Nov. 2, 2014

He made everything, that includes the rules !

 

 

Psalm 104 The Lord’s Care over All His Works.

 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
He makes the clouds His chariot;
He walks upon the wings of the wind;
He makes the winds His messengers,
Flaming fire His ministers.

He established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not totter forever and ever.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
At Your rebuke they fled,
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the place which You established for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.

10 He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
They lift up their voices among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.

14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the labor of man,
So that he may bring forth food from the earth,
15 And wine which makes man’s heart glad,
So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And food which sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the birds build their nests,
And the stork, whose home is the fir trees.

18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the shephanim.
19 He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.
21 The young lions roar after their prey
And seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work
And to his labor until evening.

24 O Lord, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of Your possessions.
25 There is the sea, great and broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 There the ships move along,
And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.

27 They all wait for You
To give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You take away their spirit, they expire
And return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.

31 Let the glory of the Lord endure forever;
Let the Lord be glad in His works;
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 Let my meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth
And let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord!

 The psalmist both ackowledges the greatness of God and all of creations dependence on Him. It's hard for those who believe to be able to understand how anyone can question the existance of God. In Romans 1 Paul says this:

19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

When I speak with people who claim to doubt God's existence I refuse to debate with them. I don't believe that anyone can view all of the splender of creation and all of it's intricate details and truly believe that it just randomly or spontaneously happened. The one who chooses to deny the existence of God does so because they know, like the psalmist, that if you acknowledge God as the creator then you need to acknowledge that He is above creation, that it and they are subject to Him. Since they are unwilling to be subject to God, they deny His existence in order to follow their own will. Others may ackowledge God, but try to change God in order to fit into their parameters. When we try to change who God is and what He has said to fit what we believe is more acceptable or to use today's term more politically correct, we are no longer worshiping God. We are creating an image of God or another God. Here's what God says about that in Exodus 20: 

Then God spoke all these words, saying,  “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.“You shall have no other gods before Me.“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,

He is the one true God, the creator. He made everything according to His will. That includes the rules.

One final thought, there are many who say they believe yet fail to live a life submitted to God. James addresses this type of non- life changing belief in James 2.

14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Our faith, our belief is of no value, it is dead, if it is not accompanied by works. Jesus says in John 14:15  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. When asked about the greatest commandment Jesus says this in Matthew 22:

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

Faith without works is dead. Join with the psalmist today. Acknowledge that God is above all. Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Worship Him. That's the first and greatest commandment and the beginning of the works that give life to our faith.