Saturday, January 8, 2011

Sing Praise

Focus verses: Psalm 92

Thanksgiving and praise seem to be the feet on which our faith walks. Nearly a hundred verses in the scripture refer to thanks or thanksgiving. More than two hundred refer to praise. And nearly two hundred tell us to "rejoice."

There seems to be a correlation between thanksgiving, praise and joy.

To give thanks, one must be aware of a debt of gratitude. How can we give thanks to the Lord for all that he has done for us? What could he possibly want or need from us? He is all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere at all times. We are puny, self-absorbed, and limited in power and presence. The only things we could give him would be our love and obedience. He will not coerce these responses to his love for us.

As we thank him, we become more and more aware of his power, his might, his majesty, his magnificence, his holiness and his generosity toward us. Those attributes are the focus of our praise. And as we praise him, he fill us with joy.

The joy of the Lord truly is our strength. One cannot praise the Lord and remain unhappy.

Father, God,
Help us to remember your blessings toward us. Grant us grateful hearts that we may thank and praise you in purity. Let us rejoice in you, always.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Majesty

Focus verses: Revelations 4:1-5:14

We have come close to God. We ask for a closer walk with Him. But we dare not forget His majesty. This picture from the vision of John gives us a glimpse of God's throne.

We will pass over the study of the four living creatures for the moment. If you wish to read more explanation, you'll find some of it here.

But these four creatures begin the praise with "holy, holy, holy." And the elders around the throne kneel and bow down. When these elders kneel, it is not like when we kneel in church, torso upright. This is the kowtow, the kneeling and bowing low so that the forehead touches the floor or the ground.

This throne is also a judgment seat, like a judges bench only more so. From this throne the pronouncements of God proceed. His judgments, affirmations, condemnations, all are here in the presence of these witnesses.

But for Christ, we cannot know these judgments. It is He who will break the seals on the scroll of judgment. It is through Christ that we can know God without panic. That doesn't mean we don't fear God. It simply means that we accept the sacrifice of the Lamb. We still kneel in awe around the throne of God.

Father, God,

Still the trembling in our hearts. Allow us to love You, adore You, obey You at all times and in all places. Grant us an awareness of Your majesty and our dependence.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Sabbatical

Focus verses: Genesis 2:2-3

We seem to live in a hurried and harried kind of world. If we are not doing something constructive, we are absorbing inanities from the media world. But we never seem to give ourselves, or anyone else, time simply to sit and think.

God worked for six days on creation and sat down to rest on the seventh. I don't believe it was because he needed to rest, for God is untiring. I think he did it more as an example to us. We need time to think, to ruminate, simply to be, and to be in his presence.

Without time for contemplation and meditation, we lose sight of God and our position with him and our purpose in his plans.

It is a management principle that you can expect 85% efficiency from your staff about 85% of the time. The other 15% is just "wasted?" No, the other 15% is that sabbatical that God ordained at the time of creation.

If you expect 100% effectiveness 100% of the time, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and failure. You need that sabbatical that God set aside for you.

Take your sabbath rest. Revel in God's presence. Let him speak to you. Listen for him. Simply be. You will be amazed at how much more productive your 85% will become.

Father, God,

Remind us that you are the be all and end all of our existence. Help us to focus on you as the source of our lives. Then our work and our responsibilities will not be burdensome, but easy to handle in light of your provision.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

An Attitude of Gratitude

Focus verses: Psalm 100

This is one of my favorite psalms. In the first place it says "make a joyful noise" not "sing sweetly on key." The criteria for our singing is joy, not musical ability.

But no one can be joyful all the time, can they? That depends on where your joy lies. If the joy of the Lord is your strength, then you can be joyful all the time. God is always with you. If he is the source of your joy, nothing can change it.

When things seem blackest, we can praise the Lord for who and what he is. He inhabits the praises of his people. No matter what circumstances surround us, he is unchanging and always sure. If your security is in him, nothing can shake it.

This truth allows us to be grateful to God for who and what he is, no matter what happens around us or to us.

So at all times and in all seasons, we can bring a sacrifice of praise to him. Blessing his name for who he is.

That sacrifice of praise will hold you together in the roughest of times. It draws you closer to him and reminds you of all his power and righteousness.

In a time when I thought I would drown in grief, the old hymn, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, came bubbling up out of my middle. While the grief was still there, I had an assurance that it would not overwhelm me, that with God's help I could get through it.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

For that I was and am mightily grateful.

Father, God,

Thank you for being our peace and our strength. Remind us at all times to come to you with praise and thanksgiving so that we may always be blessed of you.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Delight and Desire

Focus verses: Psalm 37

Psalm 37 sets forth a pathway of power. It is filled with things to do and not to do.

Look at the times it says "fret not" and at the imperative sentences that begin with "trust," "commit", and "delight."

1Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

The progression is simple. It mirrors our growth in the Lord. First we come to a saving faith by believing in him. Trust in the Lord.

Then we get so excited about him that thoughts of him take over our lives. We talk about him constantly and find great joy just being in his presence.

Eventually we learn that all we have is not ours, but his. So we commit our lives and our goods and our business dealings to him.

Eventually we learn to rest patiently in him, knowing that all things will come to fruition in his good time, not on our earthly timetable.

Then we can cease from wrath and anger. Those emotions come when we think someone has spoiled something we were entitled to. We are entitled to nothing but a relationship with God. All else is negotiable.

At that point, we can be still and know that he is the sovereign Lord of all the universe.

Father, God,

Help us to move from belief to trust to commitment to rest in you. Grant that we may be swift students and able practitioners. Help us to cease from all futility and know that you are the sovereign Lord, that we can cease our fretting because you have our best interest at heart.

In Jesus' most precious name.

Amen.




Sunday, January 2, 2011

Identity and Purpose

Focus Verses: Genesis 1:26,27; Genesis 2:19-25

Looking at the first set of focus verses tells us what we are, creations in the image and likeness of God. We were created to have dominion over all the other creations of God. And we were created in two genders. The two genders were, in my view, needed because of our human limitations. God is infinite with infinite capacities for love, tenderness, judgment and wrath. It would be impossible to get all the qualities of God wrapped up into a single human being, unless that human form were God himself in the person of Jesus Christ.

The second set of verses speaks to the creation of woman out of man. She was created to be a companion equal to and fit for him. This places woman at the side of man, not over his head and not under his feet.

The relationships in these two passages are both vertical (with God) and horizontal (with man). Because God is our creator, we are subservient to him, to his purposes and plans. We are not capable of knowing all of those purposes and plans, but we are capable of trusting him to know them and to see them to fruition. We need only supply our obedience to him.

Because woman was created from the rib of man, they are the same flesh. She wasn't created from his head to be dominant over him, nor from his feet to be subservient. She was created to be a companion and helper, fitted to him perfectly. Equal in all things.

This requires being respectful, submissive, kind, and loving. You respect others because they, too, were made in God's image. Being submissive requires letting people see who you are, without pretense or mask, and letting them show you who they are the same way. Being kind means treating each person as if they were your other self. And loving means having their best interest at heart, equal to or even more that your own self-interest.

Those are tall orders, but possible if we remember who we are and whose we are.

Father, God,

Help us always to remember that our beginning is in you. Help us to remember that everyone else has that same beginning. Grant that we may sink our roots deeper in you, so that we are not blown about by every wind nor uprooted by every storm. Keep us firmly grounded in you and your word that we may be about the work you would have us do.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.