Pray for President Obama and Vice President Biden today as they meet with National Conference of State Legislatures, asking God to guide them with His wisdom...
Pray also for the President as he meets with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to discuss infrastructure...
Pray for the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery today as they continue work on the expansion of the International Space Station. Pray for the safety, and for their efforts to succeed...
Pray for those who will implement the withdrawal of troops just announced by President Obama, asking for God's protection and wisdom for each one...
These were all listed as "immediate concerns" for today.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
Once again, I included the preceeding verse for the sake of context. The answer to the question doesn't make much sense without the question.
"True purity, no doubt, has its seat in the heart, but it manifests its fruits in the works of the hands. The Psalmits, therefore, very properly joins to a pure heart the purity of the whole life; for that man acts a ridiculous part who boasts of having a sound heart, if he does not show by his fruits that the root is good."
(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)
Revelation 1:4-8
As I go into the "home stretch" with this devotional book, I start reading Revelation. On the one hand, this book is very surreal, with lots of images, visions, and "apocalyptic" language, that, in my opinion, people spend way too much time trying to figure out. On the other hand, it might not be quite as complex as it seems. The entire message of Revelation could possibly be summed up with two words: God wins! And because of that fact, we are moved into a state of overwhelming gratitude. In the words of Eugene Peterson, "Revelation is about worship."
4-7 I, John, am writing this to the seven churches in Asia province: All the best to you from The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive, and from the Seven Spirits assembled before his throne, and from Jesus Christ�Loyal Witness, Firstborn from the dead, Ruler of all earthly kings.
Glory and strength to Christ, who loves us,
who blood-washed our sins from our lives,
Who made us a Kingdom, Priests for his Father,
forever�and yes, he's on his way!
Riding the clouds, he'll be seen by every eye,
those who mocked and killed him will see him,
People from all nations and all times
will tear their clothes in lament.
Oh, Yes.
8 The Master declares, "I'm A to Z. I'm The God Who Is, The God Who Was, and The God About to Arrive. I'm the Sovereign-Strong."
What are the characteristics and actions of God in this passage?
Characteristics--The God Who Is; The God Who Was; The God About To Arrive; Loyal Witness; Firstborn From the Dead; Ruler of All Earthly Kings; A to Z; the Sovereign-Strong
Actions--He loves us; He blood-washed our sins from our lives; He made us a Kingdom; Made us Priests for the Father; He'll be on his way, riding the clouds.
You are A to Z.
You are The God Who Is.
You are The God Who Was.
You are The God About To Arive.
You are The Sovereign Strong!
I can't even begin to fathom your glory and worthiness as I worship you. I'm about to go into a time of corporate worship this morning. Father, so many times, I'm so consumed by the technical and performance issues that surround me that I completely miss out on the worship that I'm supposed to be leading. I find that to be ironic, yet it's true. I pray today, with all my heart, that you help me focus on you during the time when we are singing worship songs. Help me to truly worship you today! Help me to remember the characteristics and actions that I have read from the first part of Revelation as I worship you this morning. Let me be consumed with passion for you, no matter what else happens.
Grace and peace, friends!