Worship for the Weekday
He is Worthy
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Isaiah 45:5-7
I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.
Revelation 4:9-11 NASB
And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, " Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."
When we finally come face to face with God I’m pretty sure we won’t be able to look Him in the eye. One reason will be that we are so ashamed of ourselves. I don’t mean in a self-loathing, self-pitying way, rather as a result of our discovery of who and what God really is! The glory and grandeur will be so breathtakingly unbelievable that we will prostrate ourselves before him—in gratitude, in awe, in abject humility and reverence.
I’ve wondered what it would be like to stand before the throne of God. Many have wondered. One of my favorite songs is “Imagine.” The writer says he can only imagine what his heart will see. He wonders if he will fall to his knees in the presence of Christ. It’s a beautiful song and expresses, I think the wondering of all our hearts—our deepest, most ardent desire.
I imagine that upon arrival in heaven, our minds and hearts and souls will be transformed to those of Christ himself. We will understand all things and our understanding will surpass the limits of our current humanity. I’m rambling a bit this morning. I think what I’ve gleaned from these two passages is that God has already revealed himself to man. What I wonder is that how we can turn away, how we can forget His majesty, how we can NOT strive tirelessly and relentlessly to join Him at the end of time.
It’s all a puzzle to me! I spent a glorious 36 hours at the ocean last week. Much of my time I sat on the sand and gazed out at the ocean. I had no “burning bush” revelations or discoveries! I did though reconnect with the eternal source of life. I sloughed off the world of man and opened myself up to sea and sand, sun and air. I was revived and refreshed in my soul.
The tide comes in and goes out. Every day. Ever single day. No matter what. God planned it that way. He is that constancy. He is that assurance. He is the creator and master of it all. I felt very close to God as I sat in the sand and breathed in the salt air, watched the white caps, heard the crash of the waves on the beach. I felt at the same time very small and very significant. I am one of the living creatures God created! He planned me before he even called the ocean into being. He covets me. He longs for me.
My prayer today is that you take some time to experience God in nature. He will meet you there if you open your mind and your heart to his glory.
Mary
Labels: Christ, darkness, glory, God, heaven, honor, Jesus, light, nature
Cast Your Crown
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Revelation 7:11-1211. And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12. saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen."
Revelation 4:10-1210. the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, 11. "Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created."
When I think about heaven, I fell like a little child waiting for Santa Claus! The nearer the calendar draws to Christmas, the more animated and excited I am. It’s so hard to wait for something that amazing! I think that’s why I’m drawn to scripture about heaven lately! When I think about what heaven will be like, I almost can’t contain myself.
I wonder if I will actually be able to see the face of God or if, even in heaven, his glory will be so great that we can’t look upon him. Revelation is John’s accounting of what God revealed to him, including a vision of heaven. In John’s vision, even the earthly powerful and elite threw down their crowns-their possessions, wealth, power—at the foot of the throne of God. None of it matters. None of it sustains. None of it lasts. In utter and complete shame and grief, the earthly kings cast down the symbols of their own greatness.
What crowns will we cast down? What gods are we worshipping in our lives? Does what we say is important match up with how we live? Or will we, like the twenty-four elders arrive in heaven and finally have our minds and hearts and souls opened and God’s glory and wisdom and power and might be revealed? Will it be only then that we give God the honor only he deserves? Will our thanksgiving at that time be for allowing us in his presence in spite of our abject sinfulness?
“Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all”
[I Can Only Imagine]
All will be revealed at that time. Every question we have will dissolve. Pure truth will emanate from the mind of God to our minds. Our tears will dry up. God will dry them all. We cannot begin to imagine what heaven will be like. Mere words are inadequate to even share our individual visions of heaven. We cannot describe the magnitude, the vastness, the all-encompassing goodness, wholeness, light and love that is God, that is from God and that will be ours upon arriving at the throne room.
My heart races at the thought! Until I arrive to that glorious existence, I’m going to try each day to live a life worthy of heaven.
My prayer today is that you cast down your earthly crowns and fall on your face before the throne of God. And that you imagine heaven as you struggle through each day.
Mary
Labels: heaven, power, sin, wealth
I Can Only Imagine
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Revelation 4:8-10 NIV
Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."
Revelation 7:11-12 NASB
Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty- four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen."
Do you notice a pattern or theme in these passages? I think everyone spends time wondering what heaven will be like. Of course, we cannot even begin to imagine it! Following is a song that is one of my all-time favorite songs. If you haven't heard it, you should try to find it and listen to it. It is absolutely beautiful and I often start to cry when I hear it because of the emotion with which it's sung. I think these passages and the lyrics to the song will suffice to put you in a positive frame of mind today!
"I Can Only Imagine"
I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk By your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face Is before me
I can only imagine
[Chorus:] Surrounded by Your glory,
what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus
or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence
or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah,
will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine
I can only imagine
When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son
I can only imagine
When all I will do Is forever
Forever worship You I can only imagine
I can only imagine
When all I will do Is forever,
forever worship you
My prayer today is that you imagine heaven. And that you have hope in this life because of what awaits us in the next.
Mary
Labels: heaven, hope
C’mon, God!
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2 Corinthians 4:6-11 6. For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us. 8. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9. persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10. always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
I think these verses are referring to the old adage, “God never gives us more than we can bear.” I don’t know about you, but I’ve doubted his wisdom in that regard more than once! I think sometimes his confidence in me is misplaced and mistaken! I do believe God is both wise beyond my comprehending and merciful beyond measure, but I admit I pause every so often, raise my eyes to the heavens and protest “C’mon God. Enough, already!”
I readily admit this because a friend of my agreed with my response a few days ago. She and I have had some similar challenges in our lives recently and so have shared some of the same battles of spiritual warfare. The very fact that she and I have someone else with whom we can share our sense of being overwhelmed and feeling ill-equipped for our current circumstances is reason to be hopeful and even comforted. We are part of a faith community together. We have a built-in support system because we belong to the same church.
So I wonder how does one deal with disappointment, discouragement, even anger and grief if they have no one with whom they can express their feelings. I recently was overcome with regret and disappointment regarding a particular situation. It overtook every aspect of my life. My best friend shared with me that she was concerned about the source of my uncharacteristic responses to situations and events. What was the root? What was causing me to view the world so harshly? Why was I so unsettled? Why did I feel so put upon and disgruntled?
The truth was, I felt as if God had let me down. I felt I had done my part to bring about a positive conclusion, but ultimately I doubted if I had done enough; doubted whether my efforts had been enough. Notice a pattern here? My efforts, my doing, my, my, me, me. It’s so easy to get to that point when we have a bad day, piled on top of an issue or situation we’re struggling with. Then something else comes along that throws a monkey-wrench in the whole works. It doesn’t matter the situation. We’ve all experienced those situations where we have invested time and energy, in some cases sweat and tears, only to have someone say, “Oh, I can make that right.”
What? Where was this person all along? Why wasn’t this option presented earlier? Why? Why? “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.” Get over it! God’s plans are not always evident! Look at the life of Job? He lost everything—absolutely everything. God restored his life, gave him a new family, wealth and land and abundance that far exceeded his original life. No, he never stopped remembering his past life. Job would always miss the family he lost. That didn’t stop him from celebrating his current blessings.
I think that is the lesson. We can look back with regret, sadness, even anger. But when we do that we miss the blessings of today. Worse, we lose hope for the future. God assures us that He has a plan for us. He will take every pain, disappointment, regret, sin and event and make them into something good, powerful, reason for rejoicing. We can rejoice not because we forget, but because we remember and then realize God was in it all! And He is in our future.
"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9. persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10. always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”
My prayer today is that you turn over all your regrets and disappointments to the God who restores us. And that you look to the future – where Christ won for you a place in heaven.
Mary
Labels: Christ, despair, future, God, grief, heaven, Jesus, regret
God’s Good, Pleasing and Perfect Will
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Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.
1 Corinthians 2:12
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
One of the first prayers many young children learn is the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed Be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done. On Earth as it is in Heaven.” The Bible tells us this is the prayer Jesus taught the disciples when they asked him how they should pray. This model follows the instructions of these two verses. I guess I should say, once this prayer was introduced, the disciples preached based upon the prayer.
Thy Kingdom Come: God’s Kingdom – Heaven – Not this world. Thy Will Be Done: God’s will – not man’s, not what we think or want – what God wants for us. That’s how we are to live: in accordance with God’s will for us. In order to live in accordance with God’s will, though we need to know what it is! That can be tricky, because so often in our lives we are required to take the lead, to be in charge, to make a snap decision. Life is so fast-paced in our world today that we could be run over and left behind if we’re not on top of our game.
But God has a better way. He has amazing, unimaginable plans for abundance and blessings in store for us. He desperately wants to pour them out into our lives. We risk missing out on God’s will for our lives when we charge ahead, thinking with our heads rather than our hearts and our souls. If we never allow time for God to reveal his plans for us, we will trample right over them. God wants to renew our minds to His way of thinking and living. He’s not going to force it though; he waits for us to be open to His will.
That’s a lot of responsibility. That places the burden on us. Perhaps that’s why so often we just don’t “go there.” We feel so burdened and weighed down by the cares of this world that we just can’t or won’t take responsibility for one more thing. No matter how wonderful the end result could be, we just don’t have the energy to do one more thing in our lives.
What I repeatedly re-discover is that if I just stop for a few minutes and clear my mind of all the cares of this world I can begin to see the vision God has of me in my mind’s eye. When I go for a walk, or sit quietly reflecting on God’s word or reading scripture, my mind begins to be renewed. God reveals himself to us when we are fully open to Him and fully engaged in discovering His will.
When we set ourselves apart we have taken the first step in the transformation process. Getting in that habit will increase the likelihood that our decisions will be based on God’s will for our lives, not man’s.
My prayer today is that you have the opportunity to renew your mind so you can test and approve God’s good, pleasing and perfect will for your life. And that you make it a habit to spend time with God each day.
Mary
Labels: bible, future, God's will, heaven, Jesus, plans, scripture
