couple of verses in Psalm 9. In Psalm 1 God planted us like a tree, watered us with Living Water that never fails. How do I respond to His blessings? Read Psalm 9:1-2. What is my response to His blessings:

• Thank the Lord with all my heart. First thing that comes to  mind is the hymn "My Tribute." How can I say thanks for what You have done for me. Ever have a situation where someone has done something for you, given you something and you really have no way of expressing how grateful you are. We try to think of a gift, try to write words in a thank you note, try to show how grateful we are--nothing seems sufficient. Andrae Crouch really captures our dilemma. The voices of a million angels couldn't express my gratitude. To me this psalm is a parallel to the great commandment--love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I thank Him with everything in my life.  
• Tell of all His wonders. Suppose this was our assignment for today--tell all the wonders of God. How long would you be writing, speaking, crying, singing? Every wonder would bring me to my knees--the wonder of His creation; the wonder of life itself when you see that newborn child; the wonder of His patience, grace, mercy, forgiveness. 
• Be glad and exult in God. When I recite His wonders, it makes me glad--gives me joy and delights me. Sounds like we are back to Psalm 1:2--I delight in His wonders. I exult--rejoice, celebrate, jubilation. All my joy comes from His wonders and I rejoice in His wonders. 
• Sing His praises--and I break out in songs of praise. We all know that feeling. I don't have words to say thank you, I don't have words to express my gratitude, I don’t have a way of expressing my joy--so I sing. Maybe it's "Victory in Jesus," or "Because He Lives," or "Amazing Grace." A friend recently stopped me at church and told me about a funeral he attended where they sang "The Old Rugged Cross." Thanking Him, telling others about Him, rejoicing in Him--calls for songs of highest praise. 
• So today—thank Him, tell others about him, rejoice in Him, praise Him. Then, sing. 

Blessings

Larry