His Favor – A Cause for Praise

January 27, 2009

Eddie Praise & Thankfulness, Promises Leave a comment

    4 Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!
      Praise his holy name.
    5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
      but his favor lasts a lifetime!
   Weeping may last through the night,
      but joy comes with the morning.  Psalm 30:4-5

It’s yet another reason to sing and praise the God of Glory!

gods-favorI step back and look at this enire passage and I see contrast and parallelism.  When I sin, anger that comes upon the Lord is brief compared to the favor He has for me that lasts a lifetime. 

Godly ones are noted in verse 4.  Godly children of the Lord may make the Lord angry, but they will confess their sins and His anger will subside. 

His favor is forever with us.  That is comforting!  When we may, in fact, fall out of favor with some folks, God’s favor never ends.  We never fall out of favor with Him.  I recall times when my children made me angry by something they did, but NEVER did they fall out of my favor!  How much so the Lord with us?  His anger is due to our actions His favor is with us personally!

Finally, the period of anger on the part of God when I may rebel may cause my life to become dark.  That darkness may be due directly to the consequences of my sin.  I must stay encouraged in those times because the morning will come!  It has everytime in my past!  Why do I believe that for the future?  Because His favor for me lasts a lifetime!

Sovereign Reflections

January 26, 2009

Eddie Comfort, God is Sovereign Leave a comment

 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
      The world and all its people belong to him. (Psalm 24:1)

illumination-of-humanityI should be able to find comfort in this passage because it is a statement of the Sovereignty of God.

The earth is the Lord’s – He owns it.  Everything in it is His.  Its resources He supplied!

The last sentence seems more personal as it switches to talk of humanity.  He has made us for Himself to love Him of our own free will.  Most don’t.  But all belongs to Him because He is the Author and Giver of life – Creator.

In difficult times, global turmoil, all belongs to Him to do as He will.  He is a God who wants the best for His children. 

I trust you Lord!  You are Sovereign over all people and things!

My Shepherd — He is All I Need

January 23, 2009

Eddie Comfort, Guidance, Protection, Revival Leave a comment

1 The Lord is my shepherd;  I have all that I need.
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;  he leads me beside peaceful streams.  3 He renews my strength.  He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 4 Even when I walk  through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.  Your rod and your staff  protect and comfort me. 5 You prepare a feast for me  in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

He lets me restjesusdshepherdnew

He leads me

He renews

He guides

He brings honor to His Name

He is close

He protects

He comforts

He feeds me

He honors me

He blesses me

His goodness and unfailing love pursue me

He gives me eternal life.

Lord, what else could one want? 

Be my Shepherd!

Sins: Lurking, Hidden, Deliberate and Great

January 22, 2009

Eddie Sins Leave a comment

  PSALM 19: 12-14:  12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?  Cleanse me from these hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!  Don’t let them control me.  Then I will be free of guilt  and innocent of great sin.  14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

So much and so profound!  So pointed and so comforting!

sins-ready-to-pounceLord, how can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?  I think of what Jeremiah said about the heart how deceitful and wicked it is.  Who can know it?  He asked.  Yet you know my heart better than I Lord.  So I can pray…show me my hidden sins–those that lurk , crouched down with hands in claw-like position, ready to pounce on me every day!  Lord, these are hidden faults.  they vanquish my enthusiasim for you and grieve you!  

Then, Lord, there are the deliberate sins.  Yeah, those that I have rationalized that I’m going to probably commit anyway.  I’m human.  Just a sinner saved by grace.  Everybody sins.  I use all the trite phrases to justify my actions.  Lord Jesus, those sins are so wicked! Please keep me from these.  They try to control me.  Don’t let them.  Please break their grip on me.  The result is so sweet:  Free of guilt and innocent of great sin.   I reflect on “great sin” and I quickly realize how in lives of many who have taken great spiritual falls…it all started with those hidden and lurking sins that eventually became deliberate and escalated to great sin!  Lord, I want to be innocent of great sin.

May the words of my mouth

and

         the meditation of my heart

                    be pleasing to you O Lordpraise

                                       my Rock

                                       and

                                       my Redeemer!

Reflections from Psalm 19:9-11

January 19, 2009

Eddie God's Word, Meditational Moments Leave a comment

    9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,
      lasting forever.
   The laws of the Lord are true;
      each one is fair.
   10 They are more desirable than gold,
      even the finest gold.
   They are sweeter than honey,
      even honey dripping from the comb.
   11 They are a warning to your servant,
      a great reward for those who obey them.

Real reverence for the Lord would be pure.  I think of the words of the Lord Jesus speaking of worshipping in spirit and truth-a pure spirit in pure truth!  True reprayer-over-the-bibleverence that will persevere!

This passage outlines how the laws of the Lord (His Word) are true, more desirable than riches, sweeter than (if I may modernize it a bit here) the richest chocolate!

Lord may we always consider your Word fair when we are convicted by your laws.  Lord, bring our hearts and souls to the point of seeing your word as more desirable than riches, sweeter than the delicacies this world could offer me.

Sirs, We Would See Jesus!

January 18, 2009

Eddie Worship Leave a comment

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
       “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
       the whole earth is full of his glory.”      4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”  6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”     8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 

Lord when I worship let me see you for who you really are, as Isaiah did.  Let me see you on a thronne (majestic, deserving reverence, awesome).  May I, too with the angels, acknowledge You are thrice Holy!  Holy, Holy, Holy!  You are separate from your creation.  May your holiness shine.  May the truth of the reality of your glory filling the earth, fill my soul! 

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” 

Lord, bring me to always the confession of my sin.  Contrasted to You Lord, I’m so nothing, undone, unfet, unclean in lips and we are all there!

6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 

 I think of 1 John 1:9:  “If I confess my sins He is faithful and just to forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.”  When I worship You Lord and confess my sins, you will forgive them and remove the awful guilt that comes with them!

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Upon this marvelous encounter with the God of the universe, one is brought to confession, is cleansed and (not sent on his merry way) is ready to serve Him!  Whatever you want me to do Lord, send me!” Is this the kind of worship we encounter?  We meet the Lord is such a way to see Him as He is, bronght to confession and then becoming willing to go about our daily lives being salt and light of the Gospel.  God is about the redemption of mankind.  He is looking for ambassidors for Him.  When we see Him as He really is–we will respond!

24/7 Proclamation

January 13, 2009

Eddie God as Creator, Meditational Moments Leave a comment

   

nighttime-sky1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
      The skies display his craftsmanship.
    2 Day after day they continue to speak;
      night after night they make him known.
    3 They speak without a sound or word;
      their voice is never heard.
    4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
      and their words to all the world. 

(Psalm 19: 1-4)

Here is a favorite of mine.  You can’t just focus on verse one!  As long as we can go outside and look up–day or night!  We will see this:  God has put His creation in place.  And creation shouts to us what kind of God He is.  He is powerful, sovereign, and creative.

As I began reading this passage, my mind quickly remembered Romans 1: 

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.  Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.  Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. (verses 20-23).

It is such a commentary on our day.  God has His creation on the 24/7 task of proclaiming His glory and craftsmanship and this world has chosen willful blindness.   In this willful blindness there is self-deception, due to confusion and being in darkness.  Our culture claims to be wise, but has become “utter fools.”

Christian friend, may we be found paying attention to this God whose creation is proclaiming the glory and craftsmanship of God.  He is interested in what is going on in our individual lives!

Praise Power

January 9, 2009

Eddie Meditational Moments, Praise & Thankfulness Leave a comment

 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. (Psalm 9:1)

I guess one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in the last 20 years is the power of praise, both private and public.  it has been interesting to learn the more I do it privately, the more natural it is for me to do it publicly. gray-clouds-blue-sky1

I distinguish between praise and thankfulness in this way:  praise is adoring God for who He is and thankfulness is adoring God for what He has done.  We are blessed personally when others express appreciation for us, just being us!  And we also appreciate it when someone thanks us for what we’ve done for them.  I personally believe this sense of blessing is innate and God wants us to do the same with Him!   I believe it is important to do both when we have moments of meditation with the Lord.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart  This is a prayer of praise to God and David tells God how he adores Him with his entire being.  When I do that, I’m not giving God information.  Rather, it notice the beneficial end results in my life!  God grows dearer and our fellowship becomes sweeter.

I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. In my thankfulness to Him, privately, for all the marvelous things He’s been doing in my life, it in turns make God all greater in my life.  My peace is amplified.  Fear is squashed when I’ve be inundated by society’s fear-mongering.  It is all because I’ve made it a habit of reflecting on all the marvelous things God has done and know He will continue to do!

[Photo courtesy of http://www.irishviews.com/gray-skies-and-clouds.html]

The Lord, My Shield

January 8, 2009

Eddie Meditational Moments, Protection Leave a comment

“But You O Lord, are a shield around me.  You are my glory, the one who holds my head high.” (Psalm 3:3)

This focal passage begins with “but” which signifies a change in director or thought.  So when I look back at the preceding passages, David has told the Lord that he has so many enemies that are against him.  So many of them which say “God will never rescue him.” 

In my life, I have been overwhelmed by adversity.  Thoughts come to mind that the Lord will never rescue me.  I deserve what is coming to me, etc.  These thoughts of course come from Satan!  The Lord gave me grace to reject those thoughts and look to Him as my shield. 

shieldbearer

 

 

I recall that some of those shields used by warriors in David’s day were tall.  The shield could stand up and a person could stand behind it and be protected from arrows from the enemy.  In some cases, an individual was a designated shield-bearer like what Goliath had as he faced Israel and eventually David. 

Lord, to think you are MY shield-bearer, yea, you are my SHIELD!  You are protecting me from the flaming darts of Satan.  If someone is impressed that I can stand during adversity and they want to give me glory…oh, no…as my shield you are my glory.  That is why when adversity comes You are the one who holds my head high!

Too Marvelous to Understand

January 7, 2009

Eddie God's Power Leave a comment

ohmanbible12_jobWhen I think of Job, I don’t think of his patience.  I think of a man who knew how big His God was.  I must keep in mind that this ia a man who lost everything dear to him.  He lost his children and grandchildren, all his possessions and eventually deserted by his wife.  The companion who should have been his closest human friend.  She is devastated and apparently blamed God and left, if not physically, then emotionally.

In chapter nine, Job is responding to Bildad’s speech.  He breaks into confessing God’s power.  Then in verse 10 he says,  

“He does great things too marvelous to understand.  He performs countless miracles.”

I look at this statement.  I ponder it.  I confess that You do great things Lord.  You work behind the scenes (“cutting deals for us when we sleep”).   Sometimes You work on stage for all to see but for whatever reason, we don’t.   We don’t see or we don’t get it.   Lord, You perform countless miracles.  We believers need to sit and take in that fact.  Sometimes God performs a miracle and we just say thank you Lord and go on!  

I can easily make the confession “He does great things too marvelous to understand.  He performs countless miracles.”  when all is well.  Yet this statement is coming from the lips of a man who has been a survivor of a devestation!  That can impress me as to what kind of man Job was.  But this is about God!  What kind of God He is – read the end of the story!

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