Saturday, March 4, 2017

Saturday March 4 God is Good

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!                  1 Chronicles 16:34
The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. Psalm 145:9 NIV
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Psalms 34:8 ESV


God is good!
All the time.
All the time
God is good!
Many worship services begin with this antiphonal declaration and many Christians use it for a greeting. It is good to remind ourselves that no matter what we see around us, or what our circumstance is or how we may feel at any given time, God is ALWAYS good. He can be nothing else for goodness is the very essence of God and likewise God is the source of all that is good. As we read in James, above, God never changes. When all is right with our world it is easy to speak those words and believe them. But what about those other times...times when we cry out and it seems as if He is nowhere to be found? It is at those times that we delineate our faith. For if it is only in good times that we trust in the goodness of God, we are really celebrating our good fortune, not the one who is the source of that good fortune. Life on this side of heaven will be filled with trials and pain. It's a promise directly from Jesus' own mouth. But we can be encouraged for Jesus has overcome this world and we serve a God who is not only good Himself, but is a veritable fountain of goodness even in this world. And that same God takes great joy in His children...us...and He longs for us to know Him so that he can bless us with that very goodness.  Hallelujah!

PRAYER
O God of glory and might, we love You and join with Your children of all times and places in proclaiming Your goodness. Remind us O God, when we find ourselves in times of fear or doubt that You are good and You are in control and You long to be in relationship with each one of us so that we are able to bask in that goodness regardless of our outward circumstance. O Lord who never changes, give us eyes to see Your goodness in every situation and hearts that that long to connect with that goodness. We ask in Jesus name. AMEN!

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NKJV

Thursday March 2 God is unfathomable

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. In this first week of Lent we will be considering God the Father...some of His attributes.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.       Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.             1 Corinthians 13:12 NLT

Any search for God must begin with the humble acknowledgement that He who made us is greater than we are and that only by His grace in revealing Himself, will even the faintest glimpse of Him be possible. Yet that should in no way hold us back from seeking to know Him. As we see in our Old Testament reading, God Himself placed in us that desire to know Him and He longs for us to be in relationship with Him...to know Him personally, not simply to know about Him. Paul tells us clearly that in this life we should not expect to know all the things of God. There are mysteries that will simply not be revealed at this time. But just as the sun rises each day without our help and our hearts beat within us keeping us alive without our understanding, so God remains sovereign and yet continues to call out to us His creatures to come into a deeper relationship with Him.
PRAYER
Creator God, we come before You with awe and thanksgiving that You have called us and planted in each of our hearts that desire for You that will lead us to You. Help us during this time of preparation, to draw closer to You that we might know You more and love You more fully, even as we experience the fullness of Your love for us.  Help us to walk in Your ways despite our human limitations. We ask in Jesus' name. AMEN!
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV

Friday, March 3, 2017

Friday March 3 God is almighty, all powerful, omnipotent


And human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. Acts of the Apostles 17:25

I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27
Perhaps one of the first ideas we need to leave behind is that God needs us to do His work. God has no need of us whatsoever. He can accomplish anything he wants without the tiniest bit of assistance. In fact, God can accomplish in the blink of an eye, more than strongest, smartest or most talented among us can accomplish in a lifetime. No, God did not create us because he needed us but rather because he chose to. We are told in scripture that we are His masterpiece, made in His very image and that He exults over His image bearers with joy and loud singing. Not only that, but this same God who can so easily accomplish anything He pleases, chooses to partner with us here on the earth, to help build His kingdom and to help answer the prayers of His children. May we never forget this awesome privilege He has granted us through Christ, our savior!

PRAYER
Almighty Father, You who spoke the word and called all of creation into being; God who made the mighty oceans and sprinkles dew on the fragile silk of a spider's web we bow before You in awe of Your creative genius and in thanksgiving that one such as You would choose us to bear Your very image. Remind us this day of who we are and what You have made us to be. We ask in the name of the One You sent to save and lead your wandering children back home to You, Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN !

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish exceedingly, abundantly more than we might ask, think or imagine. Ephesians 3:20

So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12