Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
The LORD has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations...
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises...
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD.
~ Psalm 98 (NKJV)
"Dance like nobody's watching,
love like you've never been hurt,
sing like nobody's listening,
live like it's Heaven on Earth." — Mark Twain
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
~ Luke 17:20-21 (NIV)
Rejoice always.
~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NKJV)
The praise party that heaven will be occurs every Sunday morning at my church. Orchestra and choir are led to start the celebration with worhip in spirit and truth, God's Word is spoken faithfully, love among the saints is shared and expressed. It's a taste of heaven on earth I look forward to all week.
Psalm 98 says YHWH has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness (past tense). Jesus said the kingdom isn't something to wait for, but something that exists within us already.
Though we wait for the day Jesus will reign visibly on earth, the kingdom He has established in our hearts is also to be perceivable—manifest in the fruit of the Spirit, and visible to the nations because we rejoice always.
Sunday morning is just the practice session for eternity and a warm-up for the other six days.
Father in Heaven, the Majesty on High and Ancient of Days, we fall before Your throne to worship in spirit and truth. Jesus, our King of Kings, Lord of Lords and Beloved Bridegroom, we praise You and say, "Come quickly!" Spirit who is our Counselor, Comforter and Keeper, fill us with the light which reveals heaven on earth.
Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
The joy of the Lord is my strength!
ReplyDeleteYes, fill us with Your precious light.
ReplyDeleteAnne,
ReplyDeleteThanks as always for your beautiful, Spirit-breathed words and most importantly, for sharing God's Word.
A student once asked me, "Will there be music in heaven?"
Oh--I think music that we smell, taste and feel. When I hear fallible human voices (like mine) make glorious music, I can only imagine the wonder that will be heavenly music.
I love to gather with the saints in worship. Thank you for reminding us what a privilege it is to worship together, Anne!
What a privilege to worship together now. What a privilege to meet the people we'll spend eternity with. What a privilege to know we shall one day worship Him face to face!
ReplyDeleteWhen you listen to the beauty of music on earth, can you imagine! the beauty of the music in heaven?
Wow, I love that quote by Twain!
ReplyDeleteI heard a little bit of heaven this morning myself, courtesy of the choir.
I like Sunday morning being a warm-up for the other six days. That's a great way to look at things, and one that I'm going to try to adopt.
I like better that it's the practice session for eternity.