Thursday, April 11, 2013

OUR GREAT AND MAJESTIC LORD ALMIGHTY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be His own, Israel to be His treasured possession.

I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of people and animals. He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings — Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan — and He gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to His people Israel.

Psalm 135:4-12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Majesty (n): 1. sovereign power, authority, or dignity. 2. royal bearing: grandeur and magnificence. 3. Greatness.

As believers, when we consider the definition of the word “majesty”, there is only one who truly fits the definition fully and that is our great and majestic Lord. Consider these verses from the scriptures that attest to this:

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all. 1 Chronicles 29:11

Note here that EVERYTHING in heaven and earth belongs to the Lord and He is the head of all things.

Now no one can look at the sun, bright as it is in the skies after the wind has swept them clean. Out of the north He comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty. The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in His justice and great righteousness, He does not oppress. Job 37:21-23

Want to have a small glimpse of the majesty of God. Try and look directly into the sun. You can’t do it because of the power of the light beaming from it. God’s majesty and power and light are greater than that of the sun that He created. Just ponder that the next time you look sunward during a clear, cloudless day.

The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. Psalm 93:1

Because we serve a Lord who is great and majestic with no rival in authority and power, we can rest easy, firm and secure because we know He is our great Protector.

Praise the Lord, my soul. Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty. Psalm 104:1

When we consider the greatness and majesty of God and how He cares for us, we can’t help but give thanks to Him for all He is and all He has done.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3

It would be enough to just have an almighty God to serve and be protected by but God wasn’t satisfied with being separated from us. No, He longed to live with us forever and Jesus, His only Son, became the means by which salvation came to all. God gave His only Son as a perfect atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind, the very sins that keep us from communion with Him. And after Jesus paid our sin penalty on Calvary’s cross, God rewarded His Son with a seat at His right hand on the throne of His majesty. There, Jesus was given authority over all mankind so that no one could come to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). Therefore, when you believe and trust in Jesus as your Savior, then you become justified before the Father and able to live with Him forever when Jesus returns. In other words, since Jesus paid the price for your sins, it’s “just as if I had never sinned” (a good way to remember what being justified means).

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude 1:24-25

Yes, there’s no questioning the proclamation of the scriptures that God is to be worshiped as having all glory and majesty and power and authority now and forever. He and His Son Jesus, our Savior, reign over all creation in greatness and have no equal. Our scripture passage from the 134th Psalm adds to this attesting:

For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be His own, Israel to be His treasured possession.

I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of people and animals. He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings — Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan — and He gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to His people Israel.

The psalmist here doesn’t just proclaim God’s greatness and then leave it at that. No, he gives clear examples of how God has put His power and authority on full display for all to see. Look at the specific examples the psalmist uses:

1. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

Look at the clouds and look in wonder, knowing that God, not nature, creates all of them.

2. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

We seek shelter from the brilliant, dangerous strikes of electricity from the skies and powerful winds that can blow at times. God reveals His power in many different forms to remind us of His majesty and greatness.

3. He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, the firstborn of people and animals.

Look back to the scriptures and see what happened when Pharaoh chose to try and stand in his authority and deny God. It resulted in the death of a future Egyptian generation and a sign of what can result from defiance and challenge to the One who is head of all.

4. He sent his signs and wonders into your midst, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.

Go back to the book of Exodus and recall the ten plagues God brought upon Egypt, the tenth being the death of all the firstborn mentioned in our passage from the Psalm. It would have been so much easier had Pharaoh just submit to the One who made him and ruled over him. But the stubborn resistance of Egypt’s leader only resulted in God continuing to display His majesty and greatness through the signs and wonders revealed from the cursed plagues. Any nation who chooses to not submit to the Lord should pay close attention to what happened in Egypt more than 2,000 years ago and know the same God is in control and ready to send more signs and wonders to remind all of His sovereignty.

5. He struck down many nations and killed mighty kings — Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan — and He gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to His people Israel.

It wasn’t just Egypt who God punished for their obstinate rebellion against their Creator God. No, God struck down many kings who failed to recognize and revere Him as the King of all kings, giving their lands to His chosen people of Israel.

Friends, today and every day, we need to pay respect and homage, giving honor and glory to our God who is supremely great and majestic in every way. As we can see, not doing so could result in severe consequence and I don’t think any of us want to be on God’s bad side.

Amen.

In connection with today's devotion, check out these two songs and special message:

Steven Curtis Chapman - Yours  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNMClVv88oc
Louie Giglio - How Great is Our God  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAzCP8SEKwc

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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