Quiet Time: First Things First

First Things First

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar – Genesis 8:20

He begins well who begins with God – Matthew Henry

The first thing Noah did upon leaving the arc was to worship God. 

According to survival books, the primary concern for humans is food, shelter, and clothing, but Noah chose to stop and acknowledge from Whom his existence was found. 

Man has changed little from Noah's day (Gen. 8:21). From the time we’re born we are self-centered and prone to sin. Perhaps that’s why so many of us no longer feel the need to set aside time each week to worship God.

What better way to begin each week than with a group of people who are heaven bent on serving their Creator?

Putting God first makes us happy at last.

See yah at worship tomorrow!

Quiet Time: A Walk With God

A Walk With God
 
Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. – Genesis 5:24
 
Imagine being so close to God that instead of everyone seeing you grow old and die, God just showed up one day and took you home to be with him. That’s exactly what happened to Enoch.

As a boy, I would read this passage in awe of Enoch. It seems that by sheer faith Enoch skipped the process of dying all together. We also understand that Enoch was known by those around him as a man with whom God found pleasure. That’s how we know that Enoch had great faith, because without faith it is impossible to please God.

A reasonable question then is, “In what exactly did Enoch believe?”

Enoch believed that anyone who wants to get close to God must believe not only that He exists but also that God actually desires to get involved in the lives of those who are looking for Him (Hebrews 11:5-6).  

I think that Enoch was a man who saw God intimately involved in every aspect of His life. So much so, that he walked with Him from earth right into eternity.

That’s how I want to know God, don’t you? Intimately.

Quiet Time: Wonderful

Wonderful

Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. - Psalm 119:18

Wonderful is a weighty word.

It’s been used to title everything from an iconic Christmas classic  “It’s a Wonderful Life” to a little known song of the 1990s titled “Wonderful” by the band Everclear (actually, check the song out on YouTube, the music video is a bit puerile, but the lyrics are solid) Art Alexakis, the band’s song writer has a sad back story with a good ending, somewhat like the plot from “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

Wonderful: 1. exciting a feeling of wonder; marvelous or strange. 2. Extremely fine; excellent.

I don’t know about you, but if that’s the definition of “wonderful” I think it is a bit of a yawn.  So, I wanted to see what the bible calls “wonderful” and here’s my short list:

Wonderful:

GOD the Father:

Counsel is wonderful (Isaiah 28:29) to be surpassing or extraordinary

Statutes & Laws are wonderful (Psalm 119:129) a wonder

Deeds for mankind; the things He does are wonderful (1 Chronicles 16:12; Psalm 107:15 & 21 ;) a sign; extraordinary

Presence too wonderful to understand (Psalm 139:6) incomprehensible

JESUS:

Deeds for mankind are wonderful (Matthew 21:15; Luke 13:17) moving a person from within; glorious, splendid, distinguished

Is a Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6) Extraordinary, hard to be understood, marvelous

In short, God’s counsel through His word, ways, and presence surpass anything humanly reproducible  or explicit. Furthermore, Jesus humanly reproduces and exemplifies God’s word ,, ways, and presence for mankind to see.

Bottom Line: Knowing Jesus as Savior and Lord makes life wonderful regardless of the back story.

Wonderful is found in a person – Jesus.

Song Series: God Is Here

God Is Here

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,
The God who is our salvation.    Selah     – Psalm 68:19

The psalmist, in Psalm 68: 19, places a pause, a fermata if you will at the end of verse 19 to make the singers and the musicians stop and think about what they just sang. Sometimes, I think we need more pauses within our worship services to allow for contemplation of what we’re singing, saying, or listening to in a sermon.   

Too often we fill up every second of the worship gathering with words or music; it’s almost as if we hate silence!?

Try this during your next worship service when something grabs your attention, whether it is a line from a worship song, a scripture reading, or a phrase from the pastor: 

1. Close your eyes and quietly contemplate what God is saying at that moment.  
2. Now, write it down.
3. When you get home, if it wasn’t a scripture reference that caught your attention, but song lyrics or something said, try to locate the scripture text that supports the lyric or phrase and spend at least 15 minutes meditating on it. (Good Resources: biblegateway.com, biblos.com, blueletterbible.com)  
4. Pray the bible verse back to God and ask Him to help you walk it out in the here and now. (Example: God, You are my LORD, thank you for daily bearing my burdens. Jesus, You are the God who is my salvation. It isn’t about what I’ve done but about what You did for me on the cross. Father, help me to live today burden free and to stand firm on what You’ve done for me. Amen.)

When we walk out our faith in Christ practically, we can better sense His presence, and experience the God Who is always with us – God Is Here right now.

Here's Darlene Zscheck explaining the story behind the song "God Is Here"

Here's New Breed singing the song live.