Carol J German

God is able to love all seven billion of us at once. I do not know how He does it, but He does. He not only loves us but He walks with us too. We are never alone. This is possible because of what His Son did for us. He became our sacrifice because of sin. We are messed up, and we need someone to save the day. Jesus accomplished this when He resurrected from the dead.

We are less than four weeks from celebrating this great event. It would be wise to prepare our hearts for Easter weekend.

Think about these words from Jeremy Camp’s song, Word of Life, “You called me out of the grave, so I can live like I’ve been changed. There is a new song in my soul, and it begins when I breathe in Your word of life.” Take a look at John 1:1-5 to gain added insight into the meaning of “Your word of life.”

Psalm 96 reflects the Easter season and Jeremy’s song. May we be encouraged to truly worship the risen Savior! Verses 1-3 show us why God is worthy of our worship. When we follow after Jesus, a new song is placed within our hearts. Our souls become alive to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are to praise His name with singing, proclaiming daily that He saves (from our sins). We are to tell the world of all the good things that He does for us. God’s love is not a silent love.

God never stops providing what we need. He is an intimate, personal God with each one of us.

“Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.”⁴

Notice what verse 5 says about other gods, “The gods of other nations are mere idols.” The God of heaven is the living God who stands far taller than any other god in the world. No other god can boast about having “Living God,” or “Resurrected King,” on their resume. Jesus outranks them all. He made the heavens, and honor and majesty surround Him along with strength and beauty, according to verses 5-6.

Another part of worshiping God is living in a way where other’s are seeing Christ within us. Are you living set apart for God? Take a look at Deuteronomy 14:2, Psalm 4:3, and 2 Corinthians 6:17. When our souls are alive in Christ, we are to recognize the Lord and see that He is glorious and strong.

“We are to give the Lord the glory He deserves!”⁸

God gives us hearts that are generous. We give back to God in the same way He gives to us. We will enter His courts and worship God in all His holy splendor. Those around us will hear us praising God, “The Lord reigns!”

“The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.”¹⁰

We worship the God that is in charge. There is nothing that man can do that would usurp God. We can depend on Him for everything, for we know that He will judge all people fairly.

The whole earth responds to His voice as the seasons come and go. Easter comes to us every spring when new life is sprouting. New life sprouts within us when we follow after Jesus. We see in verses 11 and 12 that the heavens are glad and the earth rejoices over God. His whole creation is made to worship God, even the seas and everything in them shouts their praises. Newly planted crops in the fields burst forth with joy, and trees in the forest rustle with praise before the Lord. Notice how nature celebrates on a daily basis the glory of the Lord.

Why does creation rejoice daily? For He is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will do this with justice and by His truth.

While we wait for His return, we are called to rejoice daily too. If there is never a moment where we are without love, then we are to continually show love. Our hearts need it, our families need it, the world needs it. We are not to live silently on the sidelines waiting for God to give us this or that. We are made to make some noise and show the world that there is a better way! Let’s prepare our hearts for Easter and celebrate.