PRAISING GOD (PART 3)

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In Christ, Mark

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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
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