My family decided to go on a late afternoon hike at Silver Falls State Park yesterday. I had thoughts running through my mind lately from last Sunday’s sermon, my son coming back from camp, the development of the sunflowers in the backyard, down to the worldwide protests, but my desire to put them in writing completely escaped me.
I do want to convey one important thing. One of the first things that I did when I got saved was stop listening to secular music since lyrics is everything and sound is secondary. Not long ago, I shared a song which spoke of having fears and doubts about God’s forgiveness, and as far as that’s concerned, it’s the artist’s personal sentiment which I happen to differ. It is a common struggle for Christians however, but I will audaciously say I am secure in my conviction when it comes to being forgiven. I cling to this with all of my being – God is one who does what He says without fail.
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”
Isaiah 43:25
A Song of God’s Majesty and Love
A Praise of David
1 I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And on Your wondrous works.
6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.
10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.
Psalm 145
Though at times I may stray from talking about God’s goodness and mercy, countless others attest to His ever cascading mercy. We know a lot of people are suffering. Due to that, some choose to hate God with a passion instead of humbling themselves. If you are married and you employ this kind of behavior towards your spouse, you estrange yourself further. We all know that demanding an answer in a hostile manner gets us nowhere. Remember what happened to Job, a righteous man who demanded an answer from God and how he was humbled (Job 40:4). Now imagine those who demand an answer from God with nothing but hostility. If you in your humanity were God, would you respond? Making demands to a king in an irreverent manner is a costly mistake even for those who rationalize their behavior as a fitting response to something they dislike.
Yes, God is loving and is longsuffering, but He is God and we are not. He is above ALL things. If we remember this, we can humble ourselves. If God were to take my life this very day, I would like to impart this to those who have taken the time to read my blog about the God I worship,
“How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.”
Psalm 31:19
on those who take refuge in you – No one takes refuge in God unless they were humble. I have talked to an atheist who thought of himself in these exact words, “But yes, even despite my faults, I’m still 1,000 times more moral than the bible god.” Humility is the key to being heard by God because as you can see, pride is abominable and it separates His creation from Him.
May all those who are destined to salvation come to know Him without delay and declare God’s cascading love and mercy in a generation that is desperately in need of the truth.
Amen!!!