1I love you, Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.
Vending machines are still around. That's weird to me.
If you had asked whether the pay phone in front of my high school or the vending machine would be there in twenty years, my money was on (and occasionally, in) the pay phone. But I would have been wrong.
Using the vending machine in the break room of my Mom's workplace growing up was a highlight of going there. The ping pong table was always lacking a ball that wasn't dented. The TV was small and turned to news channels. But the vending machine was, in a silly way, a small form of adventure. I didn't love the machine, mind you. Just those delectable CornNuts.
There is a profound difference in loving Christ and loving what He provides for you. I'm not sure I always keep that straight and I am beyond certain that many of the Christians I speak with know how to either. Ask someone what they love about Jesus and hear how much of their answer has to do with what they get as opposed to who He is.
In reflecting on this, I wrote this prayer for our gatherings as we studied Psalm 103 together.
We love you Lord,
because you ARE a powerful God
not just because you give us strength
We love you Lord,
because you ARE unchanging
not just because you steady us.
We love you Lord,
because you ARE a protecting and kind God
not just because you protect us.
We sing because you ARE worthy of praise
despite our circumstances,
despite our preferences,
despite our evaluations,
You alone are worthy.