GOODNESS & LOVE

SCRIPTURE

2 Chronicles 5:2-14 (NRSV)

God's glory in the temple

Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the Israelites assembled before the king at the festival that is in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites carried the ark. So they brought up the ark, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be numbered or counted. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside; they are there to this day. There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel after they came out of Egypt.

Now when the priests came out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to their divisions), all the levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kindred, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with one hundred twenty priests who were trumpeters. It was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord,
"For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever,"
the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.



DEVOTION

When I am most stressed out, it helps to recite the song of praise that is found in today's scripture, "For he is good and his steadfast love endures forever."

When I recite these words, singing in my heart, I am reminded that despite my trials, tribulations, and circumstances, God is still good (all the time) and God loves me (no matter what)!

It's easy to sing this song of praise and thanksgiving on good days, such as the day that Solomon and his people brought the ark to the holy house of the Lord! What a day of triumph and victory!

But, it is much harder to sing on our bad days--when we are sick, loose a job, break a relationship, or don't know how to pay our bills.

In my experience, it is just as important to affirm God's goodness and love in our bad times, as in our good.

As we encourage our souls with the good news message that God Loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life, we will have cause to celebrate even in our darkest hours!

It is my prayer that all of us will sing today, ""For he is good and his steadfast love endures forever."

May our praises ring out, touching souls, and leading people to Jesus.


Let us pray:

God you are good and your love endures forever! Please let that be the testimony of my heart today as I share the good news about Jesus, everywhere that I go. I pray this in His Name, Amen.

INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaLta