Tag Archives: God’s glory

Random Devotional Thoughts

God’s Mercy and Peace.

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Galatians  1: 3-5                                

    Paul  is still in his introduction to the Galatian Christians here.  He was in a position to pass on a blessing from God to others…. The challenge to us is, do we know God well enough to do this as well?

Paul knew God’s grace and peace and he knew where it came from.… it was the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.     Note that he uses Christ’s full title here…. none of this plain “Jesus” as we hear so much in Christian circles today. The world uses the name “Jesus Christ” in blasphemy and expletives, but only a genuine believer uses His full title. Let us see that we make full use of it!

     We sometimes wonder if non-Christian people we associate with, notice that we don’t talk as they do….I remember once when I was having my weekly game of golf (and I played golf very badly!) and had made a particularly bad shot. One of the ladies I was playing with, said, “I don’t know how you can have a shot like that, and not be swearing!” So people DO notice how we act and talk! Let us not let the Lord Jesus Christ down in our speech and actions!

     In the next verse, Paul says why He is our Lord Jesus Christ….. it is because He gave Himself for our sins and delivered us from this present evil world. This is God’s will for each human being. Let us see that we live in the enjoyment of this blessing and not go back into the scum of what this world has to offer!      Paul finishes off his introduction by acknowledging God’s glory which is everlasting….. this is the eternal praise of heaven (Revelation 5:12-14). If we don’t want to do this on earth now, we certainly won’t want to do it for eternity!

The blessings of God are mercy and peace, We can thank Him now that they’ll never cease; Through the work that was done,   By His well loved Son, ‘Twill last well beyond our decease.

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When Troubles Come….

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2016-03-06 16.37.30I was sent the address of a video clip to watch the other day; it was of two young children with superb singing voices and great confidence, performing before a crowd of people. Not only was the tune very catchy, but the harmony they sang was beautiful. But the words were what caught my attention most of all. What a great message they held, and I couldn’t help wondering how they would fit into a Christian context. They certainly brought a raft of thoughts to me…

“When I am down, and my soul is weary, When troubles come and my heart burdened be,” the young boy sang in a voice as clear as a bell. I thought of the verses from the book of Psalms…”I am weary with my groaning; all the night I make my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears” (Psalm 6:6) How many times we have been in this situation!! Unable to sleep, tossing and turning with one’s mind going round and round in circles over the problem.

The small girl picked up the thread of the song….“When I am still and wait in silence, Until you come and sit a while with me”…. Sometimes there is no person on earth who can give a solution, but if we turn the matter over to God, the Heavenly Father, and wait for Him, He will come and sit with us if we will only take the time to be quiet and listen for His voice….” Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

The boy picked up the melody, and his voice soared high and precise….

“You raise me up so I can stand on mountains,” and these words brought to mind the fact that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31)

 The girl chimed in, pure and clear… “You raise me up to walk on stormy seas”, and I remembered the story of Peter being able to walk on the sea while he kept his eyes on the Lord, but sinking as soon as he took them off Him.  “Oh you of little faith”, said Jesus, “Why did you doubt?” How often we doubt and sink back into the waves of fear and worry!

The song continued in perfect harmony with the two voices together, “I am strong when I am on Your shoulders”; God said to Israel, “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself” (Exodus 19:4)

“You raise me up to more than I can be”. What more can we hope for than to be with God the Father, and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ,  for the ages of eternity!

Jesus prayed before His crucifixion, “Father, I will that they also whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world”. (John 17:24)

The verse of the song came to an end for a moment with the music continuing on, and then the two voices repeated the song in harmony, finishing off with a crescendo of sound to the prolonged applause of the audience.

“When I am down, and my soul is weary, When troubles come and my heart burdened be,”

….“When I am still and wait in silence, Until you come and sit a while with me”….

“You raise me up so I can stand on mountains, You raise me up to walk on stormy seas”,

“I am strong when I am on Your shoulders, You raise me up to more than I can be”.

These two young people have no idea of what lies ahead in life for them, but they can rest assured that there will be some of those stormy seas and times of trouble for them to go through. If they learn to trust the One Who promised to bear His people on eagles’ wings in times of stress and trials, then they will indeed find that they will be strong when upon His shoulders and will be raised up to more than they would otherwise be. As they learn to trust Him, they will find themselves stronger and more able to bear what life throws at them as they take the time to be still and see what God will do for them.

 

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That Temptation in Your Pocket! (Part Two)

Phone 1      If you idolize popularity, if it is being admired and having lots  of followers that makes you feel good about yourself, then you  will be tempted to use your smart-phone to pursue that idol. You may use the camera to take inappropriate photographs of  yourself in Instagram, or you may use the Facebook app to say harsh words about other people. That phone that can be used  to do so much good and to bring so much encouragement will now be used to cause harm.

There are not many people who buy a phone intending to use it to harm others or to look at pornography. But where your heart is, there your technology will be also. The way you use your technology reveals your heart.  It shows whether your heart is oriented toward God and toward finding true joy and satisfaction in Him, or whether you are  attempting to find counterfeit joy and satisfaction in the things He forbids. At any moment, your heart has a purpose for your  phone. Yes, thank God for your smart-phone, but plead with Him for wisdom to use it well, and guard your heart.

Use It to the Glory of God!

And now it is time to take that phone out of the box and to turn it on for the first time. As you hold it in your hand, why don’t you take a moment to pray? Ask God to help you to use that phone well. Commit before Him right now that, to the best of your abilities, you will only ever use it to serve His purposes. Ask a believing friend or two to be your accountability and check in regularly. Then go and glorify Him with and through it.

Random Devotional Thoughts

Don’t Push God Too Far!

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I’ve been reading a book about some of the early explorers of the Pacific, and their contacts with the native people of the islands. The explorers found the lifestyle of these people to be idyllic, living as they did where food grew easily and fish were plentiful around their shores.

On the flip side of this was the bondage they were under to their  ancient culture of spirit worship and rituals which had to be strictly adhered to, under pain of curses and death from these spirits.

When the white men appeared and wanted to trade for food and fresh water, the people were at first afraid and apprehensive, but as they got to know them and found that they had many things that they (the Islanders) didn’t have access to, the different chiefs would try to “adopt” them so they could get their hands on these things. During these interactions between the white men and the islanders, the chiefs took Captain Cook ashore to the temple of their ancient gods. They gave him the name of their chief god and the people bowed down with their faces covered, giving him worship and reverence.

At the same time, Captain Cook’s temper with both his own men and with the islanders began to inflame. It was shortly after this, in January of 1779 that Captain Cook was killed while ashore with the local people.

It was ten years later in April of 1789, that Captain Bligh was once again sailing around these same islands. He made the reaquaintance of some of the same chiefs, and once again they paid him homage as a representative of their spirit gods. Strangely enough after a few weeks of this interaction, Bligh began to act violently towards his men. He too, was given homage and worship by the people. As his temper grew more violent, this led ultimately to mutiny on his ship. It almost seemed that both these men had opened themselves up to some sort of demon possession which showed itself in the violent outbursts of temper.

This story reminded me that God says He will not share His glory with any other….not only had these two great sea captains taken man’s glory and worship for themselves but they in turn were giving it to these heathen spirit gods. (Isaiah 48:11)

God’s judgment fell on both these men in different ways….Captain Cook was killed by these people, clubbed to death on the beach in view of his ship, and Captain Bligh was forced to leave his ship by his mutineering crew.

The boat that made this journey was only meant to carry fifteen and that for just short distances. Bligh managed to sail safely across the Pacific to Australia and thence to Timor and civilisation, going down in history as an epic story of endurance.

We are told in his story that Bligh had “a spiritual awakening” as the result of his ordeal and turned to God…he certainly gave God the credit for a safe journey and their safe arrival later. God dealt with both these men in different ways….one never had any further chance while the other one was given a second chance. Let’s make sure that we don’t push God too far in His mercy, patience and grace!