You have a choice

100 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
² Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
³ Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.⁴ Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
⁵ For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Today is Sunday September 14th. Unfortunately that means that throughout this country today there will be more people gathering in stadiums and bar rooms to shout at football players than will gather in sanctuaries to shout to God.

The Psalmist calls us to a life and attitude of thanksgiving and praise. If you will take some time to view creation and it's response to God you will see that we are the only thing in creation that has a choice in how we respond. I am a country person, I don't like cities. I don't like the noise, the smell or the hurried pace. One time though when I had been in the city for an extended period,early one morning I went outside to try to find a quiet place to reflect and find God. As I sat on a bench near a small patch of grass under the only tree around, I heard the beautiful singing of a small bird. What I saw that day as I looked and listened was that creation didn't complain and grumble about the noise or the smell. The birds weren't concerned with the hurried pace of the people begining their days. The birds day began by responding to the creator with thanksgiving. They sang joyfully knowing that He is God.

Regardless of what the rest of your day will hold. I encourage you along with the Psalmist today, to shout joyfully to the Lord. To serve Him with gladness. You don't need to go to church to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise though there is an exponential increase in God's blessing as we gather with others. The most important thing is that we praise God because He is God.

Take a few minutes if you can to watch and listen as creation responds to it's creator. Then because He created you that way, you can choose how you will respond.