Excellent Greatness

Every time I visit the Neurologist, she asks me questions to test my mental function. One question that trips me up is “what did you have for dinner last night?” I can usually answer the question, but it takes some mental exercise to get the answer. In the same way, we often quickly forget all of God’s works in our lives. It takes some intentional effort to recall His excellent greatness, butitisworththeeffort.

Psalm 150:2 says, “Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!” As the year ends and we celebrate the holidays, let us also celebrate all that God has done for us this year and praise Him for His “excellent greatness”.

The Right Fight

Our society seems to grow more polarized every day. Every issue has people asking us to join in the fight. When we are ready to engage, we still have to decide which fight and on which side we want to join. Words are getting more inflammatory and violence is taking over where calm discussion has ceased. People are now choosing violence to make their point of view known. Guns, rather than words, are used to make their case.

Moses addressed God’s people as they faced Egyptian soldiers on one side and the Red Sea on the other: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”(Exodus 14:13-14) Perhaps we will not face such opposition, but we will face obstacles and struggles. We can choose to try to fight through these troubles in our own strength. But the better and more effective choice is to stand back, but stand firm, and ask the Lord to fight for us.

Truly Satisfying

Bread seems to be a food staple in much of the world. For some people bread is the main portion of meals. Obviously, many different bread varieties exist and people have their favorites. While bread provides temporary satisfaction to our hunger, hunger quickly resurfaces. We need more.

John 6:32-33 says, “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'” Jesus is the Bread of Life that satisfies the hunger of the human heart. By seeking this Bread, our hearts are filled with eternal life, thus satisfying our hearts forever.

Generous Giving

At this time of year, we take special care in giving. We want to give the right things to each recipient, but we are also constrained by our financial situations. God looks at giving completely differently. He gives to us because He is love and because He knows us better than we know ourselves. He is not constrained by anything in His giving, as He owns all things. We look at giving through eyes focused on what may limit us in giving.

Luke 6:38 says, “give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.” In this holiday season, it is good to remember to give. We can’t outgive God and He promises to give us blessings upon blessings, starting with salvation and continuing through eternity with Him for all who believe in Jesus. He offers these blessings with the expectation that we will contribute to others with the blessings that we have received.

Sketchy Plans

Many times, what I planned to happen, doesn’t happen the way I planned it. Obstacles like illness, emergencies, weather changes, car breakdowns, and many other things often get in the way of accomplishing what I had planned. I have control of some things, like my intentions and attitudes, but I am far from having control of most things. Therefore, my plans are sketchy, at best.

Isaiah 14:24 says, “The Lord of hosts has sworn: ‘As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.'” God will accomplish His plans and His purposes and nothing can stop Him from doing so. Therefore, His plans for us will be fulfilled. But we can miss out on innumerable blessings if we reject His plans to go our own way.