Ten Expressions of Praise, Worship, and the Greatness of God

King David:  "The earth is the LORD's and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it."

The Writer of Psalm 104:  "Bless the LORD, O my soul!  O LORD my God, Thou are very great; Thou art clothed with slendor and majesty, Covering Thyself with light as with a cloak...O LORD, how many are Thy works!  In wisdom Thou hast made them all..."

Daniel:  "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.  And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, and knowledge to men of understanding.  It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.

Seraphim:  "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory."

Nebuchadnezzar:  "For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.  And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no can can ward off His hand or say to Him, "What hast Thou done?"

Moses and the sons of Israel:  "Who is like Thee among the gods, O LORD?  Who is like Thee, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?"

Job:  "I know that Thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted.  Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?  Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.  Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask Thee, and do Thou instruct me.  I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees Thee; Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes."

Zacharias:  "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant-"

Thomas:   "My Lord and my God!"

Paul:   "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"

The great multitude around the throne:  "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

Have a great day of worship.

Jeremiah 31:37

I was reading in Jeremiah this morning.  When I came upon verse thirty-seven in chapter thirty-one, I knew it was going to be about my next blog post...
 
"If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the Lord."

Now watch this you tube video on the size of the universe.  (I believe it's a secular production...I am a young earther.  It mentions the universe being billions of years old...just ignore that part...)

Do you get the picture of how great God's love is for Israel in spite of her sin?  The heavens cannot be measured.  They are so vast, so expansive, so HUGE.  He will never stop loving Israel.  God is a covenant keeping God, period.  He has that same love for all of His elect.

Wow...

We know God is really, really big because of the size of the universe.  He created it.  He says He holds it in the palm of His hand.  I think another reason God made the universe really, really big is so that we can kind of, sort of, get a bit of a grasp on how much He loves...I still can't wrap my mind around it...

(Louie Giglio videos are from a biblical perspective...Here's a great one to check out...)

There is a Creator!

My daughter and son-in-law went snowshoeing yesterday up on Mt. Rainier.  Annie captured this image of a lenticular cloud...amazingly beautiful!  (Click on the image for an even bigger gasp...)

Being Faithful

In marriage, in parenting, in ministry, we are in control of the effort; God is in control of the results.  Focus on the issue of being faithful at the efforts with which you've been called.  It is God who rewards that faithfulness.

Praying for Those Under Affliction

The church I grew up in had prayer meeting on Wednesday nights.  My grandparents lived next door to me.  I would usually go with them or with my mom.  It was the same routine.  Someone gave a devotional type message that lasted about ten or fifteen minutes and then prayer requests were taken.  It always seemed like the requests were concerning those under the affliction of bad health and for their healing, and it stopped there.   

Fast forward to my Bible college days.  In one of my Bible classes we were required to read all the books that Paul had written.  We were to concentrate on the prayers of Paul and then make a summary of their content.  I can tell you, they weren't all about people's health.    Paul's heart was that the saints faith would flourish and grow while under difficult circumstances; His prayers centered around spiritual things.

The Thessalonians were enduring great persecution at the time Paul wrote his second letter to them.  Their faith was growing in spite of the intense pressure as well as their love for each other.  He said because of this he was able to speak proudly about them to the other churches.  They were not caving under the pressure, but persevering.  He goes on to teach the Thessalonians what the church can expect to see before Christ returns and gathers the elect.  Their affliction did not mean they were in the day of the Lord.  The day of the Lord, the point at which Christ comes and gathers the church and then pours out His wrath, would not come until after the man of lawlessness is revealed.

At the end of chapter two and into chapter three, we find Paul turning his thoughts to prayer for these dear saints.  Here are his final requests to God for this afflicted body of believers: 

• may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ
• may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance
• the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all

Paul didn't ask that the affliction be removed.  I do think it is okay to ask for healing for those you love, but I think the greater appeal should be for the spiritual well-being of those enduring affliction, of any kind.  I especially love Paul's words after the first bullet - may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

May your heart go deeper and deeper into God's love.  May you have greater and greater comprehension and understanding of His love for you and may your love for Him then grow.  May He give you great endurance and patience in Christ's strength. 

Fretting...

is not acting according to the call of God.  If we find ourselves becoming alarmed, "it is time to tend to the garden of our emotions with the tools of biblical truth."

...gleaned from John Piper's message on 2 Th. 2.

She's Home...

Thanks everyone for your prayers.  I passed all the love and messages along to Marion.  She is feeling much better and glad to be able to sleep in her own bed tonight.