PRAISING GOD (PART 4)

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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

Great are Your purposes and mighty are Your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; You reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve.

Jeremiah 32:19

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

We serve a God who displayed His amazing power through creation and showed us that nothing is beyond the work of His almighty plans.

We serve a God of love but also a God of judgment who holds us accountable.

And we serve a great God who has no equal, a God who is our great Protector and Refuge.

These are reasons why we should praise God as seen in the first three devotions of this nine part series on praising God, reasons drawn from the very words of the prophet Jeremiah more than 2,000 years ago.

As we continue today, we see Jeremiah adding to our list. Look at his words in verse 19 of Chapter 32:

Great are Your purposes and mighty are Your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; You reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. Jeremiah 32:19

From the prophet’s words, we find four more reasons to praise, worship, and adore Him with all our hearts, minds, and souls:

1. We should praise, worship, and adore Him because His purposes are great.

Think about the matter of being purposed for a moment.

God did not just bring us into His creation without a reason. We weren’t just made to sit around idly and ponder what our place is in the world.

No, He purposed us from the very start. All we need to do is seek His purposes for our lives, purposes that will be great and fulfilling and kingdom-advancing because those are the only kinds of purposes God has for His people.

Give thanks today and praise God for purposing you to do great things in His name!

2. We should praise, worship, and adore Him because His deeds are mighty.

Ask yourself this:

Who could create the heavens and the earth and all things within?

Who possesses the might to divide a great sea, holding the waters up like walls on either side so people could walk through?

Who has ever been able to get water out of a rock or send manna and quail from the heavens to feed a starving people?

Who has shown power to save all mankind through sacrificing His Son as an atonement for sin?

No one but God, that’s who. From the moment He was known, He has shown His penchant for mighty deeds, something He continues this very day. There is nothing beyond the work of His hands.

Praise Him for that today and every day.

3. We should praise, worship, and adore Him because His eyes are open to the ways of all mankind.

God is both omnipresent and omniscient, simply meaning He is everywhere and He knows all things. Nothing is beyond His sight. Nothing.

With this, none of us ever get away with sinning. There is no such thing as secret transgressions because even though we might be skilled at keeping them from others, we will never conceal anything from God.

Is there any better accountability point than knowing that God sees it all?

In my opinion there isn’t when you couple it with the fact that He hates sin and will not allow it to go unpunished. Conversely, He will favor those who He sees living in righteousness. These points lead to our final point of praise.

4. We should praise, worship, and adore Him because He rewards each person according to their conduct as their deeds deserve.

I remember when I was growing up in Western Pennsylvania as a young lad. My parents were as good as you could ask for and they definitely ran a tight ship at home. You had to when you had multiple kids to manage. If we were good and listened to what we were told to do, then we were in good graces with Dad and Mom and life was good. However, if we chose to be disobedient to them and violate their rules, then you could expect discipline and it wasn’t going to be something pleasant.

In the end translation, we were rewarded for our conduct and as our deeds deserved.

As we look at the scriptures today, we see the same principle holds true.

If we seek God’s will and live according to it, then we will live in a way that is pleasing in His sight and He will reward us accordingly.

If we choose to willingly and willfully sin in the presence of God which we have already learned is everywhere, then we can expect to be rewarded with His judgment and punishment because it’s what our deeds have earned us.

Either way, we get what we deserve or, as the Bible tells us, we reap what we sow.

Frankly, let’s all agree that it’s far better and more beneficial to be obedient to God’s expectation and demands, sowing seeds that will blossom and bloom into His favor and blessing unto us.

In sum, God’s purposes are great, His deeds are mighty, everything and everyone is in His sight, and He will react, respond, and dole out either favor or penalty as it is merited by our behavior.

More reasons to add to our list as to why we need to praise God and there are many more to come.

Part 5 will show us that tomorrow.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

PRAISING GOD (PART 3)

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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

“Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty.”

Jeremiah 32:18b

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

I love Christian music. All of it.

I like the contemporary songs of today which I share daily through my ministry but I also like the classic hymns that I grew up singing at church long before contemporary worship came on the scene. To this day, I still go to the traditional worship service because it’s where I can still experience the hymns of old.

One such hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, has these two stanzas:

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

Ten lines of blessed lyrics that speak to the amazing power and might of the Lord God Almighty, the Maker of the heavens and earth, the Master and Ruler of all things created.

Indeed, when we consider how infinitely awesome and awe-inspiring our God is, we can’t help but be brought to a place of praise. And as we see in our scripture passage for today, this is what happened to the prophet Jeremiah. Look again at the words he used to describe God in adoration and reverence:

“Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty.” Jeremiah 32:18b

Yes, that’s it. It’s the point of focus for all believers when it comes to God. It was in the days of Jeremiah, it is to be in our present days, and it is to be our focus forever.

We serve a great and mighty God and His name is the Lord Almighty.

Look back to the lyrics of our hymn and you will see how Martin Luther, the great Protestant theologian and initiator of the Great Reformation, highlighted his praise for the greatness of God. Specifically:

1. He is a mighty fortress and a never failing bulwark.

When we are in need of protection, we need only run to the Lord, our divine and omnipotent Shield and Defender. No one possesses the might to overcome Him and thus no one can get to us when we are fully in Him.

As the scriptures proclaim in the Psalms:

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1

2. He is our Helper amid the flood of ails that want to prevail against us in life.

Life can bring a lot of afflictions and hardships our way. It doesn’t take long for us to realize that we can’t live this thing called life without help. We simply can’t handle the weight of our ails on our own.

Enter our God and His greatness.

For no matter what may come our way, our God is greater. He is our almighty Helper and there is nothing beyond the works of His hands.

3. He is greater than Satan who is always seeking our doom and destruction.

Yes, Satan is the ancient foe we still fight against, one who has been present through the ages. None of us have the power on our own to withstand Him. As the hymn states, his craft and power are great and he is armed with cruel hate. The scriptures say this about him:

Satan, who is the god of this evil world, has made him blind, unable to see the glorious light of the Gospel that is shining upon him or to understand the amazing message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 (TLB)

Satan has no equal on earth. But rest assured of this, He has already been defeated by Jesus, the Son sent by God to gain the victory for all mankind. Through Christ, God showed His greatness once again but He showed more than that because He showed us the deep love He has for all of us.

God’s love is as great as His power.

4. Through His unmatched greatness, He saved us through His Son.

There couldn’t be a better closing point for today’s devotion because it underscores the fact that the final chapter of our life has already been written if we are in Christ Jesus. We know how our life story ends and it does so with good news of victory and triumph over Satan, death, and the grave.

Satan and those he uses to his purposes can threaten to undo us but we will not fear because we serve a God who is greater than he who is in the world. God’s word attests to this:

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

God’s will from the start was to make the way through His Son so we could triumph over all the things of the world and live with Him and His Son forever. When we hold onto His promises, we need never fear for the God of greatness is with us and for us.

Friends, rejoice and be glad today. Join with Jeremiah, the prophet of old, and the theologian, Martin Luther, in acknowledging and proclaiming the greatness of God in praise and with thanksgiving.

For because of Him and His deep devotion to us, He has used His might to save us through His Son Jesus, making us people of victory.

Hallelujah to the Lord God Almighty, now and forever!

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

PRAISING GOD (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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

“You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them.”

Jeremiah 32:18a

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

In this nine part devotional series, based on words from the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 32 of the book named after him, we find distinct reasons to praise God.

Yesterday, we saw in Part 1 that we should all praise God for His amazing power placed on display through creation as everything in and on the heavens and the earth were formed by His almighty hands. And as we recognize His infinite power, a power that no one else possesses, we realize that there is nothing too hard for God. We understand that no matter what we’re going through, God is greater.

Truly, this is reason to adore and revere the Lord God Almighty but we have a lot more reasons to look at. Take today’s half verse for example. Look again at Jeremiah’s words:

“You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them.” Jeremiah 32:18a

Here we see two more reasons to praise God, reasons that could not be more opposite from one another for on one hand, we praise God for His love but we also praise Him for His judgment.

Let’s look at both separately, starting with the matter of God’s love.

Perhaps there is no other attribute that best represents the divine, omnipotent Creator and Master of all things than love.

Out of love He made all things, including each of us.

Out of love He protects, nurtures, and sustains us.

Out of love, He gave up His only Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for sin to save us from destruction.

Out of love, He longs to live with us forever if we simply receive and accept His salvation offer.

Yes, as the scriptures profess:

God is love. 1 John 4:8

God is also the Judge of all things. He created all and He is Lord over all as a result. Therefore, everyone falls under His authority and judgment. Everyone.

Indeed, no one is excused or exempt from coming under the scrutiny of God regarding the way they live. We are all under His watchful eye and if we choose to sin in His sight then we can expect to suffer consequences because God despises it. And note that it’s not just an individual who can end up suffering the consequences but their ancestors as well. When God’s famous ten commandments were delivered to the Israelites by Moses, God warned that a violation of His order to not worship false gods and idols would not just impact the sinner who committed the act but their children “to the third and fourth generation”.

And just in case you think that’s unfair, here’s what the scriptures have to say about God in regard to the justice He administers:

God is not unjust. Hebrews 6:10

This should bring us to a point of praise because God will not punish us for anything we don’t deserve. There is no unfair treatment of others when it comes to the way God doles out His discipline. And as for the fact that He corrects us at all, we should give thanks that He puts deterrents in place to keep us from sinning in the first place. After all, if you really thought that your sins could hurt not just you but your children and their children and so on and so forth until you get to the third and fourth generations, I think you would be less likely to allow yourself to fall into transgression.

In other words, we should praise God that He will judge us if we choose to sin.

Yes, we serve a God of love, a perfect love that is unlike any other and we only know how to love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). That love needs to be extended to God in our praises.

We also serve a God of judgment who will not turn a blind eye to sin if we choose to commit it. Because of this, we praise Him because He holds us accountable to Him for our actions and, in doing so, drives us toward righteousness and away from wickedness.

In the end translation, two more reasons why Jeremiah praised God and why we should as well.

We’ll add to the list tomorrow in Part 3.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

PRAISING GOD (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.”

Jeremiah 32:17

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

Today starts a nine part series of devotions centered on reasons we should praise God, praises drawn from a prayer lifted up to the Lord by Jeremiah after he had given his deed of purchase for the field in his hometown of Anathoth to his good friend and personal secretary, Baruch.

In Part 1, we see God’s prophet focusing on the very essence of God, the essence that has brought all things into being, the essence that gives us reason for faith and hope in life.

Look again at his words here:

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.” Jeremiah 32:17

What is Jeremiah praising God for here?

Two things primarily.

First, he is praising God’s creation power.

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.”

No one else harnesses such might. No one.

There is only one Creator and Maker of the heavens and the earth and all things within them and that is the Sovereign Lord, the Lord God Almighty. By His great power and outstretched arm, He brought all things to be. Because of Him, all things have life.

Jeremiah had life in order to speak the words of praise he did.

I have life to share his words and this devotion today.

You have life in order to read Jeremiah’s words and mine.

We have life because the Sovereign Lord gave it to us and continues to give it to us. And because God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, Jesus, as a living sacrifice to pay the price of sin for all people. Thus, whosoever believes and trust in Jesus will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Our Creator God, through a power only He has, made the way for us to live for and with Him, now and forever.

If that doesn’t bring you to a place of praise unto Him, I don’t know what will.

But wait, there’s even more to praise here.

For look at the second reason Jeremiah is praising God in today’s scripture:

“Nothing is too hard for You.”

Think about it. A Sovereign Lord who had the power to create everything surely has enough within Him to do anything to include deal with the matters of life we find ourselves in.

If we are sick or injured, He has the power to heal and restore us. Nothing is too hard for Him.

If we are feeling broken and unloved, despaired or depressed, stressed or worried about life circumstances we may find ourselves in, He has the power to break through the hurt and anguish and anxiety, bringing us comfort and peace and love. Nothing is too hard for Him.

If we are caught up in the storms of life, He has the power to calm those storms and give us direction, showing us the way through to safety. Nothing is too hard for Him.

If we are feeling impoverished and struggling financially to make ends meet, if we are homeless or facing homelessness, if the way forward seems impossible, know and trust that He has the power to provide what you need in accordance with His will for your life and meet your needs in the process. Nothing is too hard for Him.

Friends, this is just Part 1 and we have eight more devotions ahead where we explore new reasons to praise God. But before we get to tomorrow, let’s just take time today to admire and adore Him for the power He has within Him, a power that is unmatched and unrivaled, a power that gives us the assurance that nothing is too hard for Him.

He is a Sovereign Lord who takes the impossible and makes it possible. He is a Sovereign Lord who takes the improbable and makes it probable.

He is the God we praise.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com