Key Verse: Psalm 96:7-8
Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts.

Psalm 95 is God’s invitation to “COME!” What do we do when we “COME!”?… We “SING!” “SHOUT JOYFULLY!” offer to Him “THANKSGIVING!” “WORSHIP! BOW DOWN! KNEEL!” 95:7b invites us to hear His voice. We hear with our inner ears as we read or we can hear by clicking on the above Scripture link and hear the Words being read out loud.

Psalm 95 was sung as the national anthem of Israel. In Psalm 96 we move beyond Israel to the whole world. All nationalities are invited to “COME” and to “WORSHIP” the Lord in the beauty of holiness! “The Lord reigns!” (96:10-12a). The result will be that even the trees, including those Acacia trees in Reynold’s picture, will “REJOICE!”

Let’s not forget our key verse. When we come, we give the offerings listed above, but we must not miss the exhortation, “BRING AN OFFERING!” Jesus watched as the widow placed her offering in the receptacle, and He announced that she had given more than all the others. When Jesus counts the giving of His people, He counts the level of sacrifice involved (read Mark 12:41-44). Psalm 97 carries on from Psalm 96.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
O Lord God, Your Name and Your message must be communicated more effectively to all the nations. I pray for Crossroads and other Christian ministries who are called by You and work skillfully, and for those who make it all possible by giving offerings sacrificially. Bless and strengthen us all in Jesus’ Name! Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:
My son Reynold and his wife Kathy lead one of those ministries that’s communicating the Word of God to other nations. They live in Uganda, East Africa, and have a unique ministry called World Embrace. This is an apostolic work that seeks to answer Jesus’ prayer in John 17 where Jesus prayed just hours before His crucifixion “…Father, may they be brought to complete unity so that the world will know that You love them and have sent Me…” (John 17:21-23). Their web site is www.worldembrace.org. You will see it is an exciting one-of-a-kind missions outreach. They have no mission society or denomination supporting them, and though they have been full time in various Missions activities for over 15 years, this calling is relatively new. “Unity” is God’s call on their lives…and in reality, according to Scripture, we are all to have a heart for unity with other followers of Jesus. At the foundation of God establishing His kingdom on earth is “Unity” within His church…His church made up of every nation, every tribe, every people, and every language. And yes, man-made walls are coming down and bridges of relationship are being built. Praise God!!!

Yours for living as Psalms 95, 96, and 97 encourage us to live!!!

David