The heavens declare the glory of the LORD The moon hides its face in shame at the mere reflection of Your beauty. The stars for all their twinkling light can never match the magnificence of Your glory. Though the sun may shin with all its might it will never be but a shadow of Your brilliance. O God, You reign in the heavens! Your majesty humbles all creation. Though man lifts his face against You he is but a speck of dust, blown swiftly away. You honor those You choose and humble those who strut around in pride. You hear the smallest of Your children’s call yet You command the most violent of storms. All creation bows to You It sings Your praises! Though man works evil against it Your power and might prevail. Your cleansing blood overwhelms their efforts, Purifying Your world, Proclaiming Your might.
Strangely, last night I watched Glenn Beck who had a rabbi on his show, and they were talking about the tower at Babel… This morning that was what I was reading about! Cool, huh? I think that the most interesting thing the rabbi pointed out is that they were building the tower of bricks. Bricks Made by man All uniform and the same shape Easily interchangeable Stone Made by God Each is unique in shape and size and makeup Fit into the perfect place in a building The rabbi said that the big problem was that the “king” wanted to make the people metaphorical bricks instead of allowing them to be the stones that God created. So, the bricks (made by man and all the same) represent these people. Stones (made by God and each unique) are who we are supposed to be. At the end, when God mixed up all the languages, the people returned to their original stone. Interestingly, the bricks that the people made were probably made of stone and sand. Often, when we or our boss or our government or whoever wants everyone to be the same or everyone to be “equal” then we mix the stone that God created, crushing it, and add it to sand. And we all remember what happened to the man who built his house on the sand. It wasn’t pretty! So, be a stone! Be a rock! Be unique! Be strong! Be oddly shaped! Be who God made you to be!
I am the apple of my Father’s eye I am sweet, overflowing, and beautiful I am protected by His hand and opened wide to let in light Given out to bring hope, I am useful Thoughts for the Day Genesis 1:22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” Genesis 1:28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Did you ever notice that there are only two things that God blesses and commands to multiply? It’s true. He blesses the creatures in the sea and the birds of the air, and He blesses the man and the woman. I think it’s interesting that He doesn’t bless the animals on the land or anything else that He created. I wonder why this is? Maybe because the creatures of the sea and the birds were intended to be food and therefore needed to be plentiful. I don’t know, but it’s kind of interesting.
I am silver refined in the fire I am shaped, I am hammered on the anvil of God I am slowly releasing the muck and the mire Each day that I wait I grow less and less flawed. I am a song in the blackest darkness A soft note of hope in the cold of the night I am a melody written by His hand A gentle harmony in the midst of the fight. Anthem Pt 2 I think it’s kind of funny that my mother-in-law sent me and my husband a list of 60-odd things that we are in Christ (from a woman they’ve been working with) the day before I wrote Anthem Pt 1. I guess God wants me to remember these things, too. My necklace is silver (the chain is), sort of. It’s kind of that silver that you get after it’s been in the shower a million times. But anyway, it holds the charm with the pearl. A long time ago (it seems) a dearly missed friend told me that I was a Psalmist. I really miss her wisdom and counsel. Her words have echoed in my mind for a long time. I’m not sure what a Psalmist is or what a Psalmist does. It seems that God is calling my husband into a difficult ministry; I hope that being a Psalmist is a way to support him as he prays to set the captives free! Other Notes In Genesis 1:3-4 did you ever notice that God created the light and the darkness (as well as the earth, plants, water, etc.) long before He created the sun and the moon and the stars? Those things didn’t get created until the 4th day! The light that God created was enough to make plants grow and to separate the waters. The sun and moon and stars were signs to mark seasons, and kind of as an afterthought to give the earth light. The light was already there. I wonder, if the sun and moon and stars weren’t there, would there still be light? I guess, short of God restructuring gravity, the tides would get really messed up… but what’s a small detail like that when He can speak and all of creation springs from His breath?
Disclaimer: I didn’t write this. I don’t know who did. I also have no idea if it’s true. But, if it is, it’s pretty awesome! The Cross in Our Bodies This is a pretty neat story and an interesting thing that few of us know. It’s brief, so please read. (From A Medical Doctor) A couple of days ago I was running (I use that term very loosely) on my treadmill, watching a DVD sermon by Louie Giglio… And I was BLOWN AWAY! I want to share what I learned…. But I fear not being able to convey it as well as I want. I will share anyway. He (Louie) was talking about how inconceivably BIG our God is… How He spoke the universe into being… How He breathes stars out of His mouth that are huge raging balls of fire. Etc. Etc. Then He went on to speak of how this star-breathing, universe creating God ALSO knitted our human bodies together with amazing detail and wonder. At this point I am LOVING it (fascinating from a medical standpoint, you know.) . And I was remembering how I was constantly amazed during medical school as I learned more and more about God’s handiwork. I remember so many times thinking,’How can ANYONE deny that a Creator did all of this???’ Louie went on to talk about how we can trust that the God who created all this, also has the power to hold it all together when things seem to be falling apart…how our loving Creator is also our sustainer. And then I lost my breath. And it wasn’t because I was running my treadmill, either!!! It was because he started talking about laminin. I knew about laminin.. Here is how Wikipedia describes them: ‘Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue’ You see…. Laminins are what hold us together…. LITERALLY. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what holds one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. And I knew all this already. But what I didn’t know is what they LOOKED LIKE.. But now I do. And I have thought about it a thousand times since (already)….Here is what the structure of laminin looks like… AND THIS IS NOT a ‘Christian portrayal’ of it…. If you look up laminin in any scientific/medical piece of literature, this is what you will see…. Now tell me that our God is not the coolest!!! Amazing. The glue that holds us together…. ALL of us…. Is in the shape of the cross. Immediately Colossians 1:15-17 comes to mind. ‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible And invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or Authorities; All things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him All things HOLD TOGETHER.’ Colossians 1:15-17 Call me crazy. I just think that is very, very, very cool. Thousands of years before the world knew anything about laminin, Paul penned those words. And now we see that from a very LITERAL standpoint, we are held together… One cell to another…. By the cross. You would never in a quadrillion years convince me that is anything other than the mark of a Creator who knew EXACTLY what laminin ‘glue’ would look like long before Adam breathed his first breath!!
Psalm 119:73 (YOD) Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments. The word for made is ‘asah. I’ve always thought of this as God putting me together and forming me, but it’s more than that. Asah “is a verb that usually means a deliberate action with distinct purpose” [1]. I was put together deliberately with a distinct purpose in mind. The word for fashioned means to prepare or to direct, establish, and make ready. His hands deliberately and carefully crafted me (and you) for a specific purpose for which he prepares me! The second half of this asks God to give understanding (to teach him – remember in Hebrew, teaching is an active process of practice, not just accumulating knowledge) so that he is trained (as in training for war) God’s commands (it would be interesting to know what the difference is between all the different words for commands – I can think of at least 3 distinct words). God made me to know and obey His commands. They were around long before I was formed, and are an integral part of creation. To fulfill the purpose for which I was fashioned, I need to learn to live according to His commands. It’s His purpose, so it’s done His way. And, since God isn’t one to just dump knowledge into my head (although He could certainly do it that way), I have to practice and train deliberately. Living God’s commandments is a day-by-day, step-by-step, choice-by-choice hands-on instructional process. I would say, though, that the part about giving understanding is important, too, because when your paradigm shifts it can be pretty confusing. So what’s the point? What should I do as a result of this verse? Well, knowing that I am made for a reason (and not just random, accidental chance) reminds me to live purposefully, seeking His path. And continuing to learn His commands will help me be obedient to Him. It also helps me to remember that God made my children purposefully. Even my little one with autism is formed and fashion deliberately with a distinct purpose. I may not understand it, but that’s not my job. My job is to remember His faithfulness, and learn His commandments so I can also teach my children to walk in His paths, choosing to obey Him with a grateful heart. [1] Moen, Skip. “Getting It Done.” 2009. Today’s Word. 02 August 2010 <http://skipmoen.com/?s=asah&x=0&y=0>.
I have to share this today because it’s really quite amazing. Skip Moen did a post today about how the heavens declare the glory of God and talks about the meaning of the word declare. It’s really awesome! But there’s an attachment that he links to our of his article that is amazing. So, click on over to read his post, and then look at the first link which will open up a pdf comparing earth to the known universe. It’s amazing. Then, if you want, you can read my comments on the post (below): Great post! The attachment with the stars, galaxy, and universe information was insane! Sadly, I didn’t know a lot of it, but it’s amazing how much we know… and how little we know, too. I can’t fathom how someone could map out our solar system and universe as much as it has been and still think it all happened randomly by chance. I don’t know the timeline of creation and where the dinosaurs fit in, but really, do I have to? I’m continually amazed at the intricacy of what He created and how each tiny little piece fits so perfectly into the tapestry. I mean, God could have just created our planet and solar system and it could have worked just fine. But He didn’t. He made it so much more complex and so much more majestic, and oh so much more immense… No wonder David says that the heavens are proof of His majesty and glory. They practically shout, “Hey! I’m not an accident!” And if the stars, so beautiful, cold, and lifeless, were placed with care and precision, how much more so are we created and placed in the perfect kairos moment for God to know, love, and use.