I can’t imagine how all the astronauts who flew to the moon must have felt, standing on the surface and looking back at the beautiful planet that we call home; and not only Earth, but all the stars that were so much closer and clearer to them. I can almost see God, sitting on his throne, viewing all that he had created. There are a couple of Psalms that come to mind. Psalm 19:1 says “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork,” Psalm 14:3 says “Praise ye him, sun and moon, praise him, all ye stars of light.” Remember, Genesis 1:15, which says, “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven….” Yes, I bet the astronauts, and God, have quite a view. God bless you!
Are You Humble Enough?
There once was a song that went, “O Lord, it’s hard to be humble….” In fact, for many people that might be true, but as Christians we should give glory to God for all that we do and accomplish in His name. We should take an example from John the Baptist, whose followers became concerned that Jesus was baptizing and people were following Him instead of John. John was quick to point out that he was not the promised Messiah, but the one who was sent ahead of Him. He said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I pray that I always remember that I am just a servant, undeserving of the praise that is due our Lord. God bless you as you serve Him in humility!
Behold the Beauty
We have all, at one time or another, seen beautiful things. My list includes a newborn baby, a clear mountain spring, a meadow covered in fresh snow, or a newly bloomed rose. When I look at the stars I think, if the night sky is this beautiful on the wrong side of heaven, how beautiful it must be on the right side. Psalm 50:2 says “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.” Let’s look for God’s beauty in all his creations today. God bless you!
Are Your Plans the Best Plans?
We all have plans, but sometimes our best laid plans go astray. We may have vacation plans that get shut down because of illness or work commitments; we may have plans to work in our yard only to have it rain on the weekend; or we may have plans to donate to a worthy cause only to have a financial emergency that needs our attention. The Apostle Paul had plans to go to Rome, only to have those plans hindered time and time again. He wrote in Romans 5:22 “For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.” In spite of our plans for us, what a blessing to know that God loves us enough to have a better plan for us. James 4:15 teaches “If the Lord will we shall live, and do this, or that.” We shouldn’t be discouraged if our plans don’t work out because God’s plan is perfect. His delays in our plans may be a blessing in disguise. God bless you as we yield to His plan for us today!
Go Spit!
Spit, disgusting right? But what amazing things can be done with it! Remember when your mother used to use spit to wipe a smudge of dirt off of your face? Jesus used spit three times to heal the sick. In Mark 7, he healed a deaf and mute man by spitting and touching his tongue; he spat on a blind man’s eyes in Mark 8; and in John 9 he spat on the ground, made mud and rubbed it across a man’s eyes. Mark 7:37 says, “He hath done all things well; he maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.” The next time you have to spit, remember what Jesus could do with it. God bless you!
And Everything In Between
There is a word in our language called “merism.” It means two contrasting parts of a whole to refer to all of the separate parts or describing something from start to finish and everything in between. There are merisms in God’s word; contrasting heaven and hell (Psalm 139-8), present and future and heights and depths (Romans 8:38-39). Others include “He is the Alpha and Omega”, beginning and end, first and last. In each case He is everything in between. Revelation 1:17 Jesus says “I am the first and the last.” I pray He will be our first and last every day. God bless you!
Coronations and Crowns
Kings and queens receive crowns on their coronation day. Princes received crowns after victorious battles, Roman participants received crowns after completing events in the Olympic games. As Christians, death is said in the bible to be a coronation. We will be worthy of receiving a crown. James 1:12 says “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” We should all look forward to the day of our coronation and receiving our crown of glory. God bless you!
Be A Careful Witness
I have four very good friends. We have known each other for over 20 years and have been through many things together: births of children; deaths of family members; job changes; multiple moves; and many long serious conversations. We have tried to make the most of every opportunity to talk about God’s work in our lives. The importance of being God’s ambassadors is not lost on us. Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” We know God’s work is not complete and the answer is in God’s hands. I pray that each of us will be committed to doing God’s work by letting our conversation be full of grace and seasoned with salt. God bless you today!
Hope Dawns Tomorrow
It was Saturday and the Apostles and believers were incredibly disheartened, because on Friday their Lord had been brutally beaten and crucified and they had lost all hope. Little did they know that tomorrow, Praise God, tomorrow was a new day and a new hope of the Resurrection. Luke 24 tells us of the angels saying in Verse 6: “He is not here, but is risen…” We have that same hope! 1 Corinthians 6:14 tells us: “And God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power.” On Easter Sunday, let’s remember the cost Jesus paid for us and praise Him for His resurrection power. God bless you!
He Knows Your Name!
As an amateur astronomer I can name several constellations by sight, but God can name them all. He even mentions Orion in Amos 5:8. God has created many galaxies in our ever-expanding universe. Our Milky Way galaxy is placed with approximately one hundred thousand others in a super cluster called Laniakea. If the universe is that big, imagine how enormous is our God; and in the midst of creating all these galaxies, He created us! We were not an afterthought, we are part of His perfect plan. Psalm 147:4 says, “He telleth the number of stars; he calleth them all by name.” Just a he knows the names of the stars, he knows our names. Even though we are a small part of God’s creations, God cares deeply for us and I care for you as well. God bless you!
