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Lenten devotions 2008

MARCH 11 - GOD'S STEADFAST LOVE
By Odelet Nance, director of multicultural affairs

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 (NRSV)
Scroll down for complete Scripture.

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DEVOTIONAL:
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever!

This past week I asked one of our international students, “So what brought you to Goshen College?” The response to this question became a testimony to the power of God’s love and protection. She said that her life was threatened because of her educational pursuits. She explained that it was her way out of political turmoil in a country that was killing college students and placing them in jail. After her second time being jailed for no reason at all, she was forced to leave the country and her family that she loved in order to survive and accomplish her goals.

As I listened to her powerful testimony, I became overwhelmed with the presence of God’s steadfast love. I was honored to be in the presence of a strong and inspiring young woman who recognized Jesus Christ as her Redeemer. Internally, I began to sing a love song to Jesus for being a proven Savior, Protector and Deliverer. Her story reminded me to be grateful for each day that I am given and to never take my blessings for granted. With a heart of gratitude, I sing with the psalmist, “This is the day that the Lord hath made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!”

For all these things and more, I give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever.

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SCRIPTURE: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 (NRSV)
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever!

Let Israel say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.

I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Posted at 11:27 #