How Great Is God

I woke up this morning singing “How great is our God, sing with me, How great is our God. All will see. How great, how great is our God!”

Daily we need to remind ourselves that our God, our Father, is the great God!

There are no other gods, that are greater than He. No power in the universe can overshadow God, our defender, deliverer, and our provider.

 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. Where will my help come fromMy help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earthHe will not let your feet go out from under you. He Who watches over you will not sleep. Listen, He Who watches over Israel will not close his eyes or sleep.

The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your safe cover at your right hand. The sun will not hurt you during the day and the moon will not hurt you during the night. The Lord will keep you from all that is sinful. He will watch over your soulThe Lord will watch over your coming and going, now and forever.” Psalm 121 NLV

Some of the obstacles and adversaries we face are physical but we can trust the Lord to watch over us and be our “safe cover” and our help.

Some obstacles are dogmas, philosophies, doctrines and train of thought that try to capture our thinking, rob our peace and deceive our minds.

“My children, you are a part of God’s family. You have stood against these false preachers and had power over them. You had power over them because the One Who lives in you is stronger than the one who is in the world.” I John 4:4 NLV

 It is true, we live in a body of flesh. But we do not fight like people of the worldWe do not use those things to fight with that the world uses. We use the things God gives to fight with and they have power. Those things God gives to fight with destroy the strong-places of the devil. We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 NLV

And sometimes the enemy we face is our own self-doubt. We feel we don’t measure up or we’re not good enough.

 My children, let us not love with words or in talk only. Let us love by what we do and in truth. 19 This is how we know we are Christians. It will give our heart comfort for sure when we stand before Him. 20 Our heart may say that we have done wrong. But remember, God is greater than our heart. He knows everything.” I John 3:18-20 NLV

Our Father’s love for us is greater than our own self-doubt and condemning guilt.

Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give peace to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid28 You heard Me say that I am going away. But I am coming back to you. If you love Me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father. The Father is greater than I.” John 14:27-28 NLV

The Father, Jesus said, “is greater than I”. So, that definitely makes the Father greater than us. His love never fails, He never leaves us or abandons us in our time of need. He gives us peace to replace our fears!

How great is our God – Sing with me – How great is our God. All will see How great, how great is our God!

God Almighty

This morning, I read two amazing accounts of God’s power and greatness.

The first involves Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal. The story is recorded in I Kings 18. It had not rained in Israel for 3 years because the people had turned from God and were worshipping idols. Elijah and the prophets met on top of Mount Carmel for a showdown.

Each was to build an altar and sacrifice a bull. Neither was to put fire to the sacrifice, instead Baal’s prophets were to call on him and Elijah was to call on God to send fire to consume the sacrifice. Baal’s prophets prayed all day but there was no response. Elijah prayed and Almighty God sent fire that not only consumed the bull but the altar which had been soaked with water as well.

From there I went to Judges 15 and read an account of Samson and his encounter with the Philistines. The Lord had told Samson’s parents before he was born that he would be a deliverer of his people. Samson had a number of smaller skirmishes with the Philistines and so this particular time they came for him with an army. The Bible says “the Lord’s Spirit took control of Samson” and he fought the Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey, killing a thousand of them.

Now both of these true stories would sound like fiction if it wasn’t for the power of Almighty God.

After reading those two accounts I went to the Psalms and the next Psalm in my daily reading was Psalm 91.

Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful.
Then you will say to the Lord, ‘You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.’ The Lord will keep you safe from secret traps and deadly diseases.
He will spread his wings over you and keep you secure. His faithfulness is like a shield or a city wall.

5 You won’t need to worry about dangers at night or arrows during the day. And you won’t fear diseases that strike in the dark or sudden disaster at noon.7 You will not be harmed,
though thousands fall all around you. And with your own eyes you will see the punishment of the wicked.
The Lord Most High is your fortress. Run to him for safety, 10 and no terrible disasters
    will strike you or your home.

11 God will command his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will carry you in their arms, and you won’t hurt your feet on the stones. 13 You will overpower the strongest lions and the most deadly snakes.

14 The Lord says, ‘If you love me and truly know who I am, I will rescue you and keep you safe. 15 When you are in trouble, call out to me. I will answer and be there to protect and honor you. 16 You will live a long life and see my saving power.’” Psalm 91 CEV

When we are in trouble, we call out to the Lord and He will protect us. This is a promise from Almighty God to us who love and trust Him. God will strengthen and protect us!

A Hundred Billion Times

The last couple of nights Dave and I have spent time sitting on the porch at the fire ring. Our conversation always centers on how much God has blessed us.

The life we’ve had, our family, the experiences that have molded and shaped our lives. The friends, the breath-taking moments and the mundane, He has always been present.

Last night friends joined us and told us they will probably be going to Portugal next fall for a destination wedding. How wonderful! Since you’re there you must go to Greece. Greece for us was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Not for all the touristy reasons. It was the sense of the presence of God. I know I’ve told you before, but the most remarkable part of our trip was engaging in conversations with the locals and listening as they told the stories of the cathedrals and the godly influence of their communities.

Those are the stories that we recounted to our friends.

The presence of God – “the heavens declare the glory of God and the earth shows His handiwork”. (Psalm 19:1)

 Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it. 19 When we love others, we know we belong to the truth, and we feel at ease in the presence of God20 But even if we don’t feel at ease, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if we feel at ease in the presence of God, we will have the courage to come near him. 22 He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey him and do what pleases him.” I John 3:18-22 CEV

These are the words of the Apostle John. Feeling at ease in the presence of God – that is what we experienced while we were in Greece.

In the wee hours this morning, my heart began to sing.

“God of Your promise
You don’t speak in vain, no syllable empty or void
For once You have spoken
All nature and science, follow the sound of Your voice

And as You speak
A hundred billion creatures catch Your breath
Evolving in pursuit of what You said
If it all reveals Your nature, so will I
I can see Your heart in everything You say
Every painted sky, a canvas of Your grace
If creation still obeys You, so will I
So will I

If the stars were made to worship, so will I
If the mountains bow in reverence, so will I
If the oceans roar Your greatness, so will I
For if everything exists to lift You high, so will I
If the wind goes where You send it, so will I
If the rocks cry out in silence, so will I
If the sum of all our praises still falls shy
Then we’ll sing again a hundred billion times!” So Will I (100 Billion X)

This is a song we sing frequently in Sunday worship but when it comes rolling out of my heart at 2 a.m. it has a greater depth of meaning.

In just a few days our nation will have a celebration of Thanksgiving. The focus wasn’t football or parades, not family gatherings, or food; it was a gathering of people who had survived immeasurable hardships, and they were giving thanks to God Almighty.

Make a resolve this Thanksgiving, if all of creation will praise You, so will I!