From the Pastor's Desk - In the morning

Psalm 5:3 O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

The great imagery of this psalm is a wonderful picture of the sweet spiritual intimacy the psalmist has with his Lord. In the morning the Lord hears the voice of His worshiper, why? I suspect it is because the psalmist delights in and treasures his God above all else. He treasures his God's presence. So he presents himself as a sacrifice and waits upon the Lord even as the Levites would arrange the wood and the sacrificial animals on the Tabernacle's altar for the morning sacrifice (Lev. 6:12). He treasures his God's bread, knowing that he has been throughout the night and will be throughout this day, sustained not by his great will power or strength, but by the word of God. For man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deut. 8:3). The psalmist delights in and treasures his God above all else setting his attention on the Lord his God, in the morning.

How about you? What is it or who is it that you treasure? Let's take a lesson from the psalmist who perfectly describes for us the ultimate worshiper, Jesus Himself. Jesus treasured His Father above all else so much so that He presented Himself a sacrifice on our behalf. Thus, in the morning, in the evening, sometime in the afternoon, the timing is not as important as the heart with which it is approached, let us treasure the Lord above all else. Let us treasure His presence and so present ourselves to Him and wait intently, lovingly and expectantly for Him. Let us also feed from the endless table and drink deeply from the infinite cup of His Word. As you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you (Jam. 4:8). Treasure and delight in Him!

The Lord be with you!

Pastor Graham