"It's Marvelous"

"This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."  Psalm 118:23

"This is the Lord's doing".  There are some things that only God can do.  Only He can create a universe.  Man can explore it but not create it.  Only He can place a seed on a tree that will produce another tree.  We can plant a seed but only He can give us the seed to plant.  Man breathes in oxygen, but only God can create the oxygen.  Man can dig gold out of the earth.  But it was God who put it there for him to dig.  Man can enjoy the sunshine and harness its energy into solar power, but God was the one who created the sun.  Man may invent instruments for work and pleasure, but it was God who gave him the thoughts to do it, the wisdom to carry it out, and the resources that it takes to make it.  Man can work to make money, but it is God who gives him the power to get wealth. This and much more is the Lord's doing because only He can do it.  And what He does is marvelous.

 On many occasions the Psalmist writes of how he marvels at what God has done.  "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:3,4) He marvels at God's handiwork.  He marvels at the great things that God has done for him.  But he also marvels at God's goodness, love, mercy, patience, forbearance and grace toward mankind.  He marvels that God loves him so much that He would send His Son into the world to pay for the sins that he committed. 

I marvel at His creation.  I marvel at His presence in my life.  I marvel at how He blesses me.  I marvel at His love and compassion for me.  I marvel at it and never want to take it-- or Him-- for granted.  What about you?  Do you marvel at it?  Do you marvel at God's handiwork?  Do you marvel at His great love for you?  Do you marvel that God would even notice you much less have anything to do with you?  Or do you take it for granted?  

Have a great day.  Do we marvel over God and His handiwork?  Or do we take it for granted?

"Start And End With Praise"

"O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.   For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise ye the Lord."  Psalm 117:1,2

This is the shortest chapter in the entire Bible.  Did you notice that it starts with the admonishment to praise the Lord and ends with the same?  And in the middle is the reason why we praise Him. 

To me these verses speak to the sum total of our entire life... our life should be one of praise.  It should be full of praise instead of complaining.  It should be full of praise instead of fear.  It should be full of praise instead of murmuring.  Some people's lives are full of everything but praise... no matter how good God is to them.

The verses start with praise and ends with praise which also makes me think about the start of my day and the end of my day.  If I would start the day with praise, things would go so much better.  Why should I praise Him in the morning?  Because I woke up, for one.  He kept me safe during the night.  He gave me rest.  He watched over me.  At the end of the day, I should praise Him.  As I reflect over the events of the day, I can see how He protected, provided, led and guided me.  I can see that He truly was with me throughout the day. 

I guess I have rambled on only to say that we have more reasons to praise the Lord than we don't have.  When we praise the Lord, our cares don't seem as big.  When we praise the Lord, there is no room for fear, doubt, complaining or any other negative thing.  When we praise Him, it magnifies Him and minimizes the problems. 

So, did you start your day this morning with praise? Or did you complain because you had to get up? Will you look back at the end of this day and praise Him for the good things that He did for you?  Or will you complain about all that went wrong?

Have a great day.  Our lives should be full of praise... starting in the morning and ending the day... and many times in-between!   

"God's Unchanging Mindset"

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."  Hebrews 13:8

If you go back and look at past years, decades, centuries and millenniums, you will discover that things have changed from one time period to the next-- even drastically.

Nations that once "ruled the world" are no longer powerful.  Rulers have come and gone.  Customs have changed.  Clothing styles and hairstyles have changed.  The way we perform certain tasks have changed due to the invention of modern equipment. 

Mindsets have changed.  Some for the better.  Some for the worse.  They have changed in the world and in the church.  But as you go back through time there is one thing that you will discover that has not changed-- God has not changed.  He still has the same "mindset" that He had in the beginning. 

People may change their mind based on social acceptance, on tradition, on the customs of the day, on popular opinion, on hope of gain, out of fear, for the sake of peace, in order to be politically correct, or any number of other reasons. 

We don't have to worry or wonder about the Lord when it comes to changing His mindset.  He doesn't care if His "mindset" is politically correct or if it is popular.  He doesn't care if the masses agree with it or not.  He doesn't care if it is considered old fashioned, outdated and out of touch.

What He once called sin, is still sin.  What He once said was an abomination is still an abomination.  When He said that the way to eternal life is through faith in His Son Jesus, He still says it is.  He hasn't changed His mind.  Just because society has changed the way it looks at things, and just because the church has changed its views on certain matters, and just because people's opinions say the opposite, doesn't mean that God has.  He still sees it the same way He always has.

Instead of trying to get God to change His mind, instead of working against what He says, we need to ask Him to change our minds and cause them to line up with His mindset. 

Have a great day.  In this ever-changing world, there is a comfort and stability that comes from knowing that the Lord never changes.  His mind is made up.

"Trust And Don't Fear"

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."  Psalm 56:3

When you look at the condition of the world around us-- wars and rumors of war, the insecurity of the financial systems, evil men making threats, and so on-- it is easy to allow yourself to become afraid.  Afraid of the unknown.  Afraid of uncertainties in life.  Afraid of evil reports.  Afraid of what the future may hold.  If you allow it, by dwelling on these things, fear will come in and try to overwhelm, defeat and consume you.

But as born-again believers in Christ we do not have to be afraid of evil tidings, ominous reports and uncertainties.  First, because God hasn't given us a spirit of fear.  Fear does not come from Him.  It is a weapon of the enemy that he uses against us.  What God has given us is power.  Power over all the powers of the enemy-- including fear.  He has given us love.  Perfect love casts out fear.  He has also given us a sound mind.  If we keep our minds on Him and His promises, fear will not have a place in our minds in order to torment us.  Instead, our minds will be at peace.

"What time I am afraid".  There will, no doubt, be times when we will be tempted to be afraid.  But when we are, we can trust in the Lord.  We have an anchor of hope and peace in Him.  He will not leave us when fear comes.  He will empower us to overcome when it comes.  He will protect us when it comes.  He will make a way for us when fear comes. 

Are you battling fear today?  Is fear coming against you?  Are the things you are going through promoting fear in your life?  Take this verse to heart.  Apply it.  Turn to the Lord and trust in Him-- because you can trust Him.

Have a great day.  When you are afraid, trust in the Lord.  Your trust in the Lord is your greatest weapon to combat fear.

For further reading:
2 Timothy 1:7  

"It Is A Blessing"

"Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord."  Psalm 118:26

We all want to be blessed.  We think that blessings equate to money, material possessions, provisions, and other things that pertain to our physical wellbeing.  While those are a type of blessing, but they are not the greatest blessings.  They are temporary.  They may be here today but gone tomorrow.  They are fleeting.  They don't offer real security.  The greatest blessings are those which have eternal value to them.

The greatest blessings are eternal and spiritual in nature.  The truest definition of blessings is:  benefits and gifts that have been divinely bestowed.  The greatest blessing bestowed upon us is that of salvation and eternal life.  God in His grace and mercy gave us the opportunity to escape the wages of sin if we put our faith in His Son Jesus and the work He did at the cross.   

I want us to look at a blessing this morning that we have probably never considered a blessing (a divinely bestowed gift).  The verse above is a prophesy given about Jesus.  It was fulfilled at His triumphant entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.  He was "blessed" in His coming.  What was He coming to do?  He was coming to fulfill the will of the Father.  He didn't come to do His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him. 

This blessing I want us to look at is the blessing of being in and doing the will of God.  We often don't see this as a blessing, but it is.  We pray for His will.  We say we want His will.  But do we really see His will as a blessing in our lives?  How blessed we are that God has a will for us.  How blessed to know that He has chosen us to fulfill His will.  How wonderful that He wants us to be a part of fulfilling His will in the earth.  This, my friends, is a blessing.  He could have chosen anyone and anything to fulfill His will, but He chose us-- more specifically, He chose you.  Will you accept this blessing?  Will you respond to His will?  Will you allow Him to fulfill His great plan through you?  Don't reject this blessing.  It is of much more value than the physical and material ones you would accept from Him-- it is eternal and has eternal riches with it.   

Have a great day.  Don't take the will of God for granted or reject it.  It is one of your greatest blessings.

For further reading:
Matthew 21:8-10