Category Archives: Creation

Belief, Bible, Creation, Deliverance, Destruction, Following, Scripture, Submission

ALL MEANS ALL

ZEPHANIAH 1:2

“‘I will completely remove all things from the face of the earth,’ declares the LORD.”

My late brother-in-law used to say that the Greek word for “all” means all. He said it jokingly but said it to make a point. When God says “all” He literally means all. He requires our all. He gives us all. He loves us with all His heart. All is important to the Lord. Let’s look at what Zephaniah meant here.

In this second verse of Zephaniah’s discourse, he begins to describe God’s judgment. He quotes the Lord God and says that He will “completely remove all things.” The word “things” is not in the Hebrew text but is simply entered in the translation. And Zephaniah uses the same Hebrew word twice at the beginning of the verse. He literally says. I will “destroy destroy.” He uses the adverb of the word and then the verb of the word to emphasize the totally destruction of all, of everything, of anything.

APPLICATION

As believers, we do not fear destruction by God. We are safe in the arms of Jesus. His embrace covers us. He has promised us eternal life and our role as joint heirs of the kingdom. “All” for us now implies the blessings we will receive upon reaching our heavenly home. All the kingdom will be ours to enjoy. Can you imagine?

But we have to give Him our all. He demands all of us, not just a piece. What if you gave your child or grandchild a jigsaw puzzle one piece at a time. That little piece does not come close to being the whole. They can’t do a lot with it. God has a plan for our lives but it requires all of us. He will not complete His plan for us with only partial submission. Give Him your all today.

I have quoted this hymn before in my blog, but it seems especially appropriate today.

All to Jesus, I surrender

All to Him I freely give

I will ever love and trust Him

In His presence daily live

I surrender all

I surrender all

All to Thee, my blessed Savior

I surrender all

I do surrender my all to You, Lord. And that “all” means all.

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Bible, Creation, Glorify, Power, Praise, Scripture

NATURE RESPONDS

HABAKKUK 3:10

“The mountains saw You and quaked; the downpour of waters swept by. The deep raised its voice, it lifted high its hands.”

I have said it before, but creation groans at the presence of God. When we keep our mouths shut and don’t extol His greatness, the trees and birds will take up the slack. God’s presence can be seen everywhere around us if we will just look.

Habakkuk is telling us the same thing. The mountains see God and quake. Perhaps there were actual earthquakes or the thunder echoing off the mountains made them appear to quake. The waters sweeping by like the judgment of God on His people. The ocean deep raises its voice, and its waves lift high His name. What a beautiful picture.

APPLICATION

I do not want creation to outdo me when it comes to giving God praise. I want to “out glorify” the trees and rivers, mountains and oceans. I want my praise of my King to be loud and proud. I want the world to know where my allegiance is.

Today, we are so busy worshipping creation that we forget the Creator. So many environmental groups will fight to protect a single salamander in a forgotten stream somewhere but won’t pause for a second to recognize the creative force behind it all.

This Christmas, as you celebrate Jesus’ birth, take a minute and celebrate our great Creator. Thank Him for His presence in all of creation which points us back to Him. But also, glorify Him above all. Don’t let the trappings of Christmas “out glorify” you. Make your voice heard above the clamor of Christmas. Jesus is born in Bethlehem.

I will shout it from the mountaintop that Jesus is Lord. Praise the God of all creation.

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Accountability, Bible, Christ's Return, Commands, Creation, God's Will, Judgment, Obedience, Salvation, Scripture, Witnessing

THE FOUR ELEMENTS

JONAH 4:8

“And when the sun came up God designated a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint, and he begged with all his soul to die, saying, ‘Death is better to me than life!’”

Can you name the four basic elements of matter? No, this is not a science test. They are earth, water, air and fire. Now, we all know Who created these elements, don’t we? The Supreme Creator of all creation spoke these into existence thousands of years ago (that’s right, I said thousands, not millions). He controlled them then and does now.

Do you realize God used all four of these, plus a few created things, to speak to Jonah? He used the sea (water) and the fish, the plant (earth), the scorching east wind (air) and the sun (fire). I wonder if God was trying to send Jonah a message about just Who He was. There was nothing that God could not and would not use to accomplish His Will.

APPLICATION

God is sending us messages today through all of these. The Word says that all of creation will moan as the day nears for His Son to return. Man, have we seen the earth moan in the past few years? There has been a dramatic increase in earthquakes, storms, weather extremes, etc. The scientific community explains these away as global warming or some other theory. Did you know there have been 10 earthquakes in the past three days measuring 5.5 or greater?

God is trying to get our attention just as He did Jonah. We read this story about Jonah and easily point fingers and judge. But we are just as guilty. What was God trying to show Jonah? That He was a merciful God who desires that all come to Him. We are just as unwilling to share the good news as Jonah. We may not run to Tarshish and board a ship, but we sit idly by while the earth tumbles into eternity.

Do not wait for the earth, air, fire or water to send you the message. Pick up your copy of God’s Word and go share the good news with a lost and dying world. Tell your neighbors. Tell your waitress at the restaurant. Tell everyone you meet that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives, if only they will turn to Him.

I love to tell the story. It will be my theme in glory. To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

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Bible, Commands, Creation, Encouragement, Faithfulness, God's Will, Heaven, Obedience

WATER HANDLER

AMOS 9:6

“The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens and has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth, the LORD is His name.”

I have told you before that I am a fan of the Marvel films. I have seen most of them. But I am also a DC comic fan and have see their films. Call me nerdy, okay. I liked Aquaman when it was released a couple of years ago (Teaser – Part 2 is to be released in 2023). Aquaman, of course, rules the seas and all the creatures in it. Or does he?

Actually, according to today’s verse, God rules not only the waters of the seas but also all the waters in the heavens. He is the one who measures out the rain on the earth. He is the one who tells the waves where to stop on the seashore. Since He created them, He controls them – not Aquaman, not anyone else.

APPLICATION

The next time you see it raining, remember that God is the one who tells the heavens how much and when to rain. The next time you go to the beach or to a lake, remember it is God who gives the boundaries of that body of water. God is still involved with creation, even though it is a fallen version of the original.

How does all this apply to us today. Just as God controls the waters of heaven and earth, He still stands in control of your destiny. From the moment you were conceived, God desired for you to come to Him. We are designed to worship Him, but our fallen nature gets in the way.

I am thankful that His calling became so intense in my life on July 31, 1977 that I yielded control of my life to Him. With Him in control, my life has made so much more sense. It has not always been easy, but He is faithful. I know He will only let the waves of this life to crash so far on me.

Father, I praise You that You are in control of all things. Nothing escapes Your eyes or hands.

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Advice, Beauty, Belief, Bible, Creation, Exalting, Glory, Inspirational

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

AMOS 8:2

“And He said, ‘What do you see, Amos?’ And I said, ‘A basket of summer fruit.’ Then the LORD said to me, ‘The end has come for My people Israel. I will not spare them any longer.’”

There are many advantages to getting older. Senior coffee and discounts, senior matinees at the theater, etc. But one disadvantage is your eyesight. Almost everyone has some loss of vision as they age. That plus two stem cell transplants (chemotherapy) have really changed my eyesight. Thank God for glasses, lol.

God wasn’t giving Amos an eye exam. He wasn’t asking him to read the letters and numbers on a chart. The Lord was giving him a message to share with Israel. He wanted to make sure Amos saw clearly what He was telling him. He wanted his hearing of the message to be reinforced by a vision.

APPLICATION

God often shows us things that we just don’t see. Take for instance, a sunrise. How many of them have you seen in your lifetime? But how often do you stop and thank God for seeing another day? God’s message to us is love. He shows us that love in so many ways, but we often fail to see it.

Let me challenge you to do something. Start taking note of “God sightings.” Those are times when you are made aware of God in something or when there is no other explanation for something. Write those down and put them in a box or jar. At the end of the year, read them. You will be amazed.

I see God in my wife, my children, my grandchildren and even in my “grandpups.” God’s creativity in forming each uniquely amazes me. Take a break and people watch. Look at all the faces God has made. It’s really unbelievable. Yet, God never stops creating. I thank God for that today. Yes, God, I see.

I praise You for eyes that can see. Help me see as You do.

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Advocate, Bible, Comfort, Creation, Encouragement, God's Will, Inspirational, Intimacy, Relationships, Scripture

WHAT’S YOUR NAME

AMOS 4:13

“For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind, and declares to a person what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, the LORD God of armies is His name.”

Throughout my over four decades of ministry, I have sought to learn the names of the children I was serving. There is something about being called by your name. But I have had to develop some tricks to help me. I have used acrostics to memorize the names of multiple children in a family. I have used hair color or a birthmark to help. There was usually something about the child that I could remember that would trigger the name.

God tells us who He is in is verse before He tells us His name. Look at what He does. He forms the mountains and creates the wind. That’s pretty powerful. He knows our thoughts. That’s a little scary, right? He controls the sunlight and walks on mountaintops. Then He says, “the LORD God of armies is His name.” In other words, He is in charge! Period!

APPLICATION

While all these attributes might be terrifying, I find comfort in them. If God can do all that, He can certainly handle my little problems. The LORD God of armies cares enough about little, ole me to hear my prayers and dry my tears. The LORD God of armies loves me enough to send His own Son to rescue me from an eternal damnation.

No matter how little I may feel, He still reaches down with His powerful right hand and scoops me up to safety. In fact, He will send those armies of His to my rescue. I am His child, and He will protect me. Even when He is busy forming mountains and creating wind, I am on His mind. That’s mind boggling.

I am so thankful that my God is not too big for me. I don’t mean that disrespectfully. God, of course, is big. He is too big for my mind. But He isn’t too big that He forgets about me. In fact, He wants to hear from me every day. He wants to hear from you, too. Talk to Him. Tell Him your needs. I promise He can fit you in.

O God of the universe, I praise You for looking on me. I know You are forever mindful of my needs and desires.

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Accountability, Advice, Bible, Brokenness, Christ's Return, Creation, Destruction, Scripture, Sin

CREATION MOURNS

HOSEA 4:3

“Therefore the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes along with the animals of the field and the birds of the sky, and even the fish of the sea disappear.”

Have you ever seen a natural disaster? I, unfortunately, have seen this firsthand. I have seen the devastation of tornadoes and hurricanes. I have seen the effects of droughts and floods. I have seen animals suffering from lack of water or food. We forget how fragile our earth is in these circumstances. But do you realize how creation is tied to the fate of man?

Hosea is reminding us here how we are so knit together. God used nature to show man the effects of sin. I am not talking about the carbon footprint of men on the earth. I am referring to how God uses nature. We see it all around us. We are so dependent on each other. Just think about it. Scientist have warned us how the demise of the little honeybee could devastate crop production, thus bringing famine across the globe.

APPLICATION

Creation groans for the return of Jesus. We are told that in Scripture. We have seen the increase of earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, cyclones and the such. Creation is preparing. The question is are we. We seem to ignore these and blame it on global warming. Who do you think really controls the balance of nature? It’s not us.

We are a mere speck on the fabric of time. God orchestrates the heavens. He determines where and how much rain falls. He gives or withholds the snows. And even though we think we can change time by adding or taking away an hour in each day, there are still only twenty-four hours available to us.

So, what can we do about this? Very little, except to yield to the almighty hand of God. We must bow before Him, recognizing His power and majesty. Just as Israel ignored God’s hand on their nation and suffered the consequences, we are just as susceptible to the same ignorance. We have to acknowledge that it is He who is in control over everything.

Mighty God, I bow before You, recognizing You as the supreme power over all that exists. I praise You for allowing me to be a part of Your creation.

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Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Creation, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Faith, Forgiveness, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Mercy, Obedience, Parenting, Redemption, Salvation, Surrender, Testimony

BORN AGAIN

TITUS 3:5

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,”

You’ve heard this expression, I’m sure. You are born again at salvation. Well, in today’s verse we have that expression defined in the word “regeneration.” The Greek word literally means birthed again. It’s only used twice in the New Testament. It’s used here and also in Matthew 19:28 where it refers to the rebirth of physical creation when Christ returns to begin His millennial reign.

But not only are you reborn, you are also renewed. This word means to have a whole new development, a renewal which is through God’s power. You see, this is all done by God. You didn’t rebirth yourself nor renew yourself. God saved you. That’s a fact. And if He does something, you can take it to the bank. It’s done. It’s complete. It’s forever.

APPLICATION

Explaining this to your children can be challenging, depending on their age. Do you have any videos of their birth? Drag them out. Show them the video and celebrate their birth. Then ask them this question. “Did you do anything to help in your birth?” Of course, the correct answer is “no.” All they did was surrender to the process. They were depending on mom pushing them out and the doctor delivering them.

The same is true for their spiritual birth. For that to happen they have to surrender to the One who is drawing them out of darkness. When they do, He delivers them into the light of His love. They are totally dependent upon the Lord to bring them into this new life.

Let me ask you this. If you are born again, are you living like it? Are you walking in your renewal? So many of us come to Christ and then try to keep one foot back in the old life. Regeneration and renewal imply a fresh start, a clean slate. The old has passed away. There is no room in the regenerated, renewed life for the old ways. Accept the change. Embrace your new life.

Lord, I will walk in newness today. I will lay aside all the past ways and embrace all You have for me in my new life. Thank You for my rebirth in Christ.

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Advice, Alone, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Confession, Contentment, Creation, Death, Denial, Encouragement, Eternity, Faith, Family, God's Will, Godliness, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Life, Light, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Suffering

SORRY, DON’T KNOW YOU

2 TIMOTHY 2:12 

 “If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;” 

I have become more honest as I get older. Now, I am not saying I used to lie, but I wouldn’t quite be honest sometimes. Like when someone comes up to you, calls you by name and begins this long conversation, but you have no idea who this person is. In the past I would say, “Hey bud, how are you doing?” Now I say, “Hey, I’ve forgotten your name. Forgive me.” 

Jesus knows our name, whether we accept Him or not. But He promises us reigning power or powerlessnes, based on our response to Him. Paul tells us here that if we will endure with Christ, we will reign with Him. If we turn our backs and run, He will also deny us before the Father. 

APPLICATION 

Children like to be recognized. They love hearing their name called when they see you. What they don’t like is to be ignored. Try it for a day with your kids. Go through your normal routine, but each time a child calls your name, ignore them. (If they have an emergency make an exception). 

At the end of the day explain what you did and why. Read today’s verse. Ask them how they think the Lord feels when we do that. When we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father. And I really want to meet the Father, don’t you? Make a point to call your child by his/her name. Their name means something, and your child should know it.  

Are you being called to serve specifically in this area – the area of name calling? It’s a gift. It is so good to see the look on the other person (adult or child) when they hear their name. God loves you and has you surrounded by His love this evening. 

I know right now You are calling out my name before the Father. One day, I will see You face to face. One day, I will meet the Father. 

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Creation, Direction, Encouragement, Family, Fatherhood, God's Will, Mentoring, Modeling, Motherhood, Obedience, Parenting, Purity, Scripture, Women

TREAT THEM HOLY

1 TIMOTHY 5:2

“the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters, in all purity.”

Treating women special has been around a long time. God has always commanded it. Sin changes that. Look at today’s verse. Paul tells Timothy (and us) to treat women “in all purity.” That word comes from the Greek word for “holy.” Treat them as holy? Really?

Paul isn’t saying we should worship them. He is saying, though, that we should treat them as set apart by God according to His purpose and plan. All women deserve respect. But those who are seeking to follow the Lord in their daily life should also be treated as holy and pure. That’s what God intends for them all.

APPLICATION

As parents we need to instill in our little boys and little girls that girls are different than boys. There is NOTHING belittling about that statement. In fact, it’s meant to be just the opposite. We should let all our daughters, sisters and wives know just how God sees them. They should be treated that way – as special creations in the eyes of our God.

It is up to the husbands, brothers and fathers to do this, however. So, do me a favor. Challenge the men in your life to treat women this way. And dads, YOU have to model this to your sons. They will treat their mom and sisters how you do. They will treat their future wife the way you do. 

So, how are you doing with this? Ladies, do you see yourself as pure? Men, do you see the women in your life as pure? If not, reread today’s verse. This is a command, not a suggestion. If you need to change your view of women, start with God’s view and go no further.

Father, forgive me when I do not see ALL women as you do. Thank You for the godly women you have put in my life. I am blessed because of them.

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