Great is the LORD

Read 1 Chronicles 16:23-27

King David brought the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God's presence, to Jerusalem and placed it in the tabernacle built for it. As he placed the Ark in its home, David led the people in singing praise to God.

Sing to the LORD, all the earth;

Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.

Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised;

He is also to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are [a]idols,

But the LORD made the heavens.

Honor and majesty are before Him;

Strength and gladness are in His place.

Generations later, God, the Holy Spirit, brought Jesus the Son of God, and placed Him in a new tabernacle, Mary’s womb. Nine months later Jesus was born 100% human, and 100% divine. This wonder brought salvation to all whom God called to Himself.

This leads to yet another tabernacle, our hearts, where Jesus the Lord of the universe, now takes up residence. Jesus now lives in the hearts of those He calls to reside with Himself forever.

QUESTIONS:

1. What would it take for you to sing God's praises the way David led his people to sing to the Lord?

2. What is the ramification of Jesus living in your heart?

PRAYER:

Lord, we declare Your glory, You are great and You are to be feared above all gods. All honor and majesty are Yours.

Joe Valentino

I Am His

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

News Flash:  You can’t live as you please.

WHAT?!?  That certainly doesn’t match what the world tells us.

Read out of context, You are not your own; you were bought at a price, is sure to rile a few. They might argue, “How can that be, especially after so many have fought for so long to be valued and not seen as possessions?”

While I support those who are champions for equality, I/we can’t ignore the fact that God owns us – body, mind and soul.  And because of that, we are to respect ourselves as “temples of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus paid the highest price for us – he died - and in return we are called to honor Him.

Romans 7:4 states, So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
    
Our bodies are more than just skin and bones to go through life, they are gifts from God and we are to use these precious gifts to bear fruit for Him.  God sees us all as models.  Beautiful bodies, wonderfully made to exhibit His way.  Jesus used his human body to open the heavenly kingdom.  In return, let us use our bodies to honor his sacrifice and model for others the true meaning of being a follower of Christ.

Trust Me...

Where do trust issues come from? This is a question I asked for a long time. I have struggled for most of my life with trust. Our scripture passage today is Psalm 62: 5-12 and it talks about trusting God “at all times.” That is hard.

Verses 7 and 8 say,

“7 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.”

While trusting others is tough, I find that trusting God to be a challenge as well. Why? If God is good and God is love, shouldn’t we trust him “at all times” like the Psalmist says? I think our struggle with trust comes when,

Our expectations ≠ Our reality

We have expectations for how we believe we should be treated. Our passage today uses the word “honor”. If we receive less than we expect our trust is shaken. This can even happen with our relationship with God. If we think we deserve different treatment from him, our trust in him falters. It’s hard to say and mean, “Thy will be done.”

How do we remedy our trust issues with God? I believe the only way is to get to know him. Please don’t think this a cliché “church” answer. God is very real and if we spend time talking to him, he will help our heart see and believe that he is both love and good.

If we spend time in the word, we will learn who he is and how he works, allowing us to not have misplaced expectations. God won’t fail us, but his provision is not always what we desire.

Finally, if you really struggle with trust maybe get a good book on the topic. I have read, Transforming Grace, by Jerry Bridges and it opened my eyes to my misplaced expectations.

The neat thing about mending our trust issues with God… it will also mend any problems we have trusting others because we will only go to God for our honor.

Read the entire passage here Psalms 62:5-12

Luke 1: 26-38 The First Christmas Mother

"The Birth of Jesus Foretold" is the name of this section in my bible. Chills surged throughout my body as I read again, of this incredible moment in Mary's life when Angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth with the most important message of all time! "Do not be afraid. Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High......." Can you imagine?!

As a mother, I have been on my knees many times thanking God for the undeserved blessings of my children. Words cannot express the incredible gift that dwells within that tiny being when born, or the deep, deep love that walks down the aisle with them, arm in arm on their wedding day. It is an intense love that only a mother can know. Thank you once again my God, for giving me the opportunity to serve you through motherhood. I am honored.

We experience joy, strife, happiness, uncertainty, great excitement and even greater pain when raising children. The intensity of those emotions while being a mother to the Son of God must have been overwhelming to say the least. I can see Mary overflowing with pride when Jesus healed, fed the masses, and gently carried out the Lord's plan to save the world. I can only imagine the anguish and total misery her heart ached with, as he carried that cross. Even when we know that in the long run things will be better because of an experience our children have, it still hurts us incredibly to see them suffer. Praise God for the gift of our sons and Daughters, and for the best Christmas present of all, Jesus, the son of Mary.
Jesus the Son of God!