“The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength.”  Psalm 93:1,2

You, O Yahweh, are the Holy One:

Pure and Powerful,

Sinless and Sincere,

Just and Judicious,

Rich and Righteous,

Glorious and Good.

You are majestic,

magnificently robed in light,

riding on the wind,

commanding the stars,

towering over all the heavenly beings.

You move in wisdom and grace,

you are thorough in your thoughts,

powerful in your plans,

precise in your predictions.

You are never shaken,

never flustered,

never hurried,

never late.

In your magnificent being you are

awesome in power,

overwhelming in scope,

fearsome in glory,

blinding in beauty,

astounding in wisdom,

infinite in knowledge.

You are the only One to be worshiped,

the only One to bow before,

to surrender to,

to live for.

To you be glory today in all our motives, attitudes, thoughts, words and actions. Amen.”

Picture: Our God is Glorious!

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” Isaiah 40:28

What a wonder you are, O Triune God, the Mighty Ruler and Powerful Shepherd.

Isaiah wrote of your greatness in chapter 40, starting in verse10,
“See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him.”

You, Lord God, are the King of Glory, Almighty Ruler, Powerful Creator and Eternal Sustainer;
you are faithful to govern rightly with overwhelming power.

No one can withstand you, no one can successfully resist your glorious plans.
You will come at the perfect time to right all wrongs in grace and righteousness. Glory be to you.

“See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.” You are a generous and rich God with endless resources,
who pours out blessing and grace and goodness on all people and especially on your children.

You reward us with salvation, forgiveness, grace and goodness
when we actually deserve punishment, suffering, death and destruction.

Glory be to you. You have rewards, crowns and all blessings in heavenly places
awaiting those who love and follow the Lord Jesus.
Help us to liver in the light of this Truth throughout the day.

Picture: a glimpse of the glory of God

Yesterday we looked at how we can get closer to God by praising Him in all things.

In contrast, failure to praise is resisting God’s working in our lives. It is a form of rebellion.

This is laid out in Psalm 106:24-26, giving the Israelites’ response to the report of the spies after they had seen the promised land.

“Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe his promise. [They failed to praise, to trust, to submit to God’s leadership]

“They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD.” [Instead of praising, they complained, rebelling against what the Lord was giving them.]

“So he swore to them with uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the desert.” [So the Lord did not give them the good things He had offered

and waited till all those grumblers had died before bringing the Israelites into the land].

In contrast, we should more follow David’s example in Psalm 34:1-2.

“I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be on my lips.”

[We can always say, “Thank you, Lord God, that in every happening there is potential growth in my focus on you

and a platform upon which I can demonstrate your grace to the world.”]

Help  me, Lord, to praise you in every situation that I may draw close to you and demonstrate faith in You to the world.

Picture: in the twists and turns of life, God has a plan and will carry us through.

“Remember what the LORD your God Remember what the LORD your God did….” Deut. 24:9

What a privilege it is to serve the Lord!

While Barbara is in the hospital,

we were talking about all the biblical places the Lord took us,

and the things we have seen while doing His work.

Here are some of the  biblical places we’ve been privileged to visit:

The 7 churches of Revelation,

Colosse (just a few stones left)

Iconium (lived there for two years)

Galatia (Lived there for 20 years);

Pisidion Antioch (where Paul preached his longest sermon. I stood in the exact spot he did in that synagogue  and read his sermon out loud.

Antioch (where the believers were first called Christians)

Tarsus (Birthplace of the Apostle Paul)

Pontus (Northern Turkey)

Asia (where the early Christian refugees settled)

Antalya; (where Paul sailed from.)

Philipi (where Paul was beaten, imprisioned and was set free by an earthquake)

Thessalonia (Paul wrote 2 letters to them)

Macedonia (formally in Yugoslavia that we drove though many times)

Ceasera (the one in Turkey where Nat planted a church)

What a privilege to touch history,  like walking on the same paving stones in Ephesus

that Paul and John walked on and sitting in the theater where the riot occurred.

It is good to remember how real the events in the Bible are.

May we all live in the light of this great history of walking with God.

Picture: Map of biblical sites in present day Turkey