Dear San Lo Community, an update for May 13, 2012…
Thank you to Pastor Eric Yata for the message from Psalm 65:1-13, “Better Than Mom’s Goodies.” Remembering back to attending UC Davis and receiving care packages from his mother, Eric recalls sharing and savoring the delicious treats. God’s blessings to us are by far more significant, so as we celebrate Mother’s Day, we also celebrate God even more. This psalm is often used with Pentecost, a festival held seven weeks after Passover to celebrate the harvest. It offers great thanks and gratitude to God. In our lives today, why do we celebrate God?
1) Celebrate God for He is our Savior. (vv.1-4) 1Praise is due to You, O God, in Zion, and to You shall vows be performed. 2 O You who hear prayer, to You shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, You atone for our transgressions. 4 Blessed is the one You choose and bring near, to dwell in Your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple! Jesus took our sin and keeps us from the depths of hell and gives us heaven and eternity with God instead. Because this is all God’s doing and not our own, all praise is due to God. Zion is God’s holy hill, that place where all hopes and dreams turn. Our vows and promises go to God as we worship Him. It is only God who hears and is able to give a harvest, both physical and spiritual. The grace of God alone is the primary reason to praise God. When we sin, it is only because of His atonement on our behalf that we can be forgiven. It is God who chooses us, there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 spells out the gospel for us. Romans 5:8 explains God’s love for us while we were still stuck in our sin.
2) Celebrate God for He is our Creator. (vv.5-8) 5 By awesome deeds You answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; 6 the one who by His strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at Your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. God is the maker of all. Our hope is in the one who created everything. We are in awe of His power to save and power to create. Not only does He have the power to save a few, He can also save all. Those who dwell at the ends of the earth, refers to all mankind, there are no excuses for not knowing Him. There is secular belief that says if something is not grounded in science, it is not fact or knowledge at all. This influence causes doubt about the literal Word of God. It also devalues faith as having no reason or validity to it. The ironic thing is that science actually does point to God, not away from Him. The specific amount of gravity on the earth is a perfect balance of not too much or too little. The distance of the earth from the sun is a very precise placement, again not too far or not too close. This can only point to an intelligent, all knowing creator God. Psalm 19:1, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. We can have confidence and awe in our God, not doubt.
3) Celebrate God for He is our Provider. (vv.9-13) 9 You visit the earth and water it; You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. God brings us much blessing. We can celebrate God for His goodness. Everything that we have has been provided by God. Sometimes we forget the hand which feeds us. We complain about the things that we don’t have, because we forget about what He has already given us.
Luke 11:11-13, “11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Praise God and celebrate Him for giving us every good and perfect gift that we need in Jesus Christ.
Have a blessed week, celebrating God, our Savior, Creator and Provider,
Stan, for SLZJCC