As I begin this Lord’s Day, I read through Psalm 100. What a great chapter! There is a great deal of worship, thanksgiving, praise, and honor happening in these six short verses. I can’t help but share them with you!

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are the people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100 – NIV)

King David certainly knew how to get to the heart of worship. I pray that you’ll be able to hide these verses in your heart and worship the Lord this morning with everything within you. It is a great Lord’s Day!

In keeping with my theme on Sunday’s, chapter 8 of the doll house saga is below. Enjoy and have a blessed Sunday!

Building a Doll House: It’s All About the Details – Chapter 8

From the beginning of this dollhouse project, my husband said we needed to be very careful with each piece. During the painting process, it was important that the paint didn’t drip, because that would cause it to be out of line with the rest of the pieces. During the sanding process, we had to be sure that just the right amount was sanded or it would fit.

Then of course, the details of the entire project were overwhelming. The directions. The number of pieces. The step-by-step process to take all of these pieces and create one doll house from them all. It was pretty amazing.

Here’s the thing. If we hadn’t paid attention to the details, it would not have turned out the way it was supposed to. It would not have looked like a house. Or at least not a pleasant-looking house.

It’s the same with our spiritual lives. If we haven’t taken care of the details of our faith, it’s hard to say what the outcome might be. But if we follow God’s plan and pay attention to the details, the results will be exactly what God intended us to be.

God planned that we would be “His chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.” (1 Peter 2:9 – NIV)

So how do we get to this point? What steps (details) do we need to take to become exactly what God intended us to be?

We must believe

There is a lot that we simply must have faith in. We must believe that God’s Word is living and active and that God breathed life into each verse. (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16)

We must believe that Jesus is God’s Son, sent to be the Messiah, the Savior of mankind. (John 3:15-16; 1 John 5:1; 5:5; Romans 3:22)

We must believe that Jesus was crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and rose to life to prove victory over death. (Luke 24:46-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:14)

We must repent

Repentance means to turn completely around. To go the opposite direction of our original path. So for a believer, we must put to death the sinful nature in order for the spiritual nature to be visible. (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19)

We must confess

You’ve heard it before, Peter’s great confession of our Lord. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16 – NIV) Yes, we must proclaim it as well. (Matthew 16:16; 2 Timothy 2:19)

We must be baptized

Jesus teaches that baptism is part of the salvation plan and was Himself baptized. Peter preached it on the day of Pentecost. Paul also was baptized and preached baptism. (Matthew 3:13; 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 9:18; Galatians 3:27)

We must live

Live lives that bring honor, glory and praise to God who has freely lavished grace upon us. There are plenty of passages that lead us in this direction, but I’m just listing two here. (Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 2:10)

We must tell

If in fact we have the greatest news mankind has ever heard, why do we keep silent? Why isn’t His message on the tip of our tongues constantly? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I know that Scriptures tell me to share the Gospel. (Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:47)

These are the “details” of our spiritual lives. They each fit perfectly with the next, like a plan, and exactly as God intended. By paying attention to each of these details, we ensure that our salvation will be complete.

Oh, I know that we’ll mess up along the way. I know that a detail will be missed or we’ll botch it up. But please know that God can take all those mishaps, those imperfections, and turn them into a thing of beauty. That’s an added bonus of loving God. Grace.

If you have a question about these “details,” I’d be happy to chat with you. I do know that there is nothing like being in God’s grace.

I’d also love to hear your story of grace. How your faith has been built through the years. What God’s grace means to you. Would you be willing to share?

In the end, the pieces of the dollhouse went together pretty well. There were a few pieces that didn’t quite fit, but a little sand paper and caulk covered a lot of mistakes. Please don’t look too closely at the dollhouse. You just might find those mistakes.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna

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