A step-by-step guide to living before the Lord

Global Positioning Systems are amazing. Either built into your car or held in the palm of your hand, a GPS unit can tell within feet your precise location anywhere on the planet. Not only can they tell you where you are, they can tell you where you want to go. The days of pulling out the map, figuring out where you are in relation to where you want to go and then wrestling to fold the map up exactly as you found it before putting it back in the glove box are nearly gone. The GPS unit will, in a polite voice, give you turn-by-turn directions to arrive at your destination.

Like a GPS unit, Psalm 100 gives us step-by-step directions to living before the Lord. Command words such as "Make a joyful noise," "Serve the Lord with gladness." "Come into his presence with singing!" "Know he is good." "Enter his gates with thanksgiving."

The Lord is directing us step by step down the path we are walking, our steps intended to live out every aspect of our lives before him. No pretense, no acting, nothing hidden.

Unlike a GPS unit, God can be completely trusted. His steadfast love and faithfulness extends out toward the best interest of his sheep.

Norman Sussman, after running into traffic outside his home in Santa Fe, recalculated his GPS unit to find an alternate route. The instructions led him up a winding mountain road full of hairpin turns. After nearly 30 minutes of driving he slammed on his brakes. The road ended directly after a guardrail, protecting him from driving off into a 200-foot cliff. Norman said it looked like a small version of the Grand Canyon.

Sometimes, as Norman discovered, a GPS unit gives wrong directions. However, God's directions will not lead you down the wrong road. His love and faithfulness goes out before his sheep that are walking in his ways. God invites all to come and sing and serve and know him based upon his character. He can always be trusted.

We can be authentic before him because he can be trusted. We do not need to perform acts of religion to earn his favor. His free immeasurable grace causes us to sing joyfully, serve gladly, be full of thankfulness and know at deepest core of who we are the He is God and we are his.

Rob Hurtgen is a husband, father, minister and writer. Read more from him at www.robhurtgen.wordpress.com.