Blog Archives - Created through Him

Created Through Him

Praise God

7/21/2012

3 From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised. 4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens (Psalm 113:3-4).

These verses are a reminder that in all things we are to subject ourselves to God. We should praise Him at all times and in all circumstances. This is often not easy, especially when we are in the midst of difficult situations. One thing to note is that it doesn’t say we are to praise the circumstances but rather to praise God. Certainly God is not suggesting that we should not mourn or have sorrow or even in some cases, have anger. There are circumstances that obviously warrant mourning, sorrow and anger. The point of these verses from Psalm 113 is to remind us of the nature of God and that we are to praise Him for good reason. We are praising God for who He is: The Sovereign over all-creation.

The sovereign light

7/20/2012

4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous (Psalm 112:4).

This verse is a prophecy concerning the Messiah. I am including it as part of the discussion on God’s sovereignty because prophecy and specifically fulfilled prophecy proves that God is sovereign. Psalm 112 was written nearly 1000 years before Christ. God knows the beginning from the end and more than that; He controls the whole process including time and timing. The ability of God to exercise control over future events is key. It is not that God simply knows what will occur; it is that He actually makes it happen. This is the difference between sovereignty and random chance. There is nothing about our sovereign God that is random.

Fear of the Lord

7/19/2012

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever (Psalm 111:10).

There is always a first step in any given process, plan or event. The first step sets the direction for all subsequent steps. As stated in Psalm 111, it is the fear of the Lord that is the first step in becoming wise or in obtaining wisdom. Wisdom then is required in order to follow God’s commands. Following God’s commands of course is about obedience but it is predicated on having a correct perspective concerning God. Fear of God means respect of God’s authority, will and purposes. It is a healthy fear, not a loathing fear. In essence, when we fear God, we are set and ready to obey Him.

Christ is king

7/18/2012

110 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool (Psalm 110:1).

This verse is a prophecy about the Messiah (The Lord said unto my Lord). In this verse Christ is made king. As king, God the Son possesses the sovereignty of God the Father. Christ as God shares in the divine attributes and He exercises sovereignty in perfect will with the Father. God is one being, with three distinct persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Although the word trinity is never used in scripture, there are many verses in scripture that describe the nature of God including the distinct persons. One primary clue that Christ is God (other than Christ stating it multiple times) is that Christ is king and all creation is subject to His authority and rule. This is sovereignty and this is good news.

Delivered out of time of trouble

7/17/2012

6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses (Psalm 107:6).

Throughout history God has always delivered His people out of trouble. When God delivers out of trouble though it is on His timetable and according to His purposes. Both of the previous are often difficult for us to either understand or comprehend. But God wants us to rely upon Him. He will never fail, and although in this world there will be trouble; God will ultimately delver us from all trouble. The time is coming when God Himself will restore all things to new. There will be a new heaven and a new earth and we will finally be delivered from all trouble, permanently.

The Lord is God

7/16/2012

100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. 5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations (Psalm 100:1-5).

The Lord is God. This is a first principle of sovereignty. Sovereignty in turn has a connotation of ownership. We are God’s people and as such should respond accordingly. We should be thankful for God’s mercy and blessings. This may seem like an obvious thing to be thankful for mercy and blessing, but often it seems we ask for justice instead of mercy. But justice is not what we should ask for or wish, since in fact, justice from the view of God would lead to our demise. Our demise is only prevented by God’s mercy. In addition to our thankfulness for mercy, we ourselves should be merciful. We cannot begin to expect God to be merciful to us, if we ourselves deny mercy to others.

The beauty of holiness

7/15/2012

9 O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth (Psalm 96:9).

The worship of God should be done with the right heart. True worship is not matter of simple compulsion, but rather is a matter of proper preparation. When we worship God we should do so with a clean heart and in the spirit of holiness. While we can never be truly holy on our own accord, we can approach the throne of grace with a contrite and fearful heart. Fear may seem like the wrong word to use, but it is not. The sovereign God that called the Universe into existence is holy and when we approach Him to worship we should do so with the knowledge that there is a distinction between the Creator and the created. That distinction is one of power, majesty, holiness and worthiness. Therefore, when we approach God to worship we should prayerfully consider our true position before Him and bow down before Him putting on the faith we have in our redeemer as our shield. The good news of the Gospel is that our redeemer is God himself through the power and covering of the Lord Jesus Christ. The covering of Christ is the beauty of holiness, so we appear before God in worship as holy on account of the risen Christ.

The Lord is our maker

7/14/2012

6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. 7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work (Psalm 95:6-9).

The Lord is our maker. The previous statement sets the framework for our worldview. The way we view the world is predicated upon whether we view the Lord as our maker. The worldview that we have, in turn, affects all aspects of our thoughts, conduct, energies and outlook. When we kneel before God as our maker, we are His people. God’s people hear His voice and follow. The danger in having a worldview that fails to acknowledge God as a maker cannot be overstated. Effectively, holding a worldview that does not hold God as maker causes the individual to be an enemy of God. Scripture warns that we should not harden our heart to God and His word. This warning is for our benefit, so that we might turn to God and be saved.

The Lord will not cast off His people

7/13/2012

11The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. 12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law; 13 That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. 14 For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance (Psalm 94:11-14).

Since God is sovereign, all that He promises will occur in time. God knows that we cannot save ourselves. Therefore, He both directs us and delivers us. The direction God provides is sometimes corrective in nature. We may need to be corrected. The correction is also with a purpose and that purpose is our ultimate good. This is not unlike a parent that corrects a child, not to be mean or capricious, but rather to make sure no harm comes to the child. This is God’s love for us, that He intercedes on our behalf and guides us to our salvation. Our salvation is of benefit of course to us, but we are also the Lord’s, and therefore God is glorified.

God is from everlasting

7/12/2012

2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God (Psalm 90:2).

God exists before time. The control of time is an important quality of God that is deeply related to sovereignty. This is so because in order for God to be able to be sovereign over all of creation, He must be able to control all aspects of the creation. Time is one of those aspects. Time is a creation of God. We know this since God is everlasting and is without beginning or end. I have often heard the question asked, “Who created God?”. This however is an unnecessary and incorrect question since God in fact created time so therefore He is not bound or constrained by time.

Created Through Him