How Big is Your God?

Bible Reading:  Exodus 14:1-22

Key Verse: Verse 13 & 14 - “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight  for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

Key Words: Verse 13:  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not

                     Verse 14:  The LORD shall fight for you 

Have you ever considered what Moses had to go through, and how he had to trust in God in order for him (Moses) to lead Israel?  Consider the following:

What would have happened had Moses tried to figure out what was needed to accomplish God’s command?  One of the biggest mathematical miracles in the world was required in the desert.

Moses led the people of Israel into the desert…Now what was he going to do with them?  They had to be fed, and feeding 3 ½ million people required a lot of food.  According to the U. S. Army’s Quartermaster General, Moses needed 1,500 tons of food a day, filling two freight trains, each a mile long.  Besides, you must remember, they were cooking the food (not to mention for keeping warm, and if anyone tells you it doesn’t get cold in the desert, don’t believe them!).  Just for cooking this took 4,000 tons of firewood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long and this is only for one day!!  They were forty YEARS in transit!!!

Let’s not forget about water, shall we?  If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes (no bathing?!), it took 11,000 gallons EACH DAY – enough to fill a train of tanker cars 1,800 miles long.

And another thing!  They had to get across the Red Sea in one night.  Now if they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long and require 35 days and nights to complete the crossing.  So to get it over in one night, there had to be a space in the Red Sea three miles wide so that they could walk 5,000 abreast.  Think about this; every time they camped at the end of the day, a camp ground the size of Rhode Island was required, or 750 square miles.

Do you think that Moses sat down and figured out the logistics of what God told him to do before he set out from Egypt?  I doubt it.  He had faith that God would take care of everything. 

Let us have courage; we share the very same God.

                                                         Dr. Mike Rouse                                                                

What to do:

      ✞   Remember we have a B-I-G God.

      ✞   Can you name one need in your life God can’t supply?

      ✞   Tell others about God.

 

The Kingdom of God

Bible Reading:  Mark 10:13-31

Key Verse: Verse 14,15,23-25  - “But when Jesus saw  it, he was much displeased, and said unto them,   Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter   therein. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that   have riches enter into the kingdom of God!   And the  disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how  hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!   It is easier for a camel to go   through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Key Words: Kingdom of God 

As you read the Bible, you read about two primary kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.  The Kingdom of Heaven is heaven itself, the dwelling place of God.  On the other hand, the Kingdom of God is all that belongs to God, both in heaven and earth.

That would include all born-again believers.  Those who are saved belong to God; they are a part of His kingdom.

John Hess Yoder, missionary to Laos, tells the following.  “I discovered an illustration of the Kingdom of God while serving in Laos.  Before the Colonialists imposed national boundaries, the kings of Laos and Viet Nam reached an agreement on taxation in the areas.  Those who ate short-grain rice, built their houses on stilts, and decorated them with Indian-style serpents were considered Laotian.  On the other hand, those who ate long-grain rice, built their houses on the ground, and decorated them with Chinese-style dragons were considered Vietnamese.  The exact location of a person’s home was not what determined his nationality.  Instead each person belonged to the kingdom whose cultures and values he or she exhibited.”

So it is with us – we live in the world, but we are to identify with God’s Kingdom, not this world’s kingdom.

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Live by God’s standard, not the world’s.

      ✞You will be labeled by whose standards you choose. 

God & Impostors

Bible Reading: Matthew 7:15-23

Key Verse: Verses 15 & 21 - “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

Key Words: Verse 15: beware of false prophets

                    Verse 21: not every one that saith Lord, Lord 

Police court records tell the story of a young man who registered at one of the leading hotels in New York shortly after the turn of the century.  He wrote down one of the most famous names in the United States, and the hotel clerk was very deferential to him.  He had an air of arrogance.  When packages began to arrive from several large furnishing houses and a jewelry store, the hotel received them and paid the accounts.  After a few days the time for settling came; the young man brushed them off with excuses, which aroused the suspicion of the hotel management.  They notified the police and a quiet investigation revealed the startling fact that the famous man whose name the young man had written on the register with “Junior” after it, did not have a son.  The young man, confronted by the authorities, put on an air of bravado; he blustered that there was some mistake.  Finally, it became necessary to take him down to Wall Street, to the office of the well-known millionaire.  The latter walked into the room and looked at the culprit.  He said simply, “I never laid eyes on this young man before in all my life.”  That sealed the doom of the impostor. 

Multitudes of people who claim that God is their Father are just as guilty as was this young man. I trust today that you are not an impostor, because God knows the difference!!

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

      ✞Are you real or are you pretending?  Be real.

      ✞Many impostors claim to be born again.  Make sure your salvation is genuine. 

The Blind Officer

Bible Reading: I Peter 3:1-7

Key Verse: Verse 4 - “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”

Key Words: But let it be the hidden man of the heart 

Our text verse advises us that God prefers inward beauty to outward glamour.  I read recently about a young officer who was blinded during the war. He met and married one of the nurses who took care of him in the Army hospital.  One day he overheard someone speaking about himself and his wife, and they said, “It was lucky for her that he was blind since he never would have married such a homely woman if he had his sight.”

He rose to his feet and walked toward the voices saying, “I overheard what you said, and I thank God from the depths of my heart for blindness of eyes that might have kept me from seeing the marvelous worth of the soul of the woman who is my wife.  She is the most noble character I have ever known.  If the conformation of her features is such that it might have masked her inward beauty to my soul, then I am the great gainer by having lost my sight.”

The Bible teaches us that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart (I Samuel 16:7).  If a man or woman possesses physical beauty, they should be thankful to God for it, but they should realize it’s really inward beauty that matters to God.

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

            ✞ We have little control over our outward beauty, but we do have control over our                 inward beauty – work on it!!

            ✞ Outward beauty with no inward beauty still equals “ugly.”

Facing the Wall

Bible Reading:  I John 1

Key Verse: Verse 9 - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Key Words: he is faithful and just to forgive us 

Sir Edward C. Burne-Jones, the prominent nineteenth-century English artist, went to tea at the home of his daughter.  As a special treat his little granddaughter was allowed to come to the table; she misbehaved, and her mother made her stand in the corner with her face to the wall.  Sir Edward, a well-trained grandfather; did not interfere with his grandchild’s training, but the next morning he arrived at his daughter’s home with paints and palette.  He went to the wall where the little girl had been forced to stand; and there he painted pictures – a kitten chasing its tail, lambs in the field, and goldfish swimming.  He decorated the wall on both sides of the corner with paintings for his granddaughter’s delight.  If she had to stand in the corner again, at least she would have something to look at.

When a Christian commits sin and is put into a corner, God does not send him to hell.  When a child of God sins, he does not fall from grace. Wonderful it is that instead he falls into grace.  If your particular sin has been confessed, God has restored you; when God put you into the corner, He went to you there and painted a picture of His forgiveness and love.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Many people can forgive everyone but themselves.  If God forgives you, why can’t you forgive yourself?  Go   and sin no more – but you are forgiven!

      ✞If God can forgive others, why can’t you?  Try it!  A bitter, unforgiving spirit destroys the one not willing to forgive.

The Victory

Bible Reading:  I Corinthians 15:50-58

Key Verse: Verse 57 - “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Key Words: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory 

When the Japanese launched their attack against the Philippines, several thousand United States troops were on those islands, totally unprepared.  How bravely they fought on Bataan, slowing the enemy and making him pay heavy losses for each foot of gain!  The men fought on, hoping against hope that reinforcements would soon be available.  But our fleet had been severely wounded, and there were no reinforcements available.

A year later, however, we were ready to launch the great offensive in the Solomon Islands.  The papers that told the news of the great battle raging on Guadalcanal also published an assurance from our Secretary of War.  He said, “There is twice as much food as the soldiers can eat; there is twice as much ammunition as the soldiers can fire; there is twice as many nurses and doctors as would ordinarily be needed in any military engagement; there are twice as many medical supplies as could be needed; there are twice as many airplanes as are possessed by the enemy.  We are prepared for victory.”

The Secretary of War spoke of a military victory.  In our text, the victory given by God is a spiritual victory that does not come through man’s effort, but through accepting Jesus as our Savior.  It is the greatest of all victories!!  Are you a part of the winning team?  Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?  If not, why not bow your knee and your heart to Jesus right now, and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, and accept Him as your Lord and Savior?

                                                                                         Dr. Mike Rouse

 What to do:

      ✞Join the winning side – accept Jesus as your Savior.

      ✞If you are saved, live victoriously because you are on the winning side.

Troubled by Your Troubles!

Bible Reading:  Psalm 34

Key Verse: Verse 19 - “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him out of them   all.”

Key Words: the Lord delivereth him out of them all 

Troubles come in all shapes and sizes, at all times of the day or night, and at every stage in life.  They respect no one, neither excluding the young nor bypassing the old.  They crop up in all areas, touching our families, our finances, our jobs, our physical health, and our emotional well-being.  We may go for long periods without them, but at other times they pile up with such frequency and buffet us with such intensity that we wonder if we will ever survive.

In thinking about this, I checked out the biblical reference to the word “trouble.”  Here’s a brief summary of the results:

Ø Trouble seems to be woven into the fabric of living (Job 14:1).

Ø Many of our distresses are caused by our own sin and foolishness (Prov. 21:23, Psalm 78:32-33).

Ø Some difficulties are created by other people (Psalm 9:13).

Ø God allows trouble but is always in control (II Chronicles 29:8).

Ø We have a refuge and strong defense in the Lord (Psalm 59:16).

Ø He invites us to call upon Him in our distresses (Psalm 50:15).

Ø We can expect deliverance in keeping with His will (Psalm 107:6, 143:11).

Perhaps we need to be reminded of what a wise old man said to a boy who asked, “What is life’s heaviest burden?”

The man replied, “To have no burdens to carry.”  His answer has special meaning for you, dear friend.  Through affliction you can come to know the great Burden-bearer in a way that might not otherwise be possible.  Without distress you would never know deliverance.  As long as God is your refuge, you need not be troubled by your troubles.                                                           

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Remember God knows what you’re going through and will never forsake you.

When a Brick Spawned a Book

Bible Reading:  Genesis 50:15-26

Key Verse: Verse 12 - “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

Key Words:  but God meant it unto good 

The poet William Cowper has written: “God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps by the sea, And rides upon the storm.”  This suggests that events which seem tragic to us often turn out to be rich blessings from God.  The selling of Joseph by his brothers, which resulted in his coming to live in Egypt, was a wicked act and cannot be excused.  Yet in God’s overruling providence it became the means of saving the lives of those brothers along with their families.  Literally thousands of stories could be told by Christians who have seen triumphs come out of their tragedies.

A modern illustration of the truth of the above text is found in the life of Samuel L. Brengle.  At one time in his ministry, a wicked man attempted to kill him by throwing a paving brick at his head.  Brengle survived the dastardly attack, but he had a long convalescent period.  During those months, he wrote many blessed and inspiring articles on “the sanctified life.”  Later, because of their value, they were put into a book entitled Helps to Holiness.  It was his best and most useful work.  Referring to that earlier incident, Brengle’s wife would say, “Had there been no brick, there would have been no book!”  She was convinced that the Lord had allowed the “tragedy” so that her husband would have time to write.  Because of this, she preserved the brick and painted on it the words of our text: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me: but God meant it unto good...”

How blessed to know that our Heavenly Father overrules sin and error for His glory and our good.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Take advantage of every opportunity to do something for God.

Listen: God is Speaking

Bible Reading:  Hebrews 1:1-14

Key Verse: Verse 1 & 2 - “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the   fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed  heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

Key Words:  God...Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son 

The well-known theologian Charles Hodge wrote about his early years at Princeton: “It was my privilege to be the pupil-assistant of Professor Joseph Henry, the illustrious scientist.  When, for the first time, electric signals were sent from point to point, the earth itself being used for the return current, Professor Henry put me at one end of the circuit, while he stood directing the experiments at the other.  I can well remember the wonderful care with which he arranged them.  Very often, when the testing moment came, he would raise his hand in adoring reverence and call upon me to uncover my head and worship in silence.  He would say, ‘Because God is here.  I am about to ask Him a question.’”

Professor Henry was a God-fearing man and recognized the Almighty’s presence in creation.  He, therefore entered into his experiments depending upon the Lord for the right solutions.  He believed that the voice of God could be heard in the universe, for the Bible says, “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge”  (Psalm 19:2).  Yes, we can hear Him speak, as it were through the light and laws of nature.  But the Almighty has also spoken through the prophets of old; through His written Word, the Bible; and through the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In nature we can learn about God’s greatness, power, and intelligence.  But His Word and His Son reveal most clearly His love, mercy, grace, will, and plan of redemption.

Remember, GOD IS SPEAKING!  He tells us all we need to know.  It’s up to us to listen!

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞Be good listeners (James 1:19).

      ✞Be good doers (James 1:22).

God's Guidance

Bible Reading:  Psalm 48

Key Verse: Verse 14 – “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.”

Key Words:  he will be our guide 

Following the guidance of God is a necessity for the believer.

~        Dante said, “In His will is our peace.”

~        George Truett said, “To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge.  To do the will of God is the greatest achievement.”

~        A. T. Pierson once said, “To go as I am led, to go when I am led, to go where I am led; this is the prayer of my life.”

One night as the famous Bible teacher F. B. Meyer stood on the deck of a ship approaching land, he wondered how the crew knew when and how to safely steer to the dock.  It was a stormy night, and visibility was low.  Meyer, standing on the bridge and peering through the window, asked the captain, “How do you know when to turn the ship into the narrow harbor?”

“That’s an art,” replied the captain, “Do you see those three red lights on the shore?  When they are all in a straight line, we turn into the harbor.”

Later Meyer said, “When we want to be guided by God and know His will, there are three lights that occur: the light of desire will appear, the light of God’s Word, and the light of opportunity will come on.”

In essence Meyer was saying, God will place a desire in your heart; that desire will agree with God’s Word; and God will open a door of opportunity for you to carry out the desire He placed upon your heart.

There is nothing more exciting in the life of the believer than following God’s guidance and doing His will.

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞Do God’s will daily.

      ✞Do the little things; they always lead to bigger things.

Take Away the Dross

Bible Reading: Proverbs 25:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 4 – “Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the  finer.”

Key Words: Take away the dross 

Donald Grey Barnhouse tells the following in his book on God’s goodness:

“In the great bazaars of Istanbul, Damascus, or Cairo, you will see men sitting at their places in the section of the silversmiths.  Beside them you will generally find piles of United States twenty-five, fifty, and ten-cent pieces.  Thousands of travelers give American coins as tips, and all of those monies are melted back into silver and poured into little silver charms that are sold back to the tourists.  This is done in the most old-fashioned way.  I have watched a silversmith drop a coin into the molten silver; in a little while the coin is melted down under the hot fire.  Every once in a while the man gets up, lifts himself over the little bowl of silver, and goes back to sawing on some little pin that he is making, a silver clasp or ornament.  Again he will get up and look in the bowl; he will take a sieve and scrape off the scoria that is on the top.  He takes away the dross, and if you should ask him, ‘What are you waiting to see,’ he would say, ‘I keep it on the fire until there is no more scum; when I lean over it, I can see myself reflected there as in the best mirror.’”

That is what it means in Malachi when it says that God shall sit as a refiner of silver.  God says, “I am going to keep you in the fire until I see My face in you; this is what I’m working for.  I want to purge away the dross.  I want to make you like the Lord Jesus Christ.  I want you to understand the particularity of love that I’ve bestowed upon you, that I have called you my sons; and whom I love, I chasten and scourge

every son I receive.”

What to do: 

      ✞Always understand God desires to make you more valuable by removing the dross.

      ✞Always ask, “Can others see Jesus through my life’s actions and attitudes?”

The All-Seeing God

Bible Reading: Psalm 34

Key Verse: Verse 15 -  “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”

Key Words:The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous 

Have you ever really considered the fact that God is constantly watching you?  There is a great illustration of this told by the English evangelist Henry Moorehouse, who is now with the Lord.

“Weeks ago I went into the library in Covington.  As I was approaching the door it looked dark inside..and I wondered, “Why are they closed?  They are supposed to be open.”  I got real close to the door and I could faintly see movement inside…so I tried the door and went on in.  It just so happened, that they had finished putting some of this dark film on the windows and doors that only allows you to see through one way.  The effect of this reflective covering was that I was able to look outside and see everything, but people outside the building were unable to look in.  In much the same way, we don’t always realize that God is watching us.  As I walked up the walk to the library, the librarian saw me walking towards the building, but I couldn’t see her.  When Scripture tells us God’s eyes are upon us, we know that God sees us even though we cannot see Him.  Yet we often act as if we are behind reflective windows and God is unable to notice us.  We should know, however, that God is always observing us and that nothing escapes His attention.  He sees and hears us.  He is patiently waiting for us to come to him with our prayers and petitions.  As David says, “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”  [Psalm 34:15]  Even though we cannot see God, we know He sees us.  And even though we do not hear an angelic voice from heaven, we know that God answers our prayers.”

It is only comforting to know you are being watched by God when you are doing right.

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞Do right.  The eyes of the Lord are watching.

      ✞Write down a list of things you would like to accomplish today for the Lord.

      ✞Treat others today the way you want to be treated. 

In A Box

Bible Reading:  I Kings 8:22-30

Key Verse: Verse 27 – “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?”

Key Words: behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee 

Solomon had the temple built as a dwelling place for God; but even Solomon knew that as glorious and great as the temple was, it could not contain God.

I marvel at how people attempt to box God into their little world.  We attempt to confine God to heaven or even into a church building, but God is omnipresent.  You cannot confine God.

I recently read about the mother who had enrolled her daughter into the K-5 program of a nearby school.  Occasionally, the principal of the school would speak to the students by means of the intercom system.  The children were always intrigued when his voice came out of the little box (the speaker) hanging on the wall.

After a few days, the mother asked her daughter if she had made any new friends.  “Oh, yes,” she answered, “and I like all the teachers but one.”

“And who is that?” asked the mother.  “Oh, I don’t know his name, but he lives in a little box on the wall.”

We smile at her answer, but that is what many people do with God.  They fence him in.  They visualize God as being far away or as someone who doesn’t know them or care about them, rather than being an omnipresent God Who loves them and watches over them.  So I close with Solomon’s words, “…behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.”

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Understand God knows you.  He knows all your cares, concerns, and, yes, even your secret sins and lifestyle.

      ✞Live for God.

      ✞Know that He will never leave you nor forsake you

God's Unlimited Power

Bible Reading:  Psalm 148

Key Verse: Verse 5 – “Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.”

Key Words: for he commanded, and they were  created 

Some say that creation was the result of chance.  Others say it was God.

Those who rely on chance have some big explaining to do.  Here is one simple illustration of the improbability of man just “happening.”

Take ten pennies and mark them 1 to 10.  Put them in your pocket and give them a good shake.  Now try to draw them out of your pocket in order, from 1 to 10, returning each coin to your pocket after each try.

Your chance of drawing number 1 on the first try is 1 in 10.  Your chance of drawing 1 and 2 in succession would be 1 in 100.  On drawing 1, 2, and 3 in succession would be 1 in 1,000.  Your chance of drawing 1, 2, 3, and 4 in succession would be 1 in 10,000, and so on.

Now listen to this.  Your chance of drawing the pennies in perfect succession, 1 to 10, would be one chance in ten billion!

And yet there are some who say that all the complex and essential conditions for life on our earth as we know it could have occurred in the proper sequence just by “chance.”

Leslie Weatherhead said, “It demands more of credulity to imagine that the universe was all a huge accident than to believe in the operation of a mind.  How very strange that a ball of matter accidentally happening, and accidentally moving round the sun, should accidentally and purposelessly produce a man who purposefully seeks truth and purposefully asks how such an accident could happen, thus exhibiting a more profound degree of intelligence than that which accidentally produced this amazing universe.” 

I choose to believe “for he commanded, and they were created.”

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞If the God of the universe created the heavens, is He  not worthy of our worship and our service?  So dedicate yourself to worshiping and serving Him  faithfully. 

God's Unlimited Power

Bible Reading:  Psalm 19

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “The heavens declare the glory of  God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”

Key Words: The heavens declare the glory of God 

The heavens have many ways of declaring the glory of God.  One example would be measuring the radiation energy given off by the sun.  If we bought the solar energy given off by the sun in just one 24-hour period, at the rate of ½ cents per kilowatt, and paid for it in silver dollars, there would be enough silver dollars to cover the whole earth – ocean and land, one mile deep.  But it wouldn’t stop there.  That’s just one day’s supply of kilowatt power.  The sun, it is believed, gives off enough energy in one year to generate enough power to power the world for the next billion years.  Astounding!!

If this sounds impressive, remember that the sun is only one of some 100 billion stars in our Milky Way galaxy.  Some of these stars are 10,000 times brighter than our sun.  To grasp the power of God, multiply the sun’s energy by 100 billion and then multiply that by several trillion galaxies, and you have a sampling of the power of God.

Peter Stoner, who teaches astronomy at several universities on the East Coast, says, “There is a larger percentage of Christians among astronomers than any other profession.  An astronomer who is an atheist is mighty hard to find.  You can’t study the heavens and see the tremendous order of it without believing in an omnipotent Creator.” 

The heavens do declare the glory of God, that’s the reason we are told in Romans 1:20 that we are without excuse.

                                                                                         Dr. Micheal Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, praise His holy name.

      Note:  The information in this devotion came primarily from Peter Stoner and his articles from “Science Journals.”

The Omniscient God

Bible Reading:  Psalm 8

Key Verse: Verse 3 – “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;”

Key Words: When I consider thy heavens 

One of the greatest displays of God’s handiwork is a total eclipse of the sun, turning noonday into darkness and sending the chickens to roost hours before bedtime.

There was only one total eclipse of any great duration in this century in the United States; and that took place on March 7, 1940.  The previous one of comparable duration in the United States was in 1878.  The next one is due in the year 2024!

The first recorded eclipse was on October 22 in 2137 BC.   It was recorded by two Chinese astronomers, Hsi and Ho.  The Chinese government blamed Hsi and Ho for causing a dragon to eat the sun, and they were beheaded.

The pinpoint accuracy in which the planets rotate is no accident.  It is the divine omniscient plan of an omnipotent God.

We speak freely of the love of God, the glory of God, the power of God, and the justice of God.  But do we magnify His omniscience and His omnipotence as well?

We say that the more one shows love, the more he reveals God through his life; but, is that not true as well of spiritual knowledge?  The more we know about God, the better we can share Him with others.

I once heard someone pray, “Lord, I thank you that I’m ignorant, and I pray that you’ll make me more ignorant.”  Not me!!!  My prayer is, “Lord, give me wisdom.  Give me the wisdom to know more of you each day that I may share you with others and know more of your mighty handiwork.  Then I can surely cry out, “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”  Psalm 8:9

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Praise God for His being, His omniscience, His    omnipresence and His omnipotence.

      ✞Praise God that He knows you and is mindful of you.

      ✞“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)