The Lord took me to Psalm 97 this morning. I read it in different translations and loved how it mentions distant islands in verse one in the VOICE translation. With living in a area of many islands it seems appropriate to read about it in the Bible. As I read this I thought about how creation celebrates God every morning when the sun rises. Some mornings are more beautiful than others but there is always beauty to be found in a sun rise. The same can be said for a sunset and for all the hours in between. God's beauty is everywhere in creation. He can be found in things as simple as a bird or a turtle. He can be found in the mighty waves that occur after a storm and in the stillness of the water when there is no wind. He is found everywhere when we look for Him because He is everywhere. We need to celebrate Him and all He does in our lives. This Psalm ends with these words, Celebrate the Eternal God, all you who are faithful; offer thanks to His holy name. We begin the Psalm with being told to rejoice and we end it with doing the same. God is to be praised. He is to be praised when life is going well and He is to be praised when it is not. He is to be praised on bright, sunny days and He is to be praised on rainy, dreary days. Sometimes it takes the rainy, dreary days to make us appreciate the bright, sunny days more. Verse nine in this Psalm is written to God. It reads, For You are the Eternal, the Most High, over the entire world; You far exceed all gods. This verse reminds me of Paul's writing in Ephesians 1:21. It reads in the NIV ...far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. God is greater than anything or anyone. He is greater than anything the enemy puts before us. Praise His Holy Name! I am reminded this morning of the song "Our God Is Greater" and feeling very thankful and blessed with this knowledge. When life throws you a curveball, it does not surprise God one bit. He already knew it was coming.
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God, You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome in power
Our God! Our God!
This song says it all. It says what all believers need to live out in our life. I go back to Psalm 97 and am blessed through verse eleven in the MESSAGE. Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people, Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil. If I desire to be who God has called me to be, I need to allow Him to plant light-seeds in me. I also need to live in a manner where joy-seeds are able to be planted in me.
Dear Jesus, Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead today! Thank You for Clay and Jo Ann taking me out to dinner! I so enjoyed not only the food but especially the time with them. Thank You for Psalm 97 which reminds me to allow You to be Who You desire in my life! Cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. I pray for You to flow from my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts today. I pray for all pastors who go into the pulpit today to be filled with You. I pray Your peace over many going through difficult days. My Momma; my sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; my brother Richard; Ben and Colleen; Pete and Delores; Steve; Cait; Beth; Mike; Norma Hall; Sharon Sebolt and her parents; some young ladies with anxiety; a young man out of rehab who needs strength in his daily walk; Rhonda; Mary Lilley; a husband/father separated from his wife; Brooklyn; Kristen Batten; Amber; families in turmoil; Gay and Doug; Rick; Cyndi; Serenna and her husband; and many others. I also pray healing prayers over many who are dealing with 'c' and/or going through treatments...Chrissy's cousin; Shirley Jones; Preacher Bill Watts; Cait's friend with leukemia; my pastor friend with daily chemo; Little Ivy; Little Judson; Alex's niece; a young girl in our community; a lady whose breast cancer has returned; a lady diagnosed with stage two breast cancer; my friend recuperating from thyroid cancer surgery; and Sue Danhoff's husband Harv. I pray for: the Long Family, Vickie and her son Jim, Becky, Ken, Brenda, and Russ. Thank You for continued strength for Baby Henry! I pray for Elizabeth's mother who had another fall and a father with a prodigal daughter. Thank You for being My Light-seed Planter! Amen.
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