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Teach Me Your Way

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Psalm 119:13 ESV

[clickandtweet handle=”” hashtag=”” related=”” layout=”” position=””]Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Psalm 119:13[/clickandtweet]

 

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!

Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart,

who also do no wrong, but walk in His ways!

You have commanded Your precepts to be kept diligently.

Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping Your statutes!

Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all Your commandments.

I will praise You with an upright heart, when I learn Your righteous rules.

I will keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!

Psalm 119:2-8

 

 

Life can be a struggle. Making difficult decisions can lead to undesirable consequences. Sometimes we feel lost and confused about the direction our life has taken us. Indecision, uncertainty, and doubt regulate our thoughts, at times.

Well, navigating through life can be tough, and to quote President Obama, “This is just really hard.” (1) (I guess he found out that it was harder than it looked.)

However, we do have a Plan Book available to us–the Bible, God’s Holy Word, the Scriptures…whatever you choose to call it.

God has graciously given us a written account of how we are supposed to live our lives. The problem is that the Bible doesn’t have a topical index that we can turn to and look for the solutions to our problems—wouldn’t that be nice.

But the solutions are there; the plans are there; the instructions are there, and all we have to do is dig them out. We cannot know God’s wisdom and understanding unless we study—not just read, but study, His Word.

Is it important to study God’s Word?

Of course it is! In the Psalm above, law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, and commandments all refer to God’s Holy Word. To live a less hectic, more God-loving, people-loving, self-loving life, we must find His plans for us.

 

For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (AMP)

 

 

 

 

1. Obama on Middle East peace efforts

Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

 

Isaiah 40:25

Who Is Comparable To God?

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“To whom then will you compare Me, that I should be like him?” says the Holy One.

Isaiah 40:25

Who is comparable to God? There is no one like Him. There is no one comparable to Him. Have you ever tried to explain God to a young child? It’s hard to do; a child’s world is full of magical characters like:

  • Santa Claus, who “sees you when you’re sleeping”,
  • The Tooth Fairy who sneaks into your room and exchanges money for a forgotten tooth underneath a pillow
  • The Easter Bunny who hides plastic eggs on the lawn
  • The boogeyman who will get you if you “sing at the table or whisper in bed”

But these characters, and others like them, are not comparable to God and His greatness.

As we grow older, these fantasies are replaced by super heroes who have their own legends to live up to. Today most super-brave, over-accomplishing, fictional characters have complete historical backgrounds built around their super-ness, which kids of every age thrill to discover.

However, these super characters pale in the light of our powerful God.

As adults we may lay aside the whimsical heroes and felons of our childhood, but often we replace these fanciful feelings with idolization of those who we consider to be great in their own rights. We try to compare man and his accomplishments to God and His greatness. Maybe it’s because it’s easier for us to quantify man, because God is immeasurable, but no one is comparable to God.

  • Man can be placed in time and space, but God is omnipresent–He has the power to be everywhere at the same time
  • Man can be awarded with certificates and mark off his learning achievements, but God is omniscient–He has unlimited knowledge and understanding
  • Man’s authority, influence, and power is measured by those who follow him, but God is omnipotent–He has infinite power and authority

No one is comparable to God; no fictional character we can imagine, no person who has achieved the ultimate pinnacle of success, and nothing we create with our hands can compare, either.

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol!

A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.

He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot;

he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.

Isaiah 40:18-20

Who is comparable to God? No one… there is no one comparable to God. There is no one else who has immeasurable power, unending authority, boundless mercy, and everlasting love.

God’s love cannot be compared to any other love we will ever know.

Isaiah 40:25
Isaiah 40:25 ESV

God Created Everything

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“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And God saw every thing that he had made,

and, behold, it was very good.

And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Genesis 1:1, 31

Some people have a hard time believing that creation of the world took only six days to complete. Some say that there is a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.

(1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. {And then other things happened for billions of years} (2) And the earth [became?] without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

While they teach that God created all things, the gap comes from the efforts of men to coincide the scientific faith, that the earth is billions of years old, with the spiritual faith, that God is the Creator.

They propose that supposedly billions of years ago when God created the earth, it was somehow filled with all the living life forms—including the cave men and dinosaurs— that our geologist are now finding in ancient ruins, hidden caves, and on top of uninhabited mountain tops.

However, (according to their theory) this age came to an end shortly after Lucifer and his entourage of fallen angels were banned from heaven and cast to the earth. It was then that the earth was—or to use their word—“became” without form and void.

There are many arguments out there for and against the gap theory and you can study and believe what you would like. However, if we take the Bible literally, then God created the heaven, the earth, the universe, and everything that exits (and continues to procreate) in six literal days—24 hours—morning to night.

In the beginning, God created:

Day 1—God created light

Day 2—God created the sky and seas

Day 3—God separated the sea to create dry land and created vegetation

Day 4—God created the sun, the moon and the stars

Day 5—God created the swimming creatures and the flying creatures

Day 6—God created the land creatures and man (and woman)

For six days God’s Spirit breathed on our universe creating everything from the smallest thing seen through the lens of a microscope to the largest thing seen through the lens of a telescope. 

What an amazing God we have the privilege to serve!

Resources:

Christian Answers

Christianity About

Answers in Genesis

Who’s In Control Of This Out-of-Control World

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I can hardly force myself to watch the news anymore. Every headline screams of scandalous politics, excessive immorality, abominable acts our government has allowed, and innumerable stories of crimes, murders, and wars.

I’m an optimist by nature, but in the shadow of all this commotion, I tend to get discouraged with the world.

When I get like this, the first thing I do is turn off the TV! (and get a snack, of course)

The second thing I do is go to the Lord.

And the third thing I do is sing Louis Armstrong’s endearing song, “It’s a Wonderful World.”  

For me, this seems to put things back into prospective. 

 

 

 

 

In this world of turmoil and uncertainty, we need to keep our eyes on the One who can contain the whole world in the palm of His hand (Isaiah 40:12).

Like Peter walking on the water with Jesus, we are surrounded by a tumultuous sea. To look around and see how much trouble we could be in, if we were out there by ourselves, would cause us to slip deeper and deeper into the turmoil.

However, if we keep our eyes on God and trust His way, we stay atop of the chaos and look toward the work He has for us.

No matter what happens this side of heaven, God has it all under His control.

 

Isaiah 40_28

 

“Do you not know?

Do you not hear?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,

And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

And spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

Who brings princes to nothing,

And makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

Have you not known?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

The Creator of the ends of the earth.

He does not faint or grow weary;

His understanding is unsearchable.

He gives power to the faint,

And to him who has no might He increases strength.”

Isaiah 40:21-23, 28-29

 

Food for Thought

The great prophet Isaiah tells us in these passages that God is everlasting, the Creator of all living things, and that His understanding is too great for us.

Because of His greatness, it’s hard for us to understand why He would pay any attention to us or our problems. But God does. (remember…His understanding is unsearchable for us)

God loved us enough to fix the broken relationship that has been caused by our sin.

In Isaiah’s own words he said of God, “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.”

 

 

 

Places to ponder:

 

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS!

 

–How do you find peace when everything around you is in such an uproar?

–Do you have a favorite Bible verse to go to?

–It’s hard to be positive when things are so crazy. Is there someone you can go to and help you talk things out?

–Or do you like to write things down and keep them between you and God?

 

Please share your thoughts in the comment section, I would really love to hear from you. 🙂