"One Big Family"

"O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people." (Psalms 117:1)

 You know, for this being the shortest Psalm of the bunch, it really does speak about some pretty big stuff; I really don't think we realize the size of this family that we all are part of, and what a large celebration we will one day all be enjoying in together. They said that the stadium full of people during the world cup were so loud and excited that it caused an earthquake in the region; just imagine what it will be like when all of us together praise the LORD in heaven. I remember being at a couple of Promise Keeper events in Oakland, as 50,000 men shouted and praised the Lord in the Oakland Stadium; it was really loud and you could actually feel the words that we being sung. One thing for sure, there will be celebration like no one has ever seen or heard before; if you think you can sing now, you haven't seen anything yet. Back in the late 80's, I was part of a men's retreat at Hosanna Chapel in Bellflower; Pastor Gary was so impressed by how loud we sang, he had us come up and sing at the beginning of the next Sunday service. We were still pretty loud, but I don't think it was quite the same as it was when we were at the retreat. I think that might be because of intimidation, which is the one thing that causes us to hold back and not be as loud as we should; to not have the voice that we should, speaking out against so many things and standing up for what we believe in as a church. The world can speak out so much louder than the church; it is really a shame that it is like that; but then again, this is really not our home, so why should we defend it and be excited about keeping it the way that we want it to be...

"Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote: "For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to your name." And in another place it is written, "Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles." And yet again, "Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles. Praise him, all you people of the earth." And in another place Isaiah said, "The heir to David's throne will come, and he will rule over the Gentiles. They will place their hope in him." I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:7-13) NLT