“For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”
Psalms 100:5 (KJV) Hi friends, How are you today? I hope you are well. Today, I offer the last of the Psalms 100 Series. I pray you are enjoying it and being blessed by it. In today’s Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations, we look at Psalms 100:5. In Psalms 100:1, we are told that Psalm 100 is a psalm of praise. I also mentioned that it is a joyful psalm to me. It is that joy which makes me happy to praise God. In Psalms 100:5, we are told other reasons why God is deserving of our praise. There are three phrases or parts to Psalms 100:5. The first and second are pretty easy for us to understand as believers. We know of God’s goodness and mercy. Many of us have experienced both many, many times. It is the third phrase or part where I think we find division. It is difficult for many people to believe that “his truth endureth to all generations.” I have heard where some people feel that there are parts of God’s Word that are outdated and no longer apply to their lives. Yet, in the last part of Psalms 100:5, we are told otherwise. One might say, “Well, we are no longer required to sacrifice animals, so that is outdated.” The actual sacrificing animals may not apply to us today, but that isn’t because it is outdated. It is because Jesus died on the cross for us. He was the living sacrifice once and for all. This doesn’t mean that we may not be required to show some sort of sacrifice, to repent, to take some sort of responsibility, or to make some sort of amends. It doesn’t mean that we are not called to show our thanks and appreciation. These are some of the reasons behind the animal sacrifices. The actions and feelings behind the animal sacrifices are still very much appropriate for today’s believers. Someone might ask, “But what about how the wife should be submissive to her husband? That is outdated. Nobody does that any more. Women are considered equal now a days. There are laws. It isn’t politically correct to think otherwise.” First of all, it isn’t outdated to God. He still calls wives to be submissive to their husbands. Secondly, there are still women who are submissive to their husbands. It isn’t outdated for them either. Thirdly, just because worldly laws or trends and political correctness seem to wander from God’s truth, it doesn’t render God’s Word outdated or make it less of a truth today than it was when it was written. We are called to follow God’s Word whether it is outdated in worldly view or not, because it isn’t outdated in God’s eyes. That is the real point. God’s Word endures forever. God’s Word is truth for people in all times. It doesn’t change and isn’t outdated. We are called to thank Him and praise Him, and follow the truth of His Word always, no matter what the worldly views of our times may be. Heavenly Father, Thank you for being our Heavenly Father. Thank you for your holy word. Help us to remember and live the words of Psalm 100 and all of scriptures. Help us to remember that your words are truth to us for all times and don’t get outdated. Help us to live by your words and praise you always, for you are good and deserve it always. I ask you this through your Son, Jesus. Amen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reflective questions for Psalms 100:5 (KJV): *What does Psalms 100:5 mean to me? *Do I believe in God’s goodness? *Do I believe in God’s mercy? *Do I believe that God’s Word never gets outdated? *Are there any parts of my life where stray from God’s word, because of wordly views? *Is there anything I need to change in order to get back on track for God’s will for me? *Is there anything I can do to better live out the truth in Psalms 100:5? Now, it is your turn. If you haven't already, you may want to read the other posts in the Psalms 100 Series: Psalms 100:1 Psalms 100:2 Psalms 100:3 Psalms 100:4 I am so thankful that you are here. I pray it blesses you in some way. I look forward to your thoughts and words. I hope you will share them here in the comments or contact me to share them there. If there is anything I can do for you or if you have any prayer requests, ideas, or suggestions, I look forward to you contacting me. If you find value in what I share, please share it with your friends and family. I pray God blesses all those who share and reads the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations. Thank you. You may also want to sign up below, if you haven't already. Get the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations and other faith content right in your inbox.
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“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”
Psalms 100:4 (KJV) Hi friends, How are you today? In pondering Psalms 100:4, I have just as many questions as I do answers. I am curious about the words gates and courts. Are they meant to be two separate places or does the author just not want to use the same word over and over again? Are they literal places or are they meant to be figurative for drawing close to God? Somehow, I don’t think it matters, because I don’t think the “place” is the important part of the message. I think we are always called to be thankful for all the things God does for us and to bless His name. So, to say that we should “enter his gates with thanksgiving” and to ponder where those gates may be might mean we are missing the point. What do you think? Let’s put our efforts into the thanksgiving part. Do we thank God for all that we have, all that we are, all that we do, all that we see, all that we hear, all that we smell, all that we taste, all that we touch, all that we feel, all that we know, and all that we experience? Do we thank God for our relationships and our very existence? Do we not only say the words “thank you”, but also show our thankfulness? Now, let’s look at the second part of Psalms 100:4. Not only are we called to be thankful for all God provides and does for us, but we are called to praise Him and bless His name. So, what does that mean? What does it mean to “bless His name”? To me, to “bless His name” is to testify to others about the goodness of God. Do we tell others of the greatness of God? As we can see that verse four of Psalm 100, keeps with the theme of joy. We are called to be joyful of what God provides and does for us, to thank Him and to tell others of His greatness as well. We can be joyful, if we are thankful, encouraging, and praising God. Heavenly Father, Thank you for being our Creator, our Teacher, our Heavenly Father, and our Shepherd. Thank you for Psalm 100, which shows us how to be joyful. Help us to come to you in thanksgiving and to sing your praises, so that others will do the same. I ask you this through your Son, Jesus. Amen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reflective questions for Psalms 100:4 (KJV): *What does Psalms 100:4 mean to me? *What do “his gates” and “his courts” mean? Is that the point? *How can I show God my thankfulness? *How can I bless His name? *Do I come to God in thanksgiving? *Do I praise His name? *What can I do to better follow the calling in Psalms 100:4? Now, it is your turn. Thank you so much for being here. If you haven't read other posts in the Psalms 100 Series, you may want to read them as well: Psalms 100 Series - Part 1 Psalms 100 Series - Part 2 Psalms 100 Series - Part 3. I enjoy hearing your thoughts. I am encouraged by your comments and testimony. So, please, comment below or contact me. If you find value in what I write, please share the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations with friends and family. If you haven't signed up to receive the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations and other faith content, please consider signing up below. (Don't forget to check at least the "faith" box.) 
“Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalms 100:3 (KJV) Hi friends, How are you? I hope you are enjoying the Psalms 100 Series by DUO Inspirations and are finding more joy in your life. Today’s verse seems more of a comfort than a joy. However, it could be a joy as well. I mean, knowing that “we are his people” and that I am part of the “we” makes me very joyful. Psalms 100:3 kind of reminds me of when people need to know their roots. I have heard stories where adopted children feel uneasy, because they don’t know their ancestry. They don’t know anything about their biological parents and they just kind of have a hole in their history that makes them feel confused, sad, or lonely. However, in Psalms 100:3, we are told our place in life and our roots. There is no uneasiness, confusion, sadness, or loneliness. We are God’s people. He made us. He loves us. And, we are the “sheep of his pasture.” Okay, not all people may like the idea of being referred to as sheep. However, if you knew how closely the shepherds back in the day watched over and cared for their sheep, you might not mind it so much. I believe it is very much like a term of endearment here. I was never a shepherd and don’t really know, but I am going to do a little imagining. I imagine that a shepherd led his or her sheep out to a part of the land that is filled with green grass for them to eat. It was far away from the house, so the shepherd had no one with whom to speak, so the shepherd probably often talked to the sheep. I imagine that the shepherd even named all the sheep, and got to know the sheep as individuals with their own little quirks. And, every so often when the shepherd counted the sheep to make sure they were all there, he or she would leave the flock to go find the one or two who had wandered off. This was probably not only done out of necessity of needing all the sheep for making a living, but also out of love. After all, I can imagine that if you spend most of your waking hours tending sheep, you tend to have a pretty close bond with those sheep. They are almost like friends and family. So, being called sheep isn’t so bad. And, being called God’s sheep is actually quite wonderful. God made us, knows all our little quirks, leads us, cares for us, searches for us when we are lost, and loves us. It is a wonderful feeling! There is a part of this verse that I don’t want to overlook and that is “not we ourselves.” It seems like that we are being reassured that we are made well and correctly. We are not “cheap reproductions”, but the real thing. We are made in God’s perfect way and not in any half-hearted, knock-off way. We are special to God. I know that in the beginning of this post, I said that this verse seems to be more of a comfort verse than a joy verse. However, as I wrote, I have felt myself feeling more and more joyful. So, I can actually say that I believe this is a joy and a comfort verse. Heavenly Father, Thank you for being our Creator and Shepherd. Thank you for telling us and reassuring us that we are your people and we are well loved. Help us to know the joy and comfort of the words in Psalms 100:3 in our every day lives. Help us to act and feel like your people. Help us to let you care for us and lead us as a shepherd cares for and leads his sheep. I ask you this through your Son, Jesus. Amen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reflective questions for Psalms 100:3 (KJV): *What does Psalms 100:3 mean to me? *How does Psalms 100:3 make me feel? *Do I feel like God’s own? *Do I let God lead me in the same way that shepherds lead sheep? *Do I feel like God knows me? *Do I feel like I know God? Now, it is your turn. If you haven't read the Psalms 100 Series - Part 1 or the Psalms 100 Series - Part 2, you may want to do that. I hope you are enjoying the series as much as I am. I am so thankful that you are here. You are important to me. I look forward to reading your thoughts, so please comment below. What are your thoughts? If you have any prayer requests or suggestions, please contact me. If you find value in what I write, please share it with friends and family. Also, if you haven't already, please consider signing up to get the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations and other faith content in your inbox. 
“Serve the LORD with gladness:
come before his presence with singing.” Psalms 100:2 (KJV) Hi friends, How are you this week? Last week, I started the “Psalms 100 Series”. I think Psalms 100 is such a beautiful, instructive, inspiring, and joyful psalm. The joy of it sort of reminds me of the opening scene in “The Sound of Music” where Julie Andrews is seen running in a field near the mountains singing. She looks as though she is happy and praising God. (Her character enjoyed singing and praising God, even serving God.) In Psalms 100:1, we are called to give a joyful noise, to be joyful. It doesn’t set a time, place, or restriction. To me, verse two is a reinforcement of verse one. Yes, we are to be joyful. We are to be joyful, no matter how we are serving God. Sometimes, we tend to do our chores at home or labor at work as if they were drudgery. We might not enjoy the tasks or we may feel tired and run down. We don’t like it, but we know we should do it. So, we work, whether at home or at work. We are just not very happy with it. We don’t think about the fact that we are called to do more. We are called to serve with “gladness.” We feel that as long as we do the work, we are fine. Yet, is that really so? So, are we sinning if we work while being less than glad? (This is one of the reasons I feel called to write the Faith Blog; because there are so many things that we do that we might not think about that may different than what we are called to do.) Let’s talk about serving the Lord for a moment. You might try to “argue” that working or housework isn’t serving the Lord, so you don’t have to worry about doing it with gladness. However, is that really true? What constitutes serving the Lord? I think that everything we do, 24/7 should be meant to serve the Lord. He created us. He gave us life. We are His and if we are His, everything we do is meant to serve Him. What do you think? What about the second part of Psalms 100:2, “come before his presence with singing”? Isn’t God with us always? So, aren’t we “before his presence” always? Obviously, I don’t know the definite reasons behind God’s words in the second part of Psalm 100. However, I do have a couple of thoughts on the subject. First, I wonder if the second part of the verse is a strategy or tip in how to fulfill the first part of the verse. You know, like if you are not having fun and don’t feel the joy in what you are doing, just take yourself out of the actual worldly situation and put yourself in God’s presence. In being so close and feeling God’s love, you will forget your drudgery and feel like singing out. In that way, you will be able to do whatever you do with gladness and even sing as you work. Second, I wonder if it is a reminder that if you are God’s child, you are serving God in all that you do, so that you are meant to do with gladness and singing. Again, as we get close to God, love Him, and serve Him, I believe that our hearts will just want to sing. We won’t be able to help ourselves. What are your thoughts? Heavenly Father, Thank you, O Lord for being our Heavenly Father. Help us to fulfill the words call of Psalms 100:2. Help us to love you, to serve you with gladness, and to sing your praises. Melt away our hardness and keep us close to you. Help us to follow your will for us, serving you with love and with a song in our heart. I ask you this through your Son, Jesus. Amen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reflective questions for Psalms 100:2 (KJV): *What does Psalms 100:2 mean to me? *What do I think, “come before his presence with singing” means here? *Do I fulfill the calling of Psalms 100:2? *What can I do to better fulfill the calling of Psalms 100:2? *Am I a joyful person? Why or why not? Note: If you haven't read Psalms 100 Series - Post 1, you can read it here. Now, it is your turn. Please, leave your thoughts and comments. I look forward to reading your thoughts. Thank you for being here. May God bless you and guide you. If you find value in what I share, please share it with others. Also, if you haven't already, feel free to sign up below to receive the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations and other faith content in your inbox. Thank you. 
“(A Psalm of praise.) Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.”
Psalms 100:1 KJV Hi friends, How are you this week? As it is November and November is a month of thanksgiving, I thought I would do a series on a psalm that calls people to worship the Lord with song and thanksgiving, Psalms 100. I came across this psalm kind of accidently as I was searching verses about thankfulness. I don’t mean that I have never read it before. I mean that I have never noticed its beauty before. I don’t know about you, but I have kind of nonchalantly referenced some of the words in Psalms 100:1 when talking about my singing ability. I might say something like, “Well, I don’t know if I can sing, but I can make a joyful noise.” However, I think the words in Psalms 100:1 don’t really have anything to do with singing ability, but have a deeper meaning. I think the verse sets the tone for the entire psalm. In Matthew 12:30 (KJV),Jesus gives us these words: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." It occurs to me that if we follow these words of Jesus, this verse and Psalms 100 will be like a summary of our behavior in life. So, how do we do that? What does that look like? In Psalms 100:1, we are all called to make a joyful noise. As with many other things in life, God doesn’t tell us exactly what to say or how to do it. He just says to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord….” I don’t know God’s intentions for sure here, but as for me, I think a joyful noise can be anything thing from laughter, to humming, to singing, to praising, to complimenting, to thanking, to glorifying God. What do you think? In Matthew 7:20 (KJV) Jesus says, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” And, in Galatians 5:22, one of the fruits of the Spirit is joy. So, this sums up the reason why we are called to make a joyful noise. If we know God and love God, it is often so easy to make a joyful noise. When our heart is full of love and thankfulness, we want to sing out or praise God spontaneously. If God lives within us, we will be joyful and people as well as God will know that we are His. At the end of Psalms 100:1, we are reminded that everyone in all the lands are called to be joyful and make a joyful noise unto the Lord. I am glad. It is nice to see others happy and it is even catching, just as a smile is apt to provoke a smile in return or a compliment is apt to provoke a compliment in return. Songs are like that too sometimes. We might hear someone singing a song and we just want to join in and sing along. Part of me wonders if the last part of the verse doesn’t just refer to people, but to all God’s creations. I feel joyful when I hear waves crashing against the shore, leaves rustling in a gentle breeze, hummingbirds humming and fluttering about, the gurgle of a babbling brook, or a crackling of a campfire. To me, they are all “singing out” and testifying of God’s glory and greatness. If they can do it, can’t we do it all the more? Heavenly Father, Thank you for being our Creator and Heavenly Father. Thank you for calling us to be joyful. Help us to fulfill this calling not only when we are getting our way, but during all times to show others that we are yours. Help us to us to get close you and to “sing out” and testify of your glory and greatness. I ask you this through your Son, Jesus. Amen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reflective questions for Psalms 100:1 (KJV): *What does Psalms 100:1 mean to me? *Why do I think we are called to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord”? *Do I “make a joyful noise unto the Lord”? *What can I do to better fulfill the calling in Psalms 100:1? Now, it is your turn. What are your thoughts? Please, leave me a comment. I enjoy reading your thoughts and comments. I am so thankful that you are here. I pray the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations blesses someone. If you find value in these words, please share them with your friends and family. Consider making an announcement at church that the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations is here. I pray before each post and pray that I write down God's message and His words for the blog and not my own. You may even want to sign up to get the Faith Blog by DUO Inspirations and other faith content in your inbox. Also, if you have a prayer request, idea, suggestion, question, or topic request, please feel free to contact me. Thank you. God bless. |
Hi friends!
This is Jodi. I am so glad you are here! I am a Christian and life-long learner. I enjoy sharing and encouraging others. I pray you are blessed by this blog. Thank you for being here. Archives
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