Lord willing, a week from today, we will elect our next president. As obvious to all, this has been a volatile, painful, and certainly demoralizing campaign leaving Christians perplexed, disheartened, even disgusted. In the midst of what we have and are observing, it is important we remember our Lord reigns; that God is sovereign and controls the affairs of all nations to include the rise and fall of leaders. However, such comforting truth does not leave us passive, disengaged, and fatalistic as His people.
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ
Worship
1 Chronicles 16:23-25 Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods.
The Apostle Paul described God’s call on his life with these words, “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:7-8). It was a call to preach the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” And, we, as recipients of God’s grace, have been granted access by faith to these “unsearchable riches of Christ.”
Christianity is a message of love; pure love. It is not like human love. In today’s scripture, the phrase “God is love” appears twice. It isn’t that God loves, but that God is love. Every expression and act of Him comes from His loving nature.
When it comes to the human experience, our greatest privilege and responsibility is found in today’s scripture, Matt 22:34-38. It is also called the “great and first commandment” revealed as loving God with every ounce of our being. All Christians will agree loving God is the supreme command in life. It trumps all other things. Yet, get in a crowd of Christians and discuss what it means to love God. We may hear a lot of different things.
Imagine we set up a meeting to spend time together discussing life and things of the Lord. The day, time, and place are agreed upon. Soon, our appointment arrives. We meet in a nice and warm environment. Before our conversation begins, we must acknowledge something which will be extremely important for both of us. Go back and read today’s scripture. What is the character trait God displays which overwhelms, humbles, and produces worship in David, as expressed in today’s scritpure? It is His omniscience or God’s ability to know all things about David; his actions, thoughts, attitudes, and everything else between.
Psalm 119:7 – I will praise You with an upright heart when I learn Your righteous rules. THEME OF THE DAY: HOW TO ENSURE OUR WORSHIP IS ACCEPTABLE Drop the word “worship” in a conversation among Christians. The dialogue will get lively quickly, even emotionally charged. We will hear words like, “Worship must be culturally relevant to reach today’s audience.” Be careful…