“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.

She will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.” 4:7-9.

[Here are some thoughts from a post by Pastor David Hamburg.]

Reading the Word every day is a significant practice. But there is a question to ask

ourselves: in my reading am I an explorer or a tourist?

The tourist travels quickly, stopping only to observe the highly

noticeable and publicized points of interest.

The explorer, on the other hand, takes his time to search out all the hidden gems he can find.

Too many of us read the Bible like a tourist and then complain

that our devotional times are fruitless. It is necessary that we

take time to explore the Bible so that notable truths and hidden treasures will

appear as we get beneath the surface. So, which will you be?

picture: exploring the depths:

“Praise the LORD, ALL you nations; extol him, ALL you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.” Psalm 117:1,2

I praise you, O Lord, for your great work in our lives, to transform us into the image of Christ.

This is your work, but requires our cooperation. Yours is the power, ours is the decision. Transformation comes from you, surrender comes from us.

This partnership is your gift to us, Lord, a wonderful invitation to the upward trail of spiritual adventure.

On one hand, this involves difficulty:

–death to self,

–denial of ungodly desires,

–rejection of selfish motives,

— being totally transparent before you and surrendering all.

On the other hand, it involves endless positives:

+receiving grace, accepting love,

+ believing truth,

+letting go of what binds,

+being set free,

+walking in the light,

+ experiencing inner transformation,

+having joy and peace,

+overflowing with hope,

+dwelling in God’s shelter,

+resting in His shadow,

+being His beloved child,

+ being delighted in and richly loved,

+ rejoicing in Jesus,

+fearing God,

+ loving God,

+praising God,

+and obeying God.       The right choice is obvious!

Psalm 117:1-2 says it all: “Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.”

Picture: Some of God’s golden glory.

“This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may WORSHIP me.’”

Exodus 9:1

We often think of music being the main aspect of worship, but actually everything we do can be worship: when we do what is pleasing to Him, or  obey Him–especially when we don’t feel like it–we give Him glory. That is worship.

In spoken worship there are two main aspects: thanksgiving and praise. Thanksgiving focuses on what He has done for us, and praise on who He is in His character.

Here is an example of focusing on God’s Character..

“Praise you, Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them.

Truly you are high and powerful, majestic and mighty.

I praise you, O God, for your great and rich love, for your wide and deep wisdom and your positive and pure power.

You are able to bring together those aspects which are opposites and seem to contradict each other:

unity and diversity,

truth and love,

justice and mercy,

righteousness and forgiveness.

You are able to be to be two things at the same time thatt appear to be  paradoxical.

You are one God, but three Persons,

You, Jesus, are both the son of David and the Son of God,

You hate sin but love sinners.

You know the name of every star (trillions of them), yet in spite of your greatness are aware of every broken heart and crushed spirit.

Praise you, Lord God, that you have revealed all  this to us in your Word, that we may worship you in Truth,

Giving glory to you while you transform us into your likeness.

Tomorrow an example of worship with thanksgiving.

Picture: A reflection of the beauty of God in His creation: The star in  the weeds

“The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121:7,8

The Lord has an interesting way of solving one problem with another. Yesterday while mowing with my tractor, I got too close to the edge of the path and the front wheels got stuck. No matter what I did, i could not get it out. So today, after the rain stopped, I tried again, but to no avail. And in the process,the exhaust pipe fell off (not surprising for a 50 year old tractor), so I put it in my van and went home. 

In the afternoon we went shopping, and as I pulled out of the Aldi parking lot in our 19 year old van, I heard a scrapping noise. I hopped out and looked underneath. The muffler had fallen off the exhaust pipe and was dragging on the road! It was either an “Oh no!” moment or a “Thank you, Lord!” one. I chose the latter. 

In this happening God was at work. First this happened when i was going 5 miles  an hour, not 45 when it could have done some real damage. Also the spot where it happened was safe for me  to work on it. Now I needed something to tie up  the muffler, and looking it the van saw the muffler from my tractor with a length of wire on it! This was just enough to tie up the muffler and get us home! 

So my tractor problem gave a way to help in my van problem! A double God sighting! He certainly does watch over our going out and coming in.

Picture: Hanging muffler and the wire that saved the day.