Praise the Lord
for this new day. Praise the Lord for the summer season here in the America the
beautiful. One of the verses that we used last Sunday during our morning worship
was taken from Revelation 7:10, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the
throne and to the Lamb." Our grandson celebrated his fifth birthday on Sunday.
He had asked several things for his birthday. Two of them were to go the beach
in Boston and to Africa in the same day. He was able to do all the things that
he asked for except to go the Africa. Simeon loves to sing, "O God you are my
God, and I will ever praise you." One day he said, "Grandpa, our God is huger
than this world".
Our four
daughters, who were all raised raised in the country now live in cities. Janice
lives in Boston, Sunita in Washington, Jessica in (near) Philadelphia, and
Laureen in Binghamton. They love city life. The Bible talks in Revelation 21,
about the New Jerusalem, the Holy City.
In Acts 17, as
the apostle Paul approached the great city of Athens, he came not as a
sightseer, but as a soul-winner. He arrived with open eyes and a broken heart.
Athens had been in a period of decline in the early first-century. It had a
famous university and numerous beautiful buildings, but it wasn’t the
influential city it once had been. The city was given over to a “cultured
paganism” that was nourished by idolatry, novelty, and philosophy. Taking center
stage in the Areopagus, Paul announced, “Men of Athens, I notice that you are
very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines.
And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This
God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about” (Acts
17:22-23 NLT).
Paul began his introduction of this Unknown God by saying, “He is the God who made the world and everything in it” (v. 24 NLT). He is the Creator God. God created the heavens and the earth!” God made the world and everything in it. He is not a distant God, divorced from His creation; nor is He an imprisoned God, locked inside creation. He is a creative God—the Creator of heaven and earth.
The universe and everything in it was custom-tailored by a creative God—a God who expresses His imagination and artistry all throughout our swirling galaxy and beyond. All throughout the universe we see the fingerprints of God—the evidence of His omniscient mind at work.
We live on a very privileged planet. The Earth is just the right distance from the Sun so that water can exist in its liquid state, which is vital for life to exist. God hand-crafted this world and everything in it, including you and me! King David once praised God, saying, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it” (Psalm 139:14 TLB). This was written three thousand years ago. Today, with all the scientific knowledge and technology of the ages at our fingertips, how much more amazed should we should be then at the marvelous workmanship of our Creative God!
After introducing the Unknown God to the Athenians, Paul continued to tell them how great this God is: “This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to people. He does not need any help from them; he has everything he needs” (vs. 25 NCV). In other words, God did not merely set the world in motion and then leave us to fend for ourselves. He cares for us. He continues to be involved in the affairs of human life. He provides for our needs and He, Himself, has no needs. He lacks nothing and gives everything!
Paul wrote, saying that life itself is a gift from above, and every breath we breathe is courtesy of God. Everything we need and receive is a divine gift. The Bible says, “But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and he shines forever without change or shadow” (James 1:17 TLB).
The time we have on Earth, the energy or mobility we have that enables us to get up and go, and our purpose in life are all gifts from God! Our families, parents and grandparents, and children are all God’s gifts. The Bible says, “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him” (Psalm 127:3 NLT).
Paul began his introduction of this Unknown God by saying, “He is the God who made the world and everything in it” (v. 24 NLT). He is the Creator God. God created the heavens and the earth!” God made the world and everything in it. He is not a distant God, divorced from His creation; nor is He an imprisoned God, locked inside creation. He is a creative God—the Creator of heaven and earth.
The universe and everything in it was custom-tailored by a creative God—a God who expresses His imagination and artistry all throughout our swirling galaxy and beyond. All throughout the universe we see the fingerprints of God—the evidence of His omniscient mind at work.
We live on a very privileged planet. The Earth is just the right distance from the Sun so that water can exist in its liquid state, which is vital for life to exist. God hand-crafted this world and everything in it, including you and me! King David once praised God, saying, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it” (Psalm 139:14 TLB). This was written three thousand years ago. Today, with all the scientific knowledge and technology of the ages at our fingertips, how much more amazed should we should be then at the marvelous workmanship of our Creative God!
After introducing the Unknown God to the Athenians, Paul continued to tell them how great this God is: “This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to people. He does not need any help from them; he has everything he needs” (vs. 25 NCV). In other words, God did not merely set the world in motion and then leave us to fend for ourselves. He cares for us. He continues to be involved in the affairs of human life. He provides for our needs and He, Himself, has no needs. He lacks nothing and gives everything!
Paul wrote, saying that life itself is a gift from above, and every breath we breathe is courtesy of God. Everything we need and receive is a divine gift. The Bible says, “But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and he shines forever without change or shadow” (James 1:17 TLB).
The time we have on Earth, the energy or mobility we have that enables us to get up and go, and our purpose in life are all gifts from God! Our families, parents and grandparents, and children are all God’s gifts. The Bible says, “Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him” (Psalm 127:3 NLT).
When we count our
blessings we should not neglect the spiritual ones. Eternal life, the greatest
blessing of all, is from God. The Bible says, “God saved you by his grace when
you believed. You can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God” (Ephesians
2:8 NLT). The bottom line is — we have a caring God, a God who loves us, who
gives us life, breath, and everything else. Best of all He has given us eternal
salvation which is free and full. How great is that! May we worship Him to day
and enjoy all His abundance, He generosity and His Magnificence.
In
Christ,
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