1 Chronicles 16:25-27
The Lord deserves
nothing but your very best; the writer today reminds us For great is the
Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods…
This very passage affirms what we studied yesterday when looking at the life of
John in the revelation which he received from the Lord… On yesterday we called
to remembrance the trials that John endured which led to his exile and the fact
that he wrote great and marvellous are thy works; today we continue down
this road of focusing on praising God instead of complaining… In this passage
the ark of the Lord has returned to Jerusalem; David has led a mighty battle
against the Philistines and prevailed, after this season of war David calls for
burnt offerings to be presented to the Lord and appoints Levite ministers to
offer praises unto our God… Asaph leads the way in praise as these verse are
recorded… I recall the things leading up to these verses to make the point that
your battles in your life will occur; situations will have to be faced and you
must have the ability to endure knowing that in the end your victor is
guaranteed and praise is your command… Notice that Asaph says that the Lord is
greatly to be praised; however, he goes on to say he also is to be feared
above all gods… So many of us praise the Lord, but we lack the reverence
and admiration we are called to have for Him… When this ingredient is missing,
our praise suffers… The words of God are above our ability and fear allows His
hand to move on your behalf… You have to put God first in your life, above
all gods if you want to experience is favor and blessings… There are many
of us which claim to have placed the Lord first in our lives, but sadly we have
other gods that we praise and fear… We fear losing our jobs, relationships and
money… Understand today that a god is something that is seen as supreme,
overseer or divine… Often times we speak of and use the word God when it comes
to religion or spiritual conversation; however, we are reminded in the book of
Chronicles today that there can be other gods in our lives… The question that I
pose to you today is; what have you made as “gods” in your life…?
Whether we realize it or not, whomever you serve, whomever you see as the
supernatural or the ruler of your life is your god… I say that because a lot of
us have made gods of our money, economic standing and other worldly things…
It’s scary to think about this; however this is a fact of life and many people
don’t even comprehend it… We place money and the need for it above the need for
love in our homes… We place cars and the need for transportation above driving
toward obtaining the will Christ has in store for us… When we place value on
material things that is fine; however when we place them above the desire for
God or our faith in God that is when we fall short and become victim to the
things which are written about in these scriptures… Instead of worrying about
what you don’t have, thank God for what you do have… Instead of being upset
about the little money you have, be thankful that you have some and aren’t out
on the streets…We have sought things of this world which have become our
primary focus on this earth which then places the only true and wise God as in
afterthought in our minds… Notice that the writer says, “For all the gods of
the people are idols…” Idols are things which made or created images that
represent or a fashioned to be gods… We must examine our lives today, knowing
and trusting that as this scripture has stated we can align ourselves with
things that are not God and make them gods by giving them authority over our
lives… The writer of Chronicles reminds us today that the Lord truly is GREAT…
Let us take this time to simply give God the praise for all His bountiful
blessings and provisions… So often we take the goodness of God for granted, we
belittle the impact of God’s saving grace in our lives and overlook all that He
has already done… The writer says that “He is to be feared above all gods…”
Elijah once ordered for logs to be soaked and a moat built around an altar;
after this was done he prayed unto the Lord and God answered by sending fire
down upon the earth which consumed the logs (even while they were drenched with
water) and dried up the moat that was built… All this happened so that mankind
would come to know that there is indeed ONLY one God… We have heard of
different religions and different gods; however, we are reminded today that
there is only one who deserves your praise; there is only one who deserves
honor and one who has a name that reigns above every other name… His name is
wonderful, counselor, prince of peace, He is Alpha and Omega, He is the
beginning and the end and He is forevermore… Find strength when you call on
the name of Jesus, find gladness when you focus on His will and when you obtain
those things, you will know that you are serving THE LORD!!!
BE
BLESSED!!!
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