Psalm 89:1-18
Last
week we heard from Jesus that the one thing that God wants from us is that we
love God, with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind. If we love God we
will want to show it, but how? It was then that my mind was drawn to these love
languages. In Genesis we learn that when God created us, God made us in God’s
image. Not a physical image, but since God is a Spirit, it is our spirits that
are made in God’s image. Thus, I know that God is creative, because God made us
creative. I know that God is passionate because God gave us the ability, nay
the desire, to be passionate about things. I know that God has a sense of humor
because God gave ME a sense of humor. So how do we show our love for God?
 |
| Dr. Gary Chapman |
Last
week I also mentioned the book the Five Love Languages. In this book Dr. Gary
Chapman tells us that we as human beings receive love from others in five
different ways, languages. Those are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gifts,
Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. He asserts that each of us have a primary
love language that we speak and that is the best way for us to “have our tank
filled up” so that we feel loved. For example, Kim’s language is words of affirmation.
So, as her partner in life, if I want her to know how much I love her, the best
way to do that is to tell how much I appreciate the things that she does. This
can be hard for me at times because I grew up in a family that did not offer
praise much. My parents had not grown up with praise being lavished on them, in
fact my father’s home worked on the principle that if “I tell him he won’t
amount to anything, he will go out and try to prove me wrong.” Luckily, most of
the time, my parents did not practice that with me, but they also did not know
how to express that they loved me in words either. That is OK, because that is
not my love language. But that made it hard for me to speak that language to
Kim. I have been learning and doing a better job these last few years, because
I love her and I want her to know that, thus I need to learn to speak her
language. The reason is not so that she will reciprocate or do what I want, but
because I love her I want her to be well and whole. Thus, I have been working
at speaking her language. And you know what, she has been doing the same thing
for me.
We
have seen that God desires to love and be loved, thus, and since God put His
image in us, God must speak the same love languages that we speak. Now we come
back to how we show God that we love Him, we speak His love language. What, you
ask, is God’s love language? All of them. So, today we are going to look at
speaking words of Affirmation to God. First, we need to look at the question of
why we need to do this. It is not because God is an ego maniac that demands our
approval, or a being with a low self image that needs us to make Him feel good
about himself. The reason we need to do this is because it helps remind us of
what a great thing we have and keeps us from taking God for granted. “Who are
we as humans that you are mindful of us? (Psalm 8:4-5) God has given us so much
and we can start to take that for granted. Mister Destiny (I guess I didn’t realize what I had.) So, we wake up
every day and say thank you to God for all that God has done for us. It helps
us to put into perspective the incredible blessings we have been given.
Then
when we get on board with that, we stop and ask the question, “How do I give
God those words of affirmation?” That is where our passage today is
instructive. The first thing we see is that we need to tell people. Vs. 1
describes that when it says, “I will sing of the lovingkindness of the LORD
forever. To all generation I will make known your faithfulness to all
generations with my mouth.” If we love some one we are not afraid to tell them.
That is what makes weddings so special. Two people gather people that they love
and declare their love for each other publically and extravagantly. When Kim
and I were married, we had around seven hundred people, because we invited both
of our congregations to the wedding. We invited them because they were special
to us. I remember the day I invited the my congregation to the wedding. I could
barely get through it, but I told them that I wanted them there as I declared
my love for Kim. Because I loved her, I was not afraid to do that. In fact it
brought me great joy. (make the phrase God has been good to me a part of your
vocabulary) (Vs. 1)
The
second, thing we learn is to make a list of our blessings, things that you are
thankful for and read it and say thank you to God. (Vs. 2-4) The Psalmist list
some of his blessings and acknowledges the giver of those gifts. Even when
things are at there darkest we have a lot to praise God for, beginning with the
gift of God’s Son. To know that God gave the very best for us is enough to
bring forth praise forever. But add to that all of the blessings of life, we
will never run out of things for that list. I praise God on a regular basis for
not only for the physical blessings but also for the outstanding people that
God continues to bring into my life. Kim, Chaney, Tim, John, Regina and Lucy
that bring me joy each and every day. The wonderful people on staff that I get
to work with here. They are as much a blessing to me as they to you. All of you
who serve God with your strength in so many ways. The privileges I enjoy and
the comforts. The list goes on.
Third,
our Psalm invites us to take some time to stand and be amazed at God’s power
and creativity. (Vs. 5-13) Go outside on a clear night and stare into space.
Click on the picture of Mars when they come up on your web browser. Instead of
thinking about all of the parts that don’t work as well as they used to on your
body, think about all of the things that do work so incredibly well. Next time
you see the ocean think of all of the things we know about that live there and
the vastness of it all. Look at the ruggedness of the mountains and think of
the forces that God made to carve them. As the seasons changes, look and stand
in awe of how God has put the cycles of life into place and how each season has
its own beauty. Stop and look at the home in which you live and marvel at the
minds that God created that were able to create things like bricks and mortar,
wood craft, glass, air conditioning and heat. Marvel at the computers that you
use, the cell phones, the ability medical people have to heal. As we stand in
awe of these things and remember the love God has for us, how can we keep from
offering praise.
Fourth,
we gather for Worship. One of the things we are about each and every week is to
join with others to proclaim God’s greatness and reflect with people from long
ago, the continued blessings of God. (Vs.14-18) Again, we do not do this
because God demands it or needs it, but it gives us perspective, not only what
God has done for us - but for people down through the ages. The people who have
walked with God and found God faithful. It also helps us to see that God
desires to have a relationship with every one on this planet and that we have
the opportunity to invite them to know God as we do. It also helps us get over
ourselves. (My Jesus Loves you T-shirt and John McCall).
When
we are finished with this list, remember that God has made us creative. So get
creative in affirming God’s place in your life. “Sing of God’s great of the
lovingkindness of the LORD forever. To all generation make known God’s
faithfulness to all generations with all that you are.”
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