Tag Archives: David

The Wonder Of Wilderness

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Psalm 13:5

Psalm 13:5 (Photo credit: [Share the Word])

The Wonder Of Wilderness

 

 

READ: Psalm 98

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. —Psalm 98:4

The psalmists had an advantage in praise because of their closer tie to the natural world. David began life outdoors as a shepherd, then spent years hiding in the rocky terrain of Israel. Not surprisingly, a great love, even reverence, for the natural world shines through many of his poems. The psalms present a world that fits together as a whole, with everything upheld by a personal God watching over it.

Wilderness announces to our senses the splendour of an invisible, untameable God. How can we not offer praise to the One who dreamed up porcupines and elk, who splashed bright-green aspen trees across hillsides of gray rock, who transforms the same landscape into a work of art with every blizzard?

The world, in the psalmist’s imagination, cannot contain the delight God inspires. “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises” (Ps. 98:4). Nature itself joins in: “Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord” (v.8).

The psalms wonderfully solve the problem of a praise-deficient culture by providing the necessary words. We merely need to enter into those words, letting God use the psalms to realign our inner attitudes. —Philip Yancey

All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon
with softer gleam! O praise Him! —St. Francis of Assisi

 

In praise, the creature happily acknowledges that everything good comes from the Creator.

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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God The Grand Architect

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David's Joy Over Forgiveness; as in Psalm 32; ...

God The Grand Architect

“Your Workmanship Is Marvelous.” (Psalm 139:14)

When I tour an historic mansion and scrutinize the building’s details – the quality, design, and decor – I can draw some conclusions about its builder. Is the foundation strong? Are the walls and floors plumb and square? How well are the most intricate details constructed? Does the design flow from one room to another?

We live on a grand estate called Earth. As we look at the beauty and intricacies of our residence, we marvel at the genius of the design. When we gaze up into the heavens, we are overcome with awe at the vastness of what our Creator has brought into being. In one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible, King David describes how nature testifies to the power of God: “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4, NIV)

To get just a small idea of God’s creative power, let us consider our corner of the universe. We live on one of nine planets that revolve around the sun. As the dominant light of our solar system, our sun gives off far more energy in one second than all mankind has produced since creation. With a diameter of approximately 860,000 miles, the sun could hold one million planets the size of the Earth. Yet our sun is only an average-size star.

How comforting it is to know that the God of creation is concerned with my well-being. There is no greater power!

Your View of God Really Matters …

On the next clear, starry night, go outside, gaze upward at God’s heavens, and worship Him for marvellous His power and wisdom. Tell Him how much you love Him. Listen for His voice in your heart.

What More Does God Say?

Psalm 92:4-5

Because God is all powerful, He can help me with anything

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Know therefore that the Lord Your God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations

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Deuteronomy 8:18, Thou shalt remember the Lord...

Know therefore that the Lord Your God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations

 

Deuteronomy 7:9 says: “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.” This verse talks about “thy God”, not just the God of Abraham, not just the God of Isaac, not just the God of David, but your God. He is your personal God. He is the God that has delivered you. He is the God that loves you. He is faithful. Please understand that God is faithful. This means that whatever He has declared, He will bring to pass. He will never, ever turn His back on you when you are trying to go in to apprehend something and to put our hands on or to receive a promise. No, God is faithful. He is the God of love. What does love do? It does its best for those who are loved. God loves you, and He is seeking to do His best on your behalf. God is your God. He is your partner. He is your Father. He loves you!

God is Your God

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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God Chose You Too

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4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern Cali...

4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern California provided by LivingWaters Ministry. Obeying the great commission of Jesus Christ. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone" Mark 16:15 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

God Chose You Too…

Psalm 78:70“He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds;”

David was known as a man after God’s own heart. It’s no secret that God loved David dearly. Although he wasn’t always perfect, God saw what was on the inside and carried David to greatness. Great news….did you know that God also chose you?

You’ve been on God’s radar since the day you were created and he had you in mind when Jesus went to the cross. Just like David, you too weren’t created to live a mundane or trivial life. You were created to do extraordinary things! The dreams God has placed in your heart aren’t meant to be entertaining thoughts. They’re meant to be your reality. He’s given you the ability to do some incredible things. The only requirement is that you act upon His calling.

To those around Him, David was a small, shepherd boy. He wasn’t a fierce warrior and he certainly wasn’t a King. Yet their reality wasn’t God’s reality. Who they dubbed David to be wasn’t who God dubbed him to be, and when God called he answered.

God didn’t just choose David, He also chose you. He placed in you the desire and hunger to accomplish more than others expect from you. Stop believing you were meant to remain in the pasture. Our God is one of opportunity, not of routine. Look up and start looking out because God chose you too.

 

May the LORD bless Nigeria, American and Israel and take care of us; May the LORD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

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Cast you burden upon Jesus for He cares for you

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The Lord is my Good Shepherd

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Cast you burden upon Jesus for He cares for you

Psalm 55:4-22

Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. —Psalm 55:6

David sighed, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest” (Ps. 55:6). As for me, I’d build a cabin in the Sawtooths, or take a permanent post in a fire-lookout tower. When life weighs on me, I too yearn to fly away and be at rest.

David wrote freely about his circumstances: Violence, oppression, and strife surrounded him on all sides, stirred up by the disloyalty of an old friend (55:8-14). Fear and terror, pain and trembling, anxiety and restlessness overwhelmed him (vv.4-5). Is it any wonder he longed to fly away?

But escape was impossible. He could not evade his lot. He could only give his circumstances to God: “As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (vv.16-17).

Whatever our circumstances—a burdensome ministry, a difficult marriage, joblessness, or a deep loneliness—we can give them to God. He has lifted the burden of our sins; will He not lift the weight of our sorrows? We have trusted Him with our eternal souls; can we not entrust our present circumstances to Him? “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you” (55:22). —David Roper

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by. —Oatman

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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from The Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning

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Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from The Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning

Learning to Wait God‘s Way

David was the anointed king of Israel, but before he could enjoy the realization of God’s promises, he had to go through a season of testing and waiting. During this time, he was forced to hide out in caves and literally run for his life. King Saul, who was bent on David’s destruction, continually hunted for him. Perhaps the Lord has given you a promise through His Word. You are ready to see it unfold, but it hasn’t happened yet. Though you have waited, it seems that there is no hope on the horizon. Remember, God’s timing is perfect.

He knows what you need, when you need it. He knows that if we are going to learn how to walk with Him in the daylight or the good times, we must learn first to trust Him in times of darkness.

At some point, each of us has waited for God’s promises to come. David may have wondered when the Lord would open the door to blessing. However, he never allowed his thoughts to turn to doubts. In fact, in Psalm 18:17, 19, he praises God for the victory he knew would be his one day. “(God) delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me … He brought me forth also into a broad (or spacious) place, He rescued me, because He delighted in me.”

When God delivers you from trial and trouble, you can be sure that He will bring you out into a spacious place of joy and delight – one that also will glorify Him and add encouragement to your life. Have you been pushing and shoving in an effort to move God on to the place where you think you should be? If so, stop and be determined to wait on God. The time you spend waiting in darkness will one day be rewarded by the Father of lights (James 1:17).

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

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Make an impact in your world today (Nation Building)

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Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber ...

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MAKE AN IMPACT IN YOUR WORLD TODAY (NATION BUILDING)

So David prevailed
over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine,
and slew him, but there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran,
and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the
sheath therefore, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the
Philistine saw their champion was dead, they fled (! Samuel 17:50-51).

Nation-building, national progress and infrastructural
development is not a task for the government alone, but our collective
responsibility. We all are to make our impact felt in our respective spheres of
contact. It may be in your community, place of work, city or nation at large;
look out for a need, and reach out to meet that need.

Imagine if David had joined the rest of his kinfolks to
merely lament and muse over the terror unleashed on the Israelites by Goliath.
Rather, he rose to the challenge. He saw a need and reached out to meet the
need. When his brothers tried to talk him down he asked them, “Is there not a cause?” (1 Samuel
17:29). David wasn’t in the army, yet he was moved by the plight of his people
and chose to make an impact. He recognized he could do something that could
change the destiny of his people.

Also, Moses became the deliverer of the children of Israel
from the severe oppression mounted by Pharaoh and his taskmasters. He didn’t
sit in an “arm chair” to merely criticize Pharaoh for his wickedness. Rather,
he was spurred to action by the desire to liberate the children of Israel from
the deplorable conditions under which they lived in Egypt. What about Esther? She
too changed the destiny of her people by rescuing the Jews from mass
annihilation plotted by Haman.

These ones stood up for the salvation of others and made
tremendous impact in the world of their time. Their individual victory brought
overall victory to the nation; it’s your turn to do the same. Take your civic
and social responsibilities towards the nation seriously. Look out for a human
need around you and reach out to meet that need.

Make an impact in your world today. Have a personal
commitment to serve, as several opportunities for service abound around us. Let
there be a strong motivation, an inner drive, and a powerful propensity to see
to it that the lives of those around you are improved through your actions. Be
challenged and motivated by the desire to impact your world and give back to
society.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father!
I thank You for opening doors of opportunities for me to be a blessing to my
world today. By Your Spirit, and through Your Wisdom, I identify and carry out
those things you’ve ordained me to do that’ll better my world and bring glory
to Your Name, in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

www.rhapsodyofrealities.org

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria
and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

 

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