Showing posts with label the love of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the love of God. Show all posts

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Psalm 40 - Parchment Skies

Do you know this old hymn - "The Love of God" - by Frederick M. Lehman ? When I read verse 5
Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.
I thought of the third verse of "The Love of God."

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trace,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Tho' stretched from sky to sky.

 The Love of God  was written in 1917, but look at this! Mercy Me sang it.


Even though we could never list all of the wonderful things that God has done - in our own lives as well as the lives of everyone else in the whole world - we should spend some time each day making a list. How would your outlook on life, the way you look at and treat others, the things you ask for in prayer, the way you interact with your family and friends.... How would all of that change if you looked at life with an amazed, grateful heart?

Bottom line challenge:
I have a challenge for today's "bottom line." Depending on how dedicated you think you can be, pick a time frame, 2 days, 1 week, 3 weeks.... and begin each day of that time making a list of God's deeds. Then look that day for new things to add to your list the next morning. I would be interested in hearing from you at the end of the time. How your life different? How did you see things differently? In what ways did you grow closer to God?

Here's verse 5 again in the New Living Translation:
5 O LORD my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Psalm 36






Psalm 36 begins with a description of the sinfulness of the wicked. Apparently the wicked have been the same for thousands of years because it could be written today. It's easy to see people that meet this description now - and they're proud of it!

Compare that to God's incredible love that reaches to the heavens!

I think the thing to take away from this Psalm today - at least for me - is to not get bogged down or discouraged by the wickedness around us - around the world. Why? Because God's love and faithfulness are so much greater. His righteousness and justice are greater than the wickedness of the world.

Bottom line:
It's easy to get in the mode of cursing the darkness. There's so much of it! If instead we would focus on God's love, faithfulness, righteousness and justice - and live our lives in love, faithfulness, righteousness and justice. We will make a difference in the world and God will use us to push back the darkness.