“Seek the Lord and his strength;
Seek God’s presence continually.
Remember the wonderful works
God has done…God opened the rock,
and water gushed out; it flowed through
the desert like a river.”
Psalm 105:4-5, 41
In our congregation, I have been preaching from the stories in Acts this Easter season, adding an extra bit of story here and there to what the assigned lectionary has lopped off prematurely. This is what we are discovering: that the Lord’s strength is constantly “acting” through the Holy Spirit; that the followers of Jesus were continually seeking the risen Christ’s presence by gathering together for prayer and meals; that they kept remembering and telling to the world what God had done—Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again; and that the Holy Spirit was flowing like a powerful river of water— people believing, being baptized, being healed, speaking courageously, caring for needs in their communities. No different than what we experience now in a community of faith—just more focused, more intense, more passionate (less jaundiced, less distracted, less hesitant).
So what do the early Christians in Acts have to do with Psalm 105? Well, the book of Psalms was their hymnbook. I imagine that they sang this psalm enthusiastically and mindful of God’s presence in their faith communities, surprised at themselves for fearlessly remembering and telling the good news of Christ (they hadn’t always been like that), and a bit overwhelmed by the powerful work of the Spirit in bringing people together in faith—5000 baptized in one day! The disciples speaking in different languages in the marketplace! Gentiles worshiping with Jews! Prison doors opened! The once murderous persecutor, Saul, now saying Jesus is God’s son! What will happen next?
That’s our question, isn’t it? What will the Spirit do in the church next?
Suggestions:
1. Take this verse with you and ponder its meaning for you throughout the day. What do you notice? What do you wonder? Where do you notice God’s spirit at work?
2. Or read all of Psalm 105 and see where these verses fit in.
3. Or comment with a photo of your own that is a window of this verse’s meaning for you.
Tomorrow’s psalm will be Psalm 106:24-25.
Starting January 1, 2016, for 150 days I am posting a daily psalm verse with a photo that is a visual meditation on the text for me. Each day a verse from the next psalm is chosen until all 150 psalms have been featured. To participate you may subscribe to my blog at https://elainedent.net or “friend” me on Facebook and watch for the daily links to blog posts. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer and most of the photos are from a cell phone or small camera while hiking the Appalachian Trail or the C&O Canal/Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
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