It’s Ours To Care For

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 115. It’s a wonderful praise, and reminder of God’s glory on the whole universe. The verse I want to focus on is verse 16; reading from the ESV.

“The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.” I never did laugh at the so-called “tree-huggers.” I probably wouldn’t chain myself to a tree, but I do see their point. We need to manage the things God has given us stewardship over much more carefully. Being homeless, I see a lot of disrespect toward God’s creation. That’s not only disrespect for His creation, but it’s also disrespect for oneself. God made everything beautiful for us. He made it to replenish itself, to sustain life on it, and to give us everything we need to live in good health, comfortably, and happily. When we don’t take care to replenish what we use, we risk destroying that resource completely. The buffalo, and many other near extinct animals are proof of that.

Caring for the earth begins in your own personal space. From there, we gain the strength and energy to care for the world around us; to contribute to its beauty, and to keep it beautiful. God is a god of order, not chaos. When we stop caring for our personal space, we fall victim to chaos, dis-ease, energy sapping currents, etc. This radiates outwardly toward the world around us, in all our relationships, and in eternity, I believe. If you’re going to radiate something, let it be the love, peace, joy, and power within you, that comes from the loving, peaceful, joyful, and powerful personal space you create and sustain. There’s a reason God’s sanctuary is called a sanctuary.

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How Great Thou Art

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 104; another one extolling God’s great love and power.

I hope you’ll read the psalm, and check each and every thing listed in it out. This psalm reminds me of a day when I stood in the ocean’s tide. Let me tell you how to get a clear picture of how immense God is: Stand in the ocean for a few minutes. I was absolutely overwhelmed with awe; awestruck, I was! I can also recall more than a few nights spent looking up at the moon and stars in the sky. In Montana, you can see them quite clearly. They blew me away every time I looked at them.

As you begin to think about all the things God does, and how much He loves His creation, you can suddenly find yourself snuggled up really close to Him. LOL Oh, my goodness, what an awesome God, and what an awesome love. And, oh, LORD/Lord, thank you so much for everything you are, and everything you do! If this psalm doesn’t stir your spirit up to absolute awe and sheer joy in being God’s child, I don’t know what will. Read it from the ESV; that’s the most up to date translation.

I can only think of one song to go with this message. Thank you, Lauren Daigle, for this beautiful rendition.

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Love Like That

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 98, and is a party in itself! Oh, what a wonderful example of joyous praise; and of a deep, deep love for the LORD/Lord! I’m reading from the ESV.

“Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”

Sometimes it’s hard to understand just how deeply God does love us. We have a hard time allowing ourselves to be as intimate with Him as we are with our spouse, our children, all our loved ones. But, that’s exactly what God wants from us; that intimacy, that boldness when we approach Him, that confidence when we need Him, that trust. Of course, that intimacy isn’t possible unless and until we allow God into that deepest part of our hearts.

One thing I love about this psalm is that it beckons even to the rivers to clap their hands, the hills to sing for joy. The sea is bid to roar and make a joyful noise to the King, the LORD. It makes me think about waking up in the mountains, just before sunrise. You can hear everything waking up, and it all comes together in a symphony of praise to God. The water begins to gurgle and run a little faster, the wind begins to whisper through the branches of the trees, and sometimes you even hear a bird whistle out there. It’s one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had. Each time we get a glimpse of God’s working in the world around us, we can see a little more of His deep, deep love for His creation. Even the colors of the sunrise and sunset are rich with His love for us; His desire to share His own beauty with us.

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Praise Is Due To Him, Indeed

Today’s message comes to us from Psalm 65, and I think this is one of my favorite psalms. I just love it every time I read it. Verse 1 tells us that Praise is due to Him; and our vows to Him shall be performed…in Zion. That tells me I can go up and praise Him on His Holy mountain! And that’s in verse 2: “O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.” Remember where John went in the Spirit?

Here’s what we have when we do come before Him; thanks to Jesus! This is verse 3: “When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.” Jesus did that for once and for all time on Calvary! Now, we can overcome the darkness in this world, and be in Heaven *both eternally and here on Earth, in our living. That’s where verse 4 comes in: “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!” We can dwell in His courts, and his house can be our house.

There are a couple of things to take away from the holiness of His temple. First, It takes me to the Commandment: “Worship the LORD your God and serve him only.” (Luke 4:8) (Deut. 6:13) I also think about being the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. In light of that, we must respect ourselves, and others when we can. A wise person once told me that if you can’t respect someone, you can still be respectful toward them. It also tells me that we should do nothing to debase, defile, degrade, demean, and destroy another’s dignity and self respect. *Notice, those words all begin with the first letter of the word “devil.”

Verse 5 tell us that God answers us by awesome deeds and with righteousness. That makes me think of when I’ve heard kids talking about how awesome someone’s parents are. God’s love is awesomely empowering, calming; inspiring love, courage, . In and through it, we are empowered to realize, accept, and respect our own authority over our lives. That reminds me of what Jesus said. “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

The rest of the psalm outlines God’s working in the world we live in; in His creation. It gives us a picture of the effects and results of His steadfast loving-kindness toward His creation.

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Advice For The Royals

Today’s message comes to us from Proverbs 29; and since you are a king or queen in the earth, it’s for you.

Proverbs 29: 2 tells us “when the righteous flourish, people rejoice, but when the wicked rule people groan.” Proverbs 29:14 “If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever.” That tells me that there is joy in the admonition, encouragement, instruction, and discipline of the Lord. It also tells me that my children will benefit much more if I raise them under the admonition of the Lord. Just as people groan under wicked rulers (parents, boss, supervisor, mate, leader), all of creation is apt to suffer because of wicked rulers. The reason for that is found in Proverbs 29:7-“A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.” This why we have things like pollution, affecting air, water, earth, and the ozone layer that protects us from the sun. Proverbs 29:4 tells us that a king builds up his land by justice, but one who exacts gifts, or *taxes heavily, tears it down. Justice is not only the aim in a court of law; it includes weighing all things out correctly, looking at a thing from all sides, in order to achieve what’s best for all. Exacting a gift is forcing someone to give something to you. This is the cause of most rebellion; even in our children. Force, or duress, is not conducive of peace, which is necessary for learning. Proverbs 29:15 tells us that the rod and reproof give wisdom. The rod, in this case, is used to measure growth, progress, correctness of action. Reproof is instruction meant to correct thinking and action. Isn’t it much easier to learn something when you are made aware of your error(s) and helped to understand the correct way? Proverbs 29: 19 addresses that. “By mere words a servant is not disciplined, for though he understands, he will not respond.” But, by instruction, and with help, correction can come about. The spilt milk example fits well here. We help the child to clean up the mess, and then figure out how to avoid spilling the milk again. Punishment needs to fit the crime. {You broke the window, and must pay to replace it.} Proverbs 29:12 is an admonition to be careful who you surround yourself with; and to check facts. “If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked.” Proverbs 29:22 shows us the value of peace. “A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression. Ever wonder why your children seem to go from being in trouble to being in more trouble, to being in even more trouble? There’s a difference between loving discipline and harsh punishment. Proverbs 29:23 tells us that “One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.” I think of (Matt. 20:28) when I read this one. Jesus came to serve; not to be served. He gave His life to ransom all who believe and receive Him. Proverbs 29:25-26 “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the LORD that a man gets justice.” This is a warning against falling into “people pleasing,” or even expecting people to be pleased with you, actually. Trust in the LORD because He teaches us justice. (Right understanding, correctly weighing things out).

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Every Day With Him Is Wondrous

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to seek to see the wonders of, and in, God’s Kingdom. When we do this, the scales begin to fall off our eyes, and we are able to see more and more of the wonders in, and of, His creation.

Here’s Mercy Me with an old favorite of mine. By the way, I dance with, and for Him every day! Oh, how I love you, Lord!

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Acceptance Changes Them

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to accept the trials that come our way. We are reminded that we cannot be destroyed; that God’s grace is sufficient for us. God’s grace is sufficient for all our needs, in every circumstance. That one’s easy to forget, isn’t it? Something that has helped me in the past, and continues to be a great help to me, is acceptance .

As I thought about acceptance in regard to this message, I saw it in a different light. It isn’t merely acceptance of the trials that matters. It is, first and foremost, acceptance of our new heritage in Christ Jesus, complete with all the authority, peace, power, etc. that comes with that heritage, that makes the difference. (2Co. 5:17) -“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” That acceptance changes the way we see those trials. It changes their size, first of all. Seeing them in light of who you are in Christ, is like looking through the other end of the binoculars. Remember the Israelites seeing themselves as grasshoppers in comparison to the Philistines? (Numbers 13:33)

Jesus showed us how to turn the binoculars around, so we see the truth. The truth is that nothing can separate us from the love of God, He is our beginning and our end, and in Him there is no end for us. (Romans 8:39) (Psalm 91) (John 11:26) Finally, there’s the last part of that scripture about God’s grace being sufficient for us…”for my power is made perfect (or perfected) in weakness. That weakness spoken of there is the laying down of our will, our attitude(s), thoughts and words, and our ways. Instead, we are to adhere to God’s will, His attitudes, thoughts and words, and His ways. (Jeremiah 29:11) (2 Co. 10:5) (Matt. 5:48) That changes the trial to an opportunity to win; just like Jesus does-every time…and, when He wins, we all do. Lord, help me to get this one down for good, please. Thank you.

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