Exalt in the Lord
Isaiah 25:1 (NKJV) 1 O LORD, You are my God.
I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
Psalms 96:4-6 (NKJV) 4 For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the LORD made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
When I preached full time, I would sometimes begin the service with “This is the day the Lord has made—let us rejoice and be glad in it. There are so many benefits when we choose to praise God, knowing that our circumstances will never dictate our response. Instead, praising God is our first and last answer to every situation.
This weekend we are remembering all who have given their lives for our freedoms. Memorial Day will be celebrated with food, fun and fellowship. May we take time to not only remember the sacrifices of those gone before, but may we lift up our sacrifice of praise for the one, true and living God, for Jesus our Savior who gave His life, and for the Holy Spirit who leads us in all truth.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Isaiah 60:1-2 (NKJV) 1 Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
I have always been fascinated by sunrises and sunsets. In the morning, the darkness gives way to light just a little at a time, and then suddenly the absence of light is overtaken when the sun rises over the horizon, coloring the skies sometimes subtly, at other times in brilliant hues of red and orange.
As much as I love early mornings as well as the beginnings of twilight, they are nothing compared to the glory of the Lord. I cannot comprehend how anyone can be oblivious to the glory of God! “Have you not seen, have you not heard” is the question posed in Isaiah 40:28. When we doubt who God is and even how He interacts with His creation, we are showing that we are not paying attention.
The darkness mentioned by Isaiah is not simply physical but represents the sin that would overwhelm us were it not for Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. It is His light that illuminates and transforms. It is His light that reveals and exposes. It is His light that brings salvation to a sin sick world.
May we see His light and His glory today as we dedicate ourselves to growing in discipleship and sharing Jesus with all we meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Be exalted O God
Psalms 57:8-11 (NIV) 8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
Oh, could anyone praise God better than David? I can identify with David beginning the day with praise in his heart. As the darkness gives way to a new day, I hear the birds singing their morning song, and I praise God for yet another day. I am in awe of the way God loves—unconditionally. I am amazed by the depth and breadth of His love—worldwide. And for me, the only possible response is to join with David in exalting the one, true and living God.
Whether I am in need, or I am eating from the horn of plenty, I will praise God. Why praise God when times are hard? How could I praise Him for only the good times when Jesus is my constant companion in good times and bad.
May we awaken the dawn with praise on our lips and thankfulness in our heart.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Live in Peace
1 Thessalonians 5:12-24 (NIV) 12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
Peace—inner calm, tranquility, absence of conflict.
Oh, how I love Paul’s words to the Thessalonians. Everything in these few verses provides us with a blueprint for living with and caring for others. Encourage, help, be patient with, do not pay back wrong but strive to do what is good. I have found that looking for good in others brings out the good in me. When I seek to see people through the eyes of Christ, I do not see their flaws, but I see people loved by God and therefore worthy of my love.
For years, I interpreted verse 18 to mean give thanks in spite of everything. That must be what he meant, right? No, when we are believers, Christ followers, we not only see life differently, we live differently. When we can begin to give thanks for adverse circumstances, then we are engaging in Kingdom living here on this earth.
May we today and every day rejoice always, stay in an attitude of prayer, and give thanks, for this is the will of God.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now This I Know
Psalms 20:5-8 (NIV) May the LORD grant all your requests.
6 Now this I know:
The LORD gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
Why do we trust in God? Because we have witnessed His great power and faithfulness time and again. When I read verses 7-8 I am immediately reminded of the account of Deborah’s defeat of Sisera’s army in Judges 4 and 5. Sisera did not just “happen” to escape into Jael’s tent for what he believed was refuge—it was God. And whatever is going on in our lives right this moment is not just happenstance. When we put our faith and our trust in the one, true, and living God, He will deliver us.
May we remember the faithfulness of God in specific circumstances in our lives so that we can go forward with the confidence of David that God gives victory to those who trust in Him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 