universe – Praying Pint

29.a. “And to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,”

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

John 15:24   If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

Hebrews 1:3    He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Psalms 102:25-27   Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.  They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,  but you are the same, and your years have no end.

Isaiah 44:24   Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

Ephesians 3:9   and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,

How smart is mankind – So smart that they can explain away the need for a Creator and replace the Creator with a big bang. The foolishness of the thought that nothing can magically form over billions of years still amazes me how really smart people believe this to be true. Any depth of comprehension and thought would tell us this is not possible and that there must be a Creator, someone who created it. God created all there is from planets, stars, universes, galaxies, to atoms, DNA, life, mankind, angels, light, water, time, seasons, gravity, microbiology, chemistry, and how it all works both physically and chemically. He created everything, all of it, there is nothing in the whole universe that was not created. Nothing existed before it was created by the Creator. It is this same Creator who reached out to fallen mankind to redeem and save them, giving them the hope of eternal life with Him. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [e]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the [f]only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.”

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me”

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes”

Worship the Creator and honor and glorify Him in all that you think, say, and do. Be in awe and wonder about such grace, mercy, and love, freely given by the Creator. To reject the offer of eternal life from the Creator will plant you in eternal hell forever. Come to Him, yield and surrender to Him, obey Him, trust Him, and live for Him alone.

And my reason returned to me

“The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.”

Psalms 93:1 The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

Psalms 96:10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.”

Psalms 97:1 The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!

Psalms 99:1 The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

Psalms 145:13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.

1 Chronicles 29:12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Daniel 4:34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;

Revelation 19:6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.

Psalms 75:3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars.

Isaiah 45:12 I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

Isaiah 49:8 Thus says the LORD: “In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people,

Isaiah 51:16 And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

Hebrews 1:2-3 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

“and my reason returned to me” We all battle the thoughts that come in and deny God’s power greater than what is attacking us, strength greater than our fears, love, grace and mercy greater than our sin. Paul says to take these thoughts captive. We are not going to stop them from jumping into our head but we can bind them in God. We can acknowledge them and then discard them. Sounds easy but in reality it may require us to continually repeat this especially when we are in a situation that seems unbearable or so big we are totally lost. Keeping God’s word in our heart and mind gives us other brain food to dwell on and fight these thoughts when they appear. It is also good to be mindful of others who may be going through a rough spell and we need to be filled with God’s word so that we can speak hope, faith and love to them. Helping each other in these times can be very uplifting.

Tell you plainly

John 16:25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

Acts 1:9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Luke 24:51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

Hebrews 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Can you imagine what it would have been like to have been there with Christ at the time of His ascension . Many scriptures come to my mind when I think about His last minutes on earth; “I have come to give you life more abundantly, I have come to set the captive free, I have come to give sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, I have come to give light unto the world, I am the way the truth and the life, I do what the Father tells me, I free the demon possessed, I love you, I give my life freely, I forgive you, I am the spring of living water, I go prepare a place for you so that where I am there you will be also, I am coming again, You have believed in the Father believe also in me, Father forgive them they know not what they do, I will send a helper to you….. Being mindful of His death, and resurrection for salvation to all who trust in this redemptive sacrifice but, there is more to life than salvation. Salvation is the corner stone of our faith and from this we grow (or at least we should. Our purpose on earth is to humbly serve, honor, follow, and obey Him. Growing needs the flow of living water found in His word. Apart from it we are prone to wonder and follow diluted truth. Our culture tries to pull and direct our efforts towards things of this world that certainly do not last. The only thing that lasts is that which is given and done in honor and glory of Him alone. There is not room for complacency and neglect in our walk with God. His word is a light to our soul and a beacon to lead our way through this life. Leave no room for Satans lies to filter in and essentially make your life meaningless in God’s work this side of eternity. There is not much spoken of anymore about sin and a Holy God. God’s word is able to divide our thoughts and intents. It convicts us of sin and leads us into His arms. It gives us peace, strength, power, courage, hope, joy, and assurance of eternal life. Commit to spending time in His word and growing in understanding and knowledge of Him and His plan and purposes. He speaks whispers of guidance through it. Give time each day into His word and speak of His work in your life. Bring Hope to the lost and dark world. Be a light shinning in the darkness. He is coming again.

In the Beginning

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Psa 33:6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Psalms 148:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

2 Peter 3:5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,

Deuteronomy 4:19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

Romans 1:25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

In the beginning God!!!! I understand our desire to keep looking for more and more understanding of science but not at the cost of leaving God out of it. How many have dug so deep they are now a quest to prove how everything came into being without God. Theories and more theories abound trying to prove this. The end of this search is more and more searching. Can you imagine what these hearts would be like if that same desire was placed understanding God and thanking Him for His creation. We do well to keep our eyes on the creator.