Admiring and Applauding God. R. Bruce Stevens

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СКАЧАТЬ Praise God that even wicked kings and nations must submit and do his bidding when he gives the command.

      • Praise God, who has the last word in all things: “The Lord works out everything for his own ends—even the wicked for a day of disaster” (Prov 16:4).

      • Reflect on the truth that sometimes God uses an unsaved person in our lives to teach us a needed lesson. Then praise God for his ability to direct all things to his will.

      Attitude-changer

      For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.

      —Ezra 6:22

      • After the destruction of the temple in 586 BC and the seventy-year exile, faithful Israelites returned to Jerusalem only to be met with the daunting task of rebuilding the temple in the face of opposition and limited resources. No problem. God simply prompted the king of the world-dominant nation to lend a helping hand.

      • Many people struggle to change their attitude even when they know they should. How much more challenging is it to change the attitudes of others! Yet for God, this is child’s play; he has the ability to change the attitude of anyone he chooses. What an amazing ability! What an amazing God!

      • Praise God for his ability to change attitudes—mine as well as the attitudes of others in my life.

      Author

      You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

      —Acts 3:15

      • Some writers receive large advances to write because they are either famous (retiring presidents, for example) or are already proven, successful authors.

      • God is an author. He doesn’t write books (although he did write one bestseller); rather, he is the author of something far greater. He is the author of life itself. What he “created” was not a work of fiction or history but life itself.

      • Praise God, the author of life, who, ironically, chose to die so that dying people could have eternal life. Incredible!

      Avenger

      The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.

      —Nah 1:2

      “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them”

      —Deut 32:35

      “O Lord, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve”

      —Ps 94:1–2

      • There resides deep within us all a longing for the just punishment of those who arrogantly use, exploit, and abuse others. Countless movies have been made in which lawbreakers are relentlessly pursued and brought to justice by heroes who have a passion to see that the innocent are avenged.

      • Praise God for his passion to bring about justice, ensuring that the wicked are called to account for their sins.

      Awesome

      Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.

      —Deut 7:21

      • What comes to mind when you hear the word “awesome”? Perhaps a close-up view of Niagara Falls, or the Grand Canyon, or a mountaintop vista, or the birth of baby?

      • Biblically, “awesome” has an element of fearsome might and power. When Israel was at risk of being terrorized by the inhabiting nations in the promised land of Canaan, God commanded them to not be terrified because he is far more terrible and awe-inspiring in all his power than they.

      • Jesus told the disciples the same thing: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10:28).

      • Praise the awesome God, for to fear him aright drains all other fears of their dread.

      Beautiful

      From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.

      —Ps 50:2

      • We tend to associate the word “beauty” with women, art, sunsets, or hitting a receiver in full stride with a forty-yard pass. Our culture is obsessed with physical beauty. Hollywood stars adorn the covers of magazines and electronic screens. Yet there is a beauty that lies beyond Hollywood’s grasp—an inner beauty characterized by hearts that are loving, compassionate, selfless, good, and noble. Jesus displayed all these qualities perfectly in his daily life as he interacted with others. His was a beauty that attracted all people of goodwill.

      • God has a beauty that is rivaled by none. When we see him, we shall be struck speechless by his radiant splendor.

      • Praise God for his beauty. One day we shall see him and marvel.

      Bestower of Favors

      For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

      —Ps 84:11

      • We often ask, “Can you do me a favor?” and by so doing we are asking for grace—for help undeserved.

      • God delights in bestowing his favor on “those whose hearts are blameless.” This does not mean that only sinless people qualify for God’s favor (Who would qualify?), but rather that those who love him and love to please him by their glad obedience, however imperfectly executed, are favored.

      • Reflect on the many favors God has bestowed on you by his grace and praise that he is the kind of God who is pleased to honor you.

      • Has any greater favor been bestowed than Jesus, our Savior, and the gracious Holy Spirit, who indwells within us moment by moment? Praise the God who is the greatest favor of all.

      Binder

      Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling.

      —1 Sam 25:29

      • Wise and beautiful Abigail, future wife of King David, declares to David that even though Saul pursues him, God will keep him safe because God has promised to do so (v. 30) using a wonderful image of being tied up securely in a bundle with all other living people.

      • Praise God, who has a purpose and a plan for each life. He binds us snugly in the bundle of the living so we can fulfill our calling and complete our assigned work on earth. СКАЧАТЬ