Majesty of God

It is has been a long time since I have been here, but I have been working on something so as you read the following please remember this is a work in progress and I hope to add to this to give everyone a completed lesson. The devotional lesson I personally have undertaken is called "The Majesty of God:".

What does majesty mean? Webster dictionary defines it as, “the dignity or power of a sovereign; sovereign power.” So it is describing someone who has absolute power above or superior to all others. THIS IS OUR GOD! J. I. Packer, author of Knowing God, says, “the thought here is not that God is far distant from us in space, but that He is far above us in greatness, and therefore is to be adored.” The psalmist states in Psalm 104:1, “Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, Thou are very great; Thou are clothed with splendor and majesty.” The majesty of God is not dictated by where He is but by who He is.

I find myself taking the greatness of God for granted. God is worthy of praise because each day He displays His majestic power through the beauty of His creation I am surrounded by. So, how do I explain the majesty of God to others? First, it must be through my attitude. Attitude is 90% and 10% is the actions that follow. Within my own heart, mind, and soul I must bow before God acknowledging the fact that He is far above all things in my life. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit; who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.” (Psalm 103:2-5). By acknowledging the greatness of God within my heart I am saying to myself that God is the great one not me. It is He who sustains me.

“This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24. Each day must be appreciated because of who has created it and has given each of us the opportunity to live in it. The question is, “do we really rejoice and are glad?” Take a look around as you go through the day and realize that everything that is visible is evident of the majesty of the Creator, our God. So many times we take evidences like this for granted and just because we are able to wake up each day, we expect it to be like all the other days. Acknowledging the Creator is acknowledging the sovereignty of God, His majesty. Paul stated in his letter to the Romans, “For 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.” So all we have to do is look around us and see the majesty of God! Take this day and bow your head and acknowledge the sovereignty of God.

The majesty of God is unchanging. The God we read about in the Scriptures is the very same God we serve today.  Arthur Pink states, “Such a One (God) is to be revered, worshiped, and adored. He is solitary in His majesty, unique in His excellency, & peerless in His perfections. He sustains all, but is Himself independent of all. He gives to all and is enriched by none."

To understand the majesty of God is to understand the meaning of hallowing His name. Hallow is a word that describes something that is to be kept holy. So, does honoring the name of God the same as hallowing His name? Throughout the Scriptures we read of God’s people worshipping Him but also at the same time His people would worship the baals as well. So, one can see that the people would honor God’s name but they did not hallow His name. God is holy and cannot dwell with anything or anyone who is unholy. Jesus said when we pray we should pray like this, “Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. . .” (Matthew 6:9). Throughout time people have often taken advantage of our great God, who dwells among us by minimizing His greatness through apathy, insincerity, and rebellion. God is in our midst, but that does not make Him less greater just more caring. To hallow God’s name is to never make it meaningless or associate it with which that is common or profane. In Exodus 20:7, God tells the Israelites, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” Take note that God will not allow someone to go unpunished for not keeping His name holy or revered. So, what are you doing today to hallow God’s name?

Spiritual Discipline -- Praise

"Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!"

James 5:13b states, "Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises." Do we really? Or are we so caught up with our lives and wants that we do not even stop and think what great things our Father in Heaven has done for us? This month the youth group and myself have begun our journey to grow in our spiritual worship through praise.

I enjoy driving and being able to see the beauty of God's handiwork around me. To me the most beautiful work is the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee and the horizon around Denver when you exit the airport. I get chills just looking at such beauty. I then will offer of a prayer of thanksgiving to God for allowing me to see His handiwork. The important question is, what do you do when you see the creation of God?

Here is the challenge. Whatever you do before the day ends make sure you include taking time for God by going outside and looking at the beauty around you and give God the praise for what you see. Meditate on Psalm 150:1-2 - "Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise him according to His excellent greatness." Let these words sink in deeply and allow them to transform you into the man or woman He has called you to be. God bless you as you gather together with your church family and let the anthems raise!!

Spiritual Discipline -- Prayer

When I think of a Spiritual Discipline I do not know if prayer is one of those that comes to my mind at first. But, if you really give it more thought it is something that requires discipline to maintain in our Christian walk. What is prayer? Some may look at it as something we do when we are in a difficult spot in life. Others may think it is something we do before eating. And others will say it is important to do before travelling. While these particular answers are right but there is more to it when it comes prayer.

Prayer is a two way fellowship and communication with our Father in heaven. God desires to be in a loving relationship with His children and prayer is one the ways to maintain this relationship. Throughout the Bible there are examples of prayers, commands to pray, and encouragement to pray is used. Doing a word search for "pray" online I found 367 verses listed in the Old and New Testament of where the word or the form of "pray" was used. This shows me that prayer is an important topic to God or otherwise He would not have mentioned it as often as He did.

Look at the following lists of some of the examples of Scripture on prayer:

Commanded:                                Encouraged:                               Postures for:
Isaiah 55:5                                      Job 33:6                                      Numbers 16:22
Matthew 7:7; 26:41                        Psalm 6:9; 32:6; 66:19                  Joshua 5:14
Luke 18:1; 21:36                            Zechariah 13:9                              I Kings 8:22
Ephesians 6:18                               Luke 11:9                                     II Chronicles 6:13
I Thessalonians 5:17, 25                 Romans 10:13                               Matthew 26:39

Prayer is something we should be doing all the time. Many times we do not because we get so caught up with our earthly lives we fail to think abut it. We are often talking to our friends on the phone or in person because that relationship is important to us to maintain. What if we never talk to either our friends or family? How long would that relationship last? If our earthly friends and family are important enough to constantly talk with, wouldn't be just as or even more so to talk with our Heavenly Father as often? Make prayer a Spiritual Discipline in your Christian walk. Keep a journal of your conversations with God and go back and look at the prayers He has answered in your life. You will be blessed!!

Spiritual Discipline

Hello Everyone,
When I hear the word "discipline" the first thing that comes to my mind is OUCH!! I can remember growing up and getting disciplined a lot. I mean I had to go pick the switch my mom would use on me from the weeping willow tree that was across the street from where we lived. I had to go to that tree so often that by the time I graduated high school it was nothing but a stump. As I look back in my life I can see that the disciplining I received help to be the man I am today. Hebrews 12:7-11 talks of God's discipline for His children because He loves us as His own sons and daughters. Yes, discipline when it happens is never fun but it is good for us because of how it helps us by developing within us the characteristics God desires. Discipline is needed so that we can have the proper relationship with our heavenly Father. There are twelve spiritual disciplines I would like to focus on for the next few weeks. They are prayer, meditation, fasting, study, simplicity, solitude, submission, service, confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. The first four are considered inward disciplines, the middle four are considered outward disciplines, and the last four are considered corporate disciplines. I look forward to sharing these thoughts with you. Stay tuned!!

Work Ethic

When someone says, "you have a great work ethic", what do they mean? Most likely, they are recognizing the desire, diligence, and determination to see a project or activity completed with success. A great work ethic is noticed because of the attitude that is portrayed. The attitude is displayed by your actions and your words. Your attitude is the drive you have to arrive early, persevere when faced with obstacle, be the cheerleader for others when they seem to be in a rut or when their motivation is low. But, is this great work ethic seen in everything you do or just what is most enjoyable to you?

A great work is not chosen to be seen when it is most convenient. A great work ethic should be who we are on the inside. I say this because a lot of times our work ethic is evident in worldly activities but very rarely seen in our daily walk with Christ.

God wants a great work ethic when it comes to building our relationship with Him. Luke 9:23-26 sets the standard for us in establishing and maintaining a great work ethic. This is a process for us. John Maxwell says, "spiritual leadership happens daily, not in a day." Read II Peter 1:5-11, there are eight character qualities we must develop and when we do we are promised of effectiveness and fruitfulness. When these qualities are developed and growing within us then our work ethic will be worth talking about.

Where do we go from here?

It is amazing to me the amount of time we spend in doing things, some that are good, some that are not, and some that are questionable. It just seems to me that we live in world that is so focused on we want and we somehow forget that it is about the person other than ourselves. I love the fact that we as humans take this time of year to help the those who are less fortunate, but I would really love if we did this everyday of the year. If Christ were to come back today, would He find us doing the things that bring Him honor and glory? Stay strong and stay true.