Psalm 97

1 The Lord is king!
Let the earth rejoice!
Let the farthest coastlands be glad.
2 Dark clouds surround him.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire spreads ahead of him
and burns up all his foes.
4 His lightning flashes out across the world.
The earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
every nation sees his glory.
7 Those who worship idols are disgraced—
all who brag about their worthless gods—
for every god must bow to him.
8 Jerusalem has heard and rejoiced,
and all the towns of Judah are glad
because of your justice, O Lord!
9 For you, O Lord, are supreme over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He protects the lives of his godly people
and rescues them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light shines on the godly,
and joy on those whose hearts are right.
12 May all who are godly rejoice in the Lord
and praise his holy name

Blessed morning to you friends!  I don’t know where you reside, but here in the southern US, it is indeed a glorious morning.  The birds are singing, the sun is shining, flowers are blooming and there is a definite hint of spring in the air.  Praise be to God!

I am studying this week for my DISCIPLE 4 class.  We are concentrating on what we believe heaven is like.  The DISCIPLE Bible series is a collection of seven, 34-week,  in-depth Bible studies.  Each study in the series has a different focus, and all are phenomenal.  If you truly want to read the Bible and be transformed by it, then I highly recommend it.

DISCIPLE 4 follows a theme of worship; how to live in a worshipful spirit each day.  And, by far, this has been my favorite study of the series so far.  It is deep and rich with experiences of God, and has really done a work in my heart over the last 7 months.

Our assignment this week is to start our study with Psalm 97 each day and then to write one line of a litany that Christ places in our hearts.  A litany is a prayer (0r possibly a song) that is repetitive in nature that is used for praise and worship.  And I have to tell you, yesterday was an incredible experience.

I began my reading with the psalm, then moved on to our assignment of Revelation 4 and 5.  I sat on my back porch meditating on the Revelation passages which describe the door of heaven opening and the brilliance of God’s throne room.

I sat there, thinking about the day I would meet my Savior, and how wonderful it would be.  Imagine it:  the brilliance of the light, the sounds of a holy choir, the rainbows and the smells and glory of God…  What a day that will be!

But then I noticed something else.

• Warmth – from the sun coming through my window
• Birds singing a sweet melody
• The smell of freshly cut grass on the breeze

What peace, how lovely.  And these things were surrounding me in my very own back yard.  As I sat there pondering how incredibly good it was to be in God’s presence at that very moment,

Raucous screams and laughter broke through the silence as my children and their friends burst into the yard.  Running and jumping and giggling – PURE JOY!

Yes, yes Lord!  That is what heaven will be like:  sweetness and light – absolutely!  But heaven will be a place of pure joy where we run and play and love and laugh because everything there is good!  It will be a celebration that never ends, place of no tears, a place of no sorrow, a place of divine freedom.

I thank my God for such a powerful experience of His grace yesterday.  He made me realize that heaven will be wonderful.  But also, that I have a little piece of heaven right here and right now.  I just have to stop long enough to see and appreciate it.

Thank You my King!

The first line of my litany goes like this:

The Lord fills my heart with gladness and my home with laughter…  The Lord is King; let the earth rejoice!