Tag: knees

1.t. For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy

2 Chronicles 6:12  Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands. Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the court, and he stood on it. Then he knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.’ Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David.

“But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you, that your eyes may be open day and night toward this house, the place where you have promised to set your name, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the pleas of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen from heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

Exodus 29:45-46     I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.  And they shall know that I am the LORD their God,

Isaiah 57:15    For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Acts 17:24    The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

Psalms 139:7-10    Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,  even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Jeremiah 23:24    Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.

Will God indeed dwell with man on earth?  Can heaven and the highest heaven contain God?  Do I not fill heaven and earth? Solomon prayed with wisdom and knowledge of who God is.  He knew God was above all and that even heaven and the highest heaven could not contain Him.  How many times in the bible does God remind us of who He is?  Why does He do this?

Have God’s people had lost sight of God? His holiness, His majesty, His glory – has it all become very clouded. Have we lost sight of the majesty and holiness of God? Do we walk in reverential fear of God or has He become more like our buddy when troubles come our way and we need help?  Have we diluted who God is to something so far away that we don’t even try to live for Him in such a way the glorifies and honors Him more than one day a week at best?  If our thoughts of God and who He is is clouded and watered down, how will we actively seek and desire to listen for and to Him?  How will we follow, trust, and obey Him?

God is “the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy.”  We do well to intentionally choose to place Him first in our thoughts, actions, and words.  We do well to seek and desire to know Him more and more so that we can live in such a way that we honor and glorify Him more and more each moment of every day.

I am not worthy

““God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””

Genesis 32:10  I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant,

2 Samuel 7:18  Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Isaiah 6:5     And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Isaiah 63:7     I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

Luke 5:8    But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Luke 17:10     So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

1 Timothy 1:12-15     I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,  though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,  and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

I can remember telling someone the more I read the bible and study God’s word the more I realize and see how unworthy I am and how thankful I am.   Being exposed to God’s holiness and truth will reveal how big the gap is, should we think that we could in anyway earn our favor with God.  Rooted deep within us is that sinful nature and it has a way of remaining hidden so that we do not see it.  Our life will change when it is exposed to God’s word with a humble heart and desire to be loved, corrected, educated, taught, led, and a want to honor, glorify, serve, follow and obey God.

It does not take much reading to understand how unworthy we are and how awesome God is.  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  This is a gift of love from God and there is nothing we can do to gain the favor of this gift.  In fact “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”,  So while we were living in sin and apart from God, God in His love sent His son to redeem us.  We did nothing that would warrant such action from God.  “this is a gift from God, not by works, lest any man should boast” 

How many days are wasted trying to be good enough for God’s love when in fact He demonstrated this love through His son and the only work asked of anyone is to believe and repent.  The forgiveness of sin does not come through any work of man but through belief and faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice.

When we come to recognize just how unworthy we are of God’s steadfast love and how much God has done, is doing, and will do out of His grace, mercy and love……our heart and soul will be humbled with gratitude, thankfulness and obedience.