God’s Glory | Reflections

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Rejoice!

Posted in God's Glory, Prayer, The Righteous on September 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:4-8

The news is quite depressing. There are so many problems going on and people are angry. Many people are not happy with their life and do not have a positive outlook of the future. Even the experts say these are tough times. Yet God is still worthy to be praised.

Why dwell on the negative? It takes so much energy and stress to worry and be angry. Circumstances should not dictate how we feel. We can set our minds on the things above and not on the things of this world.

Paul admonishes us to let our gentleness be known to all because the Lord is near. We have no reason to worry because we can take everything to God in prayer. We have peace that surpasses all understanding even in the midst of turmoil and in times we don’t understand why these things happen.

Choose today to rejoice in the Lord and be glad. Think about the excellent things God has done and will continue to do. Remember when God got you out of that tough situation? Remember when God answered your prayer at the moment all hope seemed lost? Look at the lilies in the field, they don’t worry about when it will rain or when the sun will shine, they just are lilies in the field displaying the glory of God. So rejoice, rejoice and again rejoice! Then you will see the peace of God transcend all life’s problems.

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Rembering 9/11

Posted in God's Glory, The Righteous on September 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

23Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

24″Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?

25″Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

26So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”

32Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” Genesis 18: 23-26, 32

On September 11, 2001, the United States experienced one of the worst terrorist acts in history. Thousands of people lost their lives that day and many continue as we have been fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s hard to believe it has been nine years and we are still fighting an enemy that wants to see us destroyed.

When a tragic event like 9/11 takes place the inevitable question is “Why God?” The mistake many of us make in explaining God’s role is we try to justify what took place. There were some who said that God was judging the United States and He was not happy with what we are doing in regards to sin. Those few believed God was passing judgment and even our enemy believed they were doing the right thing by “judging” the USA through acts of terrorism.

I was on a plane at the time the terrorist attacks took place on 9/11. I was on an airport runway in Pittsburgh waiting for our plane to take off. We were told to return to the gate and learned when we got off that the FAA had ordered all planes to land and all airports to shutdown. I was in complete disbelief at the events that began to unfold in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon. As the day progressed I began to see God at work.

As I heard of the reports of survivors and that this could have been so much worse I began to thank God. So many people were able to get out of the Twin Towers before they fell and their lives were spared. The planes were not full to capacity and one of the planes did not reach its target in Washington, D.C. Instead of seeing God’s judgment, God’s mercy and love were at play.

I know many people died on 9/11 but let us remember it is because of our enemy not God’s divine judgment. Let’s praise God for the many lives that were saved and the fact that God continues to protect this nation. I believe it is because of the righteous that this nation is blessed and protected by God. I marvel at how we have not experienced far worse terrorist attacks in our nation. It is not because we have such great security (security is still very lax), it is by God’s grace that we have been spared more attacks and innocent deaths.

Our enemy is very real but God is greater than our enemy. As we reflect on this day let us give glory and honor to God for His mercy, love, and protection. We are not destined for destruction, but we are destined to be blessed and be a blessing to so many other nations. God is for us. He watches over this nation and keeps us safe from our enemy. We have peace knowing that we are one nation under God, even if only a few righteous are found. For the righteous sake, God bless America!

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God Exists

Posted in God's Glory, Knowing God on June 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »

²⁰For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22Professing to be wise, they became fools,

23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Romans 1: 20-23

I was reading an article of an interview Diane Sawyer did with Stephen Hawking, a renowned physicist who knows more about the universe than anyone else. He made this statement about God: “What could define God [is thinking of God] as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God,” Hawking told Sawyer. “They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible.” – Interview with Diane Sawyer ABC News “Stephen Hawking on Religion: ‘Science Will Win.’

I think Paul puts it best in regards to someone who claims to have a lot of knowledge about the universe. Men are without excuse. God has made His existence known to man. When you look at the vastness of the universe it is foolish to claim that all of creation came out of nothing. Also, men did not create God in their image; we are created in the image of God. Instead many have denied the existence of the one true God and made gods for themselves.

My heart breaks for people like Stephen Hawking. He is a brilliant man and God has given him great insight and wisdom concerning science but apart from God all that knowledge is just foolishness. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. I would hope that as one sees the vastness and wonderment of the universe the more glorious God would appear.

Here is the best thing. God created us so that He could have a personal relationship with each one of us. God does not simply look at us as creatures but when He created us He looked to Himself and made us in His image. God is our Father, and He is worthy of all the praise and glory.

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Job Repents

Posted in God's Glory, Job, Knowing God on May 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

1Then Job answered the LORD and said,
²“I know that You can do all things,
    And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
³‘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.”
   ⁴‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
    I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
   ⁵“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
    But now my eye sees You;
   ⁶Therefore I retract,
     And I repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:1-6

Job had said things about God based on things he did not understand. Job did not understand why he suffered the way he did. He thought he knew it all and knew God well. Job based what he knew on what he had heard about God. When God finally answers Job and declares His glory, Job realizes that he really did not know God. Job sees God’s glory and how wonderful He is. Even though Job has heard about God now Job has seen God. So Job repents and changes his mind about God.

Many of us base our beliefs about God on what we have heard. Churches even religions have based their doctrines and theologies on things they have heard and believed. Many of us need an encounter with God like Job. Job was reminded of God’s majesty and glory. God never answered Job’s questions, God simply showed Job who He was.

We may not know why we suffer, or why tragedy or calamity comes into our life. God does not always give the answer. What we can know is that God is God and there is no one like Him. He is the one that sets everything in motion and in place. He is the creator of all. Even Satan is subject to God.

Job did not suffer because of sin. We don’t really know why God allowed Satan to do the things he did to Job. We can take comfort in knowing that God was always in control of Job’s life. God never stopped loving Job and Satan was not able to snatch Job out of God’s hand. God has us in His hands and He will never let us go no matter what happens in our life. We may not have all the answers or fully understand the “why” in life but God is always there holding us up even in the times of trouble.

In the time that Job saw God his circumstances no longer seemed important. God was bigger and better. It is the same with us. Whatever you are going through God is bigger and better. The best is yet to come.

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God’s Glory Revealed

Posted in God's Glory, Job, Knowing God on May 6, 2010| Leave a Comment »

12″Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,

¹³That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?

16″Have you entered into the springs of the sea
         Or walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁹“Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
         And darkness, where is its place,
²⁰That you may take it to its territory
         And that you may discern the paths to its home?

24″Where is the way that the light is divided,
         Or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25″Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
         Or a way for the thunderbolt,
²⁶To bring rain on a land without people,
         On a desert without a man in it,
²⁷To satisfy the waste and desolate land
         And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?

Job 38:12, 13, 16, 19, 20, 24-27

God asks Job a series of questions about creation and whether or not he can do the things God does. God displays His power to Job. God is the one that commands the morning. God is the creator of all things. There is no one like God. There is no one greater or above God.

Have you ever marveled at the things of this world? Do you think about how God brings forth day and night? It is amazing how all the seasons work together. God brings sunshine, rain, snow, hail, thunder and lightning. These are things that simply demonstrate the awesome power of God.

We never have to be afraid of the things that happen in our lives because God is in control. Even if things do not go our way today, God will command a new day tomorrow and things will be renewed. So let us not worry about things that are not in our control, but rest in knowing they are in God’s control.

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