Psalm 103

Of David.

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
he LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
he LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children-
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the LORD, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the LORD, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

The pastor at Julie's church mentioned Psalm 103 at the end of the sermon. He just focused on verses 1-5, but the whole thing is pretty awesome. It is truely amazing how great our God is. I know I don't deserve anything He gives me, but am truly thankful He is the God that He is. The bolded verses really spoke to me.

I stand in awe that the God of everything loves me. He deals with me. When I mess up he still loves me. When I piss him off he doesn't get angry but just the opposite, shows compassion! When I sin he separates my sin from me, as far as the east is from the west! That is crazy.

He is slow to anger and abounding in love. I am a teacher and I have a hard time forgetting when a student disobeys me during a lesson. It is humbling to see that the Lord of all creation has patience and understanding with me. Today right before I sat down to post a blog I was fumming. My students were on my nerves and I was about to lose it on them. Then I read this passage. God has a sense of humor. They are children just like I am God's child. I need to be patient and compassionate with them. I need to be slow to anger and abounding in love, following the example of my heavenly father. WOW! I'm glad I read this passage. I gotta go pick them up. I need to humble myself and apolgize for not being patient... Hope I didn't ramble too much.