READ
Psalm 121
CONSIDER
It is a special year in 2023 that Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve land on Sundays so we can come to celebrate, worship, and give thanks to God in the Body of Christ at the Sunday morning worship services. It is an excellent opportunity to come together as a community, including young and old, to reflect on why we come to worship our Lord, to ponder His love in the past year among us, and look forward to stepping into the new year in 2024 as His people. It is a blessing and privilege that we can unite to worship our Lord God freely, not because of fulfilling a task or duty but out of the loving desire for our Lord Jesus Christ.
From Psalm 121 we can see the deep desire of the pilgrims to worship the Lord; even though it is a journey full of danger and challenges, they still keep on going. Nothing can stop them from stepping on the journey to worship, praise, and give thanks to the Lord. Was there a time you put all your energy and effort into solving a problem or issue but forgot to seek God’s wisdom and help? Or even put God out of the picture totally and not remember He is our ultimate help and protection that we can look upon? Let’s find out more about what we can learn from the pilgrims in Psalm 121 this Sunday as we prepare to step into the new year.
Looking forward to seeing you and worshipping our God together in the Body of Christ!
Pastor Karen Leung
PRAY
I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me, God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me, God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to secure me: against snares of devils, against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature, against everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.
Amen.
(Except from Saint Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer)
*Read more about the prayer here
DIVING DEEPER
As we are wrapping up the year 2023 and have just celebrated Christmas last week, have you had a chance to reflect on how Jesus’ birth has transformed your life in 2023?
How do the pilgrims in Psalm 121 inspire you or encourage you to walk in this spiritual journey for God?
Do you have the same strong desire to come to celebrate and worship your God on Sundays with everyone in the Body of Christ of all ages, or do you have other priorities than coming to worship your God?
Do you have the same desire to seek God in your spiritual journey, even if you encounter difficulties and challenges each day?
Spend some time in prayer that God will reveal to you a memory you have experienced His help and protection from difficulties and challenges.