Psalm 117

I remember hearing a story about a mother who used to sit in her kids' playpen with the young ones on the outside so that she could read her Bible and pray. I wonder if she is still alive today, and what her children are doing?

“Praise the Lord, all nations!”

My wife and I listened to that story on our way down to Atlanta in 1995. We were being evaluated as church planters. A very impressive Brazilian pastor was also being evaluated so that he could start a church in the United States. When he preached, it was the first time I heard the Word proclaimed in the duet of a language I did not know echoed by a second language I did know. I still remember the power of that experience. Two men, both loving the Lord, different in personality, proclaiming the same message from the same passage about Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross of Christ for a short distance, and about what was ahead of us all as we sought to start new churches.

“Extol him, all peoples!”

Friends of ours were watching our four kids at home. When we got back there was a little medical emergency involving running children and a door that connected with a precious little face. How many little tragedies has God carried us through in our lives? How many loved ones has He kept through challenging moments?

“For great is his steadfast love toward us.”

We did not know what we would face in the years ahead. Memories can be shocking. Who was there with us in those days? What were our first meetings like with the handful of people who wanted to serve the Lord by starting a church together? How would we grow in our love for the Lord who loved us with such a full and powerful death? What is ahead of us now as we walk with others in the worship of the God of the resurrection today?

“The faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.”

How many were there in those early years that are safe with Jesus in heaven now? What a Savior!

“Praise the LORD!”