How awesome, wonderful, and incredible is our God! Every person who ever lived has had a god; everyone worships something. It might be Buddha, or money, or success, or aethism, or Allah. We can give our love to just about anything, but there is only One who will love us back! How can such a tiny vessel as a human body carry the magnitude of that Divine affection?
I am reading the Psalms for my current devotions, and today, I read Psalm 91, the end of which talks about how God will deliver the one who holds fast to Him in love. Do we hold fast to God in love? Do we cling to Him, vice gripping Him each and every day, staking everything we have on His steadfast faithfulness? Do we understand what it means to be loved by God?
That is truly an amazing thought! Think of God as the best good guy ever, and we are the bad guys: black hat, filthy heart, total scumbag. Now, these bad guys get caught and are finally brought to account for their wickedness. But then, the good guy stands up and says for all to hear, "I will die for them. I will take the punishment for their sins. Because I love those bad guys and I desire to make them mine!" The bad guy did nothing but evil; the Good Guy did everything and now, we are loved more than we can describe.
(word count: 247)
Monday, August 23, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
When Things Totter
"When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars." Psalm 75:3
I love that verse! I've highlighted it in my Bible and next to it, I have a note: 'We must lean on God's strength.' I just love that imagery.
Everyone has those times when they feel unsteady or as the saying goes, 'their whole world's turned upside down.' When the entire planet is shaking, when our lives are crumbling down around us, when we're not sure how we're going have the strength to get up and face another day...God holds the pillars in place. Not the President, not the military, not our parents, not us...God. Just Him.
Sometimes, we get all worried about our lives and our troubles. We forget and think that God needs help to take care of His creation. It's HIS creation! I'm saying this to myself as much as anyone. I am a terrible worry wart! But my worrying won't do a single thing, except for give me an insanely bad headache. The pillars are too big for me to hold, but they fit just perfect in God's hands. I think that was the point in the first place.
(word count: 204)
I love that verse! I've highlighted it in my Bible and next to it, I have a note: 'We must lean on God's strength.' I just love that imagery.
Everyone has those times when they feel unsteady or as the saying goes, 'their whole world's turned upside down.' When the entire planet is shaking, when our lives are crumbling down around us, when we're not sure how we're going have the strength to get up and face another day...God holds the pillars in place. Not the President, not the military, not our parents, not us...God. Just Him.
Sometimes, we get all worried about our lives and our troubles. We forget and think that God needs help to take care of His creation. It's HIS creation! I'm saying this to myself as much as anyone. I am a terrible worry wart! But my worrying won't do a single thing, except for give me an insanely bad headache. The pillars are too big for me to hold, but they fit just perfect in God's hands. I think that was the point in the first place.
(word count: 204)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Forever Changed
Two thousand years ago, a man was sentenced to death by the Roman governor of Israel. He was then scoured, beaten, spit upon, cursed, and finally, nailed to two pieces of wood that had been lashed together to form a cross shape. For three hours, He hung there in agony, which we can't imagine, while His closest friends and His mother watched. Storm clouds covered the sky and when He died, the earth trembled beneath the weight. Then, He was laid in a tomb and His followers went home, numb because they thought their leader had failed...
Today, I sit in my home with my laptop in front of me and the school supplies I've been organizing to my right. I have been born and raised in America and seem to have no connection whatsoever with that Man who Pontius Pilate killed so long ago. Yet, I sit here today with a soul that is washed clean because of that Man. Today, when God looks at me, He sees the perfect sacrifice of that Man and He declares me justified and righteous, consecrated to Him.
The day Jesus came to this earth, all of human history that had come before Him and all that would come after changed, irrevocably. God touched His creation as He had never touched it before and did something that no one but He could...and we will never be the same!
(word count: 238)
Today, I sit in my home with my laptop in front of me and the school supplies I've been organizing to my right. I have been born and raised in America and seem to have no connection whatsoever with that Man who Pontius Pilate killed so long ago. Yet, I sit here today with a soul that is washed clean because of that Man. Today, when God looks at me, He sees the perfect sacrifice of that Man and He declares me justified and righteous, consecrated to Him.
The day Jesus came to this earth, all of human history that had come before Him and all that would come after changed, irrevocably. God touched His creation as He had never touched it before and did something that no one but He could...and we will never be the same!
(word count: 238)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
My August Challenge
Okay, I can admit this. As a writer, I have the profound ability for using the largest amount of words possible to say something. Sometimes, that is alright, but I have decided to challenge myself for the rest of July and into August to write every post with a 250 word maximum limit. So...here goes.
(57 words)
(57 words)
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
A God Like No Other
Wow! For an aspiring writer, I am not good at being consistent with this blog thing. *sigh*
Well, my family is settling well into a new normal with Dad back home. I am still so grateful that God brought him home. The Lord was so good to us during that year. I can never tell Him 'thank you' enough!
I tend to be so forgetful, especially with God. I pray for something, and then...I never thank Him for answering. He is utterly patient with me!
These months have been an up and down time for me spiritually. I've been struggling with my own apathy, seeing so many areas where I simply do not desire God as I should. But, as always, God has not left me alone. Even when I am back in the same sin over and over again, He does not give up on me. How can we ever dwell enough on the patient and steadfast love of our God?
And He is more than just a Savior. That almost sounds disrespectful, 'just' a Savior, but I don't mean it that way. I mean that He is Savior and Father and Comforter and Protector and Shepherd. He offers us love that no human could ever give; He wants to have a personal relationship with us. He is the One who I can greet every morning and walk through every day with. He is waiting to help me through every trial and smile with me through every gladness. How can we ever deserve such a God?
In my struggles of trying to understanding myself, I imagined what it would be like not to believe in God...I was saved at seven years old and in the back of my mind, ever since that day, I have been having a conversation with Him. Imagine not having that quiet presence in that back of your soul? The constancy of His presence has been another grace that God has shown me over these past weeks, and I am so grateful for the work He is doing in me. I am never alone. I am never parted from the One who loves me more than I can comprehend AND who has the power to actually take care of every single problem I will ever face. Not to say that I think He will make all my troubles go away, but He can dissolve them, or give me strength or wisdom or whatever I need to get through it. No one else will ever be able to offer me that kind of love.
We are loved by a God too big to describe, and yet, so many, many times, we don't pray, don't read His Word, don't listen to Him. What is wrong with us? O Lord, You are beyond comprehension! You pursue us when we don't want to be pursued. You love and forgive us beyond measure, and even the gratitude and obedience we give to You in return is only in our possession because You died to free us from our own sin. How great are You!
Well, my family is settling well into a new normal with Dad back home. I am still so grateful that God brought him home. The Lord was so good to us during that year. I can never tell Him 'thank you' enough!
I tend to be so forgetful, especially with God. I pray for something, and then...I never thank Him for answering. He is utterly patient with me!
These months have been an up and down time for me spiritually. I've been struggling with my own apathy, seeing so many areas where I simply do not desire God as I should. But, as always, God has not left me alone. Even when I am back in the same sin over and over again, He does not give up on me. How can we ever dwell enough on the patient and steadfast love of our God?
And He is more than just a Savior. That almost sounds disrespectful, 'just' a Savior, but I don't mean it that way. I mean that He is Savior and Father and Comforter and Protector and Shepherd. He offers us love that no human could ever give; He wants to have a personal relationship with us. He is the One who I can greet every morning and walk through every day with. He is waiting to help me through every trial and smile with me through every gladness. How can we ever deserve such a God?
In my struggles of trying to understanding myself, I imagined what it would be like not to believe in God...I was saved at seven years old and in the back of my mind, ever since that day, I have been having a conversation with Him. Imagine not having that quiet presence in that back of your soul? The constancy of His presence has been another grace that God has shown me over these past weeks, and I am so grateful for the work He is doing in me. I am never alone. I am never parted from the One who loves me more than I can comprehend AND who has the power to actually take care of every single problem I will ever face. Not to say that I think He will make all my troubles go away, but He can dissolve them, or give me strength or wisdom or whatever I need to get through it. No one else will ever be able to offer me that kind of love.
We are loved by a God too big to describe, and yet, so many, many times, we don't pray, don't read His Word, don't listen to Him. What is wrong with us? O Lord, You are beyond comprehension! You pursue us when we don't want to be pursued. You love and forgive us beyond measure, and even the gratitude and obedience we give to You in return is only in our possession because You died to free us from our own sin. How great are You!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Faithfulness of the LORD
Exodus 34. Moses has already completed his forty day trip onto Mount Sinai. The people have forsaken the Lord and worshipped the calf that Aaron molded for them. The first set of the Ten Commandments has been broken and the idol ground to dust. Israel has experienced the plague of God's wrath and now...God still gives Moses His covenant.
Again, the Lord writes His laws upon tablets of stone and now, after Israel's terrible forsaking, He proclaims His name. In Israel, your name was more than what you were called; it told something of your character. By telling Israel His name, God was revealing part of Himself to them. This is what He said as He passed before the averted eyes of Moses:
"The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will be no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."
Even after Israel had already shown their inconstancy, God reveals Himself to Moses, show him His glory, and proclaims this title. Even after Israel has abandoned Him for a god of their own hands, He calls Himself slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. We serve a God who is not like us, a God who forgives long after we would have punished, a God who never wavers or changes, and a God who is both perfectly just and perfectly merciful.
He does not depend on our faithfulness, He does not leave us when we sin, even when we disobey, He remains. He will punish, but even when we are chastised, it is in love (Proverbs 3:12). He saves us all on His own, praise be to God!
Again, the Lord writes His laws upon tablets of stone and now, after Israel's terrible forsaking, He proclaims His name. In Israel, your name was more than what you were called; it told something of your character. By telling Israel His name, God was revealing part of Himself to them. This is what He said as He passed before the averted eyes of Moses:
"The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will be no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."
Even after Israel had already shown their inconstancy, God reveals Himself to Moses, show him His glory, and proclaims this title. Even after Israel has abandoned Him for a god of their own hands, He calls Himself slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. We serve a God who is not like us, a God who forgives long after we would have punished, a God who never wavers or changes, and a God who is both perfectly just and perfectly merciful.
He does not depend on our faithfulness, He does not leave us when we sin, even when we disobey, He remains. He will punish, but even when we are chastised, it is in love (Proverbs 3:12). He saves us all on His own, praise be to God!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
And the King Will Sing!
The sermon today was Zephaniah. What a powerful message! Zephaniah, I learned, was the only prophet of the Davidic line and the last prophet before the exile. He speaks of the Day of the Lord, the day when God finally gives sinners what they deserve. He looked past their sin for so long; it was time for recompense. But there is a final Day of the Lord still to come, as my pastor reminded us. We too need to hear Zephaniah's message and to repent when we wander from our Savior-Judge.
However, what struck me most in the entire sermon is my pastor's comments on this passage:
'Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." Zephaniah 3:16-17
This is the message of hope at the very end, the promise that God will draw, not just Israel, but His children from all the nations to Himself. As my pastor pointed out, when God merely spoke, universes were created, and this verse says He will sing over us!
As I sat in the pew, I thought about that great day when we would finally be cleansed of all our sin and the mighty voice of the Deathless One would ring out in joyous song over the whole congregation of His elect. In my mind, I crouched to the ground, weighed down by the glory of that moment, and the crazy thing is, we can't even comprehend the fullness of what we have in Christ.
This was another point that was given during the service and it made me think. There are times when I am almost crushed with awe of God, and yet, I don't even know how great Jesus' gift is! What a marvelous thought! We have been given the Son of God Himself, and yet, so, so often, we reject Him or forget. I think so little of my status of GOd's child, and not only child, but heir, during the day. How does God endure us?
Yet, in spite of all the fickleness that God's people have been guilty of for thousands of years, we are still saved. God didn't wipe us out. He poured His wrath on His Son instead of us! One day, He will return, His voice will exult in the culmination of history, and by His grace, I am going to be there! There is truly nothing in this world worth trading that everlasting future!
However, what struck me most in the entire sermon is my pastor's comments on this passage:
'Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." Zephaniah 3:16-17
This is the message of hope at the very end, the promise that God will draw, not just Israel, but His children from all the nations to Himself. As my pastor pointed out, when God merely spoke, universes were created, and this verse says He will sing over us!
As I sat in the pew, I thought about that great day when we would finally be cleansed of all our sin and the mighty voice of the Deathless One would ring out in joyous song over the whole congregation of His elect. In my mind, I crouched to the ground, weighed down by the glory of that moment, and the crazy thing is, we can't even comprehend the fullness of what we have in Christ.
This was another point that was given during the service and it made me think. There are times when I am almost crushed with awe of God, and yet, I don't even know how great Jesus' gift is! What a marvelous thought! We have been given the Son of God Himself, and yet, so, so often, we reject Him or forget. I think so little of my status of GOd's child, and not only child, but heir, during the day. How does God endure us?
Yet, in spite of all the fickleness that God's people have been guilty of for thousands of years, we are still saved. God didn't wipe us out. He poured His wrath on His Son instead of us! One day, He will return, His voice will exult in the culmination of history, and by His grace, I am going to be there! There is truly nothing in this world worth trading that everlasting future!
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