Wonderful Jesus!

Tag: Honor

• Who is Like You, O Lord?

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on March 5, 2021

  Exodus 15:11 – “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? NKJV

  

  I was in New York at a conference when I heard Chris Tomlin’s song, “Our God”. I couldn’t get enough of that song! We sang it in every meeting, and when I came home, the first thing I wanted to know was, who wrote that song and how could I get it! Here are the words to the chorus:

  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!

  The prayer of praise and worship is another prayer that focuses solely on God! Even greater than the prayer of thanksgiving is this time of pouring our love and affection on the Master.

  Some of the things that we can worship Him for are His holiness, His glory, His greatness, His majesty, His power, His creation and His faithfulness, to name a few!

  Our text is a verse that focuses on His greatness. After God delivered the children of Israel from Pharaoh, Moses sang this in a song:

  Exodus 15:11 – “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? NKJV

  Is that the echo of your heart? Who is like our God? Who can do the wonders He does? Who is more glorious? There is no other! No, not one!

  Nehemiah uttered these words of worship to God:

  You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. Nehemiah 9:6 – NKJV

  It’s appropriate that at some point in our life we worship Him for the angels spend time worshipping Him, and He hasn’t saved them! Sooner rather than later! More often, than not! He’s worthy!

  Jonah, while in the belly of the great fish spoke these words to the Father:

  “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple. “Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy. Jonah 2:7-8 – NKJV

  Jonah worshipped the merciful God when His soul was faint! Anytime, is a good time to stop and worship the Lord or give Him praise. When you do so, it’s praying, conversing with God, on another level! Here are some scriptures to get you started:

  Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in His holy mountain. Psalm 48:1 – NKJV

  He is so great! He is awesome! Worthy to be praised! Worthy of honor!

  Psalm 77:13- Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; who is so great a God as our God?

  No one! Our God is the only true God! You’ll not find another! He’s greater! He’s stronger! He’s wiser! Our God!

  A personal favorite of my brother-in-law, Pastor Eric and one that comes to mind is:

  Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25 – NKJV

  Can’t you hear yourself worshipping Him and saying: You, O Lord, are the only One who can keep me from stumbling, and only You can present me before the Father, faultless! I worship You God my Savior, who alone is wise… and then throw some of this in there:

  O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory above the heavens! Psalm 8:1 – NKJV

  Go ahead and worship Him for His excellent Name! The Name that is above every name!

  For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. Psalm 95:3-5 -NKJV

  If I had to stop and worship Him right now, I couldn’t do it without telling Him how good He is. I couldn’t go far with my words without saying how great is His love towards me. I would have to mention His faithfulness throughout my life!

  Sometimes in thinking about prayer, we can over complicate the manner. We can accomplish so much in prayer when we spend time in worship, adoring Him, offering Him praise, throwing in some gratefulness, and basically focusing on Him. Is He insecure and needs words of affirmation to get through His day? Not hardly! But He is God, Creator of the Universe! The Living God, Who was, and Is, and Is to Come! He is worthy! He deserves to be worshipped and honored. And as I blog, I realize I haven’t done it enough! Who is like our God? No one, that’s who? No one is greater, no one is stronger, no one is higher. I am overwhelmed with His love! I am awed by His creation! I am touched by His heart towards us! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in God, praise, Prayer, worship | 0 Comments | Tagged adoration, Attitude, faithfulness, God, holiness, Honor, Jonah, love, Moses, praise, Prayer, the Exodus, worship, worthy

• Keeping It in Perspective!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on December 4, 2020

  James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. NKJV

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  keeping-it-in-perspective_.mp3

  My past two blogs have been centered around the idea that we foster, that in order to be humble before God, we must somehow decrease that He must increase. In this blog, I want to look at what humility looks like, in the face of success, with some biblical figures we are all familiar with.

  I want to start with Daniel. Those of us who are familiar with the word of God are familiar with Daniel. He is well known as the prophet who told the Gentile kings the interpretations of their dreams. The first time he did so, the king had threatened to kill all the wise men, magicians, and astrologers, which included Daniel, because of a troubling dream. As a matter of fact, the king didn’t even remember the dream, yet, he wanted them to tell him what he dreamed and what it meant. When his astrologers and wise men said that they couldn’t do it, and no one could, he ordered their deaths. Daniel heard about it, and to spare his life and the lives of his friends, they fasted and ask God about the dream. When Daniel reported to the king to share the dream, he said these words:

  Daniel 2:30 – “But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. NKJV

  Prior to this verse, Daniel had already given the honor to God, who knows the secrets of every heart. He wasn’t looking for anyone to think that he thought he was something special, but had come to share the dream and the interpretation of the dream as God had shown him. What he did was pretty spectacular. The king was so impressed he fell prostrate before Daniel and wanted to make an offering to him. He also placed Daniel in a high position and lavished gifts on him. But Daniel knew who the real interpreter was, and he never forget Him! And God exalted him!

  David was another man who demonstrated what it meant to be humble before the Lord. He was the giant killer who killed his tens of thousands. He was the king who brought unity to Israel. He was the leader of the mighty men. Yet, he understood that even so, it was because of God.

  2 Samuel 7:18-19 – “Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said: “Who am I, O Lord God ? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord God?” NKJV

  David said that what God had done for him was a small thing in His sight, but David knew it for the great favor that it was. I met a Jewish believer when I was a teenager. Without thinking, I said, “Why is your name David? That’s not a Jewish name!” He said, “Are you kidding me? You don’t know about King David, the great king of Israel?” I went, “Oops!” (What was I thinking)! Even today, he is heralded as the king of Israel. David knew that God had exalted him above his enemies and his own desires. It’s what happens when humility is truly demonstrated.

  Peter also demonstrated humility after having been used mightily of God. The lame man at the gate called Beautiful, and others, were ready to fall at his feet and worship him. Why? Because the man had been lame and begging for all of his life. And with a few words, he was made completely whole. Peter had to put that to a stop!

  Acts 3:11-12 – “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? NKJV

  Peter knew he didn’t heal the man, although the Spirit of God healed the man at Peter’s words. The old Peter might have responded differently, but this anointed Peter, showed much humility. He didn’t take God’s glory, because it didn’t belong to him. Anymore than it belongs to us. You can do wonderful things for God, even be successful, without belittling yourself, and still give Him all the glory!

  Acts 18:24-26 -Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. NKJV

  I asked the Lord for an example and He gave me Apollos. What we may not have paid attention to is the effective ministry that Apollos had amongst the Gentiles. On at least five different occasions Paul referred to Apollos’ ministry, placing it in the same category of his ministry and Peter’s ministry. Yet, when Apollos met Aquila and Priscilla, and they shared about Jesus, he readily listened, changed his message, and continued to preach. That’s humility! He wasn’t concerned about his reputation, or his prominence amongst the Gentiles, just the message of the Messiah. It was of Apollos that Paul wrote that he planted and Apollos watered, but God got the increase!

  I give you Jesus! The Bible states:

  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:8 – NKJV

  Never once did He think less of Himself. Yet everything Jesus said and did was a witness to the position of humbleness that He displayed before the Father. He became obedient even to the point of death. He bowed His will to that of the Father, and died for us. In spite of the utter shame the cross held, in spite of the devastation to His physical body, in spite of the lies and being ridiculed, He humbled Himself. And He was highly exalted, and given a name above every name!

  Fellow believers! Each of these individuals humbled themselves before God, whether they said it or not. Each of them honored the Father above themselves. Each of them realized that the success that they had or was having was due to the Father, not to them. They did great exploits for the Father! He used them to do those things, but they gave Him all the honor and all the glory!

  It is possible to be a success in what you do, and give God the honor due Him, without sounding flaky and seeing yourself as a wretch. Paul even referred to himself as the least of all the brethren, which we would probably differ with. Yet, I don’t see that “poor wretched” mentality, I just see that he didn’t think more highly of himself than was necessary. If some of us accomplished what Paul did, we’d want a whole lot more money and fame and service than he received. Looking for the exaltation of others. But Paul was humble in what he did because he did it for Christ, only for Christ! That’s really the bottom line! Keep it all in perspective as to whom we are doing it for, and our hearts will remain humble. Then He will exalt us! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in God, Humility, Jesus, Serving God | 2 Comments | Tagged Attitude, Daniel, David, dreams, glory, Honor, humble, Humility, increasing and decreasing, Jesus, obedience, Paul, Peter, service, success

• A Day of Honor!

  Posted at 10:00 am by wonderfuljesus8, on November 11, 2020

  Romans 13:7 -Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. NKJV

  

  a-day-of-honor_.mp3

  Today we celebrate Veteran’s Day to honor the men and women who have served in the armed forces of the United States. It is a day that we also celebrate those who are active in the military. As a veteran of the United States Navy, I say thank you to those of you who honor this day with heartfelt wishes. And I also take this time to say “Thank you,” to those who have served and who currently serve!

  This was not intended to be a blog. I was just going to post a picture and wish everyone a wonderful day, but now I have something to say.

  It’s a real blessing, as a veteran, a military spouse, a sibling of a veteran, an aunt of a veteran, and a parent of an active duty member of the military to hear civilians stop and say, “Thank you for your service”! Statistically, about 1% of our population join the armed forces. While we all enjoy our “rights”, a very small percentage of Americans are willing to defend those rights.

  When I joined the Navy, it wasn’t a hard decision, as I knew in my heart that God told me to join. As I watched our daughter join, and become a commissioned officer, my heart was full of joy. When she went overseas to the Middle East, I had to maintain that joy. It wasn’t always easy! Every time our daughter comes home, is a time of celebration for us, as God continues to watch over her.

  My husband and I met while we were in the military. We got married then returned to civilian life, whole and healthy. That’s not everyone’s story. Some family members don’t return home, while others return home with far more issues than a person should have to deal with. Sacrifices are made, lives are lost, and we are still the greatest country in the world, enjoying the freedoms that our military protect all over the world. Even our allies, enjoy the benefits of our military.

  When you say, “Thanks for your service,” it brings warmth to our hearts. It’s like you are saying, “Thanks for missing the holidays. Thanks for missing your birthdays and the birthdays of your family members. Thanks for going through days, weeks, months, and even years experiencing loneliness for us, separated from your family. Thanks for volunteering to do what I could never see myself doing, or want my child or spouse to do. Thanks for the many sacrifices you made, and may still be making because of your service. Thanks so very much!”

  You honor us with your well wishes. Businesses honor us with free meals, discounts, and huge banners for all to see. Flags are flown as a display of celebration. And the nation gives us the day off! What’s not to like about it!

  As a veteran, who had to take the day off to celebrate Veteran’s Day, I say to you, “Thank you for realizing that we give up so much as service members. It’s nice to feel appreciated!” I honor you with this blog!

  Again, to all of my fellow veterans, and active duty members, “You Rock!” Thank you for your service! Wonderful Jesus!

  Posted in Holiday Celebrations, Honor | 0 Comments | Tagged active duty, Honor, military, thank you for your service, Veteran’s Day

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