Day 362--Before The Throne
2009-03-28

Happy Saturday. We're making birthday cake, because somebody is leaving teenageland tomorrow!! How exciting. And I think her mother and her are going out to "shop" wedding/reception rooms later today.


Here's today's prayer for the President from the Praying Through the First 100 Days site.

For Attorney General Eric Holder to have God�s wisdom as he works with his staff and determines direction for the Department of Justice

Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving you.
--Deuteronomy 16:20 (NIV)

Holy God, You are perfect in your love, justice and mercy. As You move in our lives and our world, You never err, You never fail to act with justice and righteousness for the good purposes of Your Kingdom. Your standards for justice are beyond our ability to grasp, but we rely on You, we look to You, O God for wisdom and justice. And we praise Your holy name as we do so, Lord.

Today we bring our nation�s Attorney General, Eric Holder before You, mighty God, asking that You stir his heart to seek You and Your wisdom as he works with his staff and determines direction for the Department of Justice. Justice is Your thing, O Lord. May Eric Holder acknowledge that and seek You and Your wisdom and help, that our nation may prosper and our citizens may live orderly, godly lives that are guided by Your standards and ways. I ask this in Your beautiful name, O Lord, amen.



Psalm for Today: 25:4-5

4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.

"When our minds are thus composed to patience, we undertake nothing rashly or by improper means, but depend wholly upon the providence of God."

"As often, then, as any temptation may assail us, we ought always to pray that God would make the light of his truth to shine upon us, lest by having recourse to sinful devices, we should go astray, and wander into devious and forbidden paths."

(Commentary from Heart Aflame: Daily Readings from Calvin on the Psalms)



Day 362 in The Message//Remix:Solo

Revelation 7:9-12

John gets yet another vision of the scene surrounding the Throne of God.

I have heard it said, and possibly agree, that our main purpose in life is to worship God. Here are the words that are being sung around the Throne in John's vision:

Salvation to our God on his Throne!
Salvation to the Lamb!

Oh, Yes!
The blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving,
The honor and power and strength,
To our God forever and ever and ever!
Oh, Yes!

This resonates within me greatly. Obviously, I'm a big "fan" of worship. I believe that the number one priority of the church is the worship of God. That's why I'm a worship leader. (I'm still struggling with the things that I have read in Frank Viola's books, and what my eventual response will be, but for now, I'm still in the "institutional" church.) For me, the climax of my life will be when I can stand before the throne of God and sing these songs with the multitudes surrounding the Throne. And I have no problem with doing that for the rest of eternity.

The Salvation that belongs to God...what has he saved me from? I shudder to even imagine. I know what my tendencies are. I know what temptations cause me the most trouble. If those were allowed to go completely unchecked by God and the Holy Spirit, I probably would have been dead and in eternal punishment long ago. But God, in his grace and his good pleasure, chose me for salvation, and here I am, still limping along, trying to serve and glorify him. But one day, I will be perfect and whole, standing before him, worshipping him forever!

"The blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, the honor and power and strength..." What comes to mind when I read those words? Honestly, the first thing is an old worship chorus. "To Him who sits on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be blessing and glory and honor and power forever." Remember that one? But I also am drawn to thoughts about the attributes of God, as well as what kind of thoughts I am having about God. He blesses me, and I want to bless him. Glory belongs to him, and I want to glorify him. Wisdom is totally God's and I ask him to share that with me. I give him thanks for all of the above; I am eternally grateful for what he has done in my life, and for who he is. Honor belongs to God; he is completely honorable; I live my life to honor him. God is "all-powerful." I worship that power in humble awe. And God is strong. I desire that strength to be present in my life, so that I might stand against temptation.

I love the God that is described by these words. I praise him and honor him.



Holy God, you alone are worthy of my worship. You are the only thing/being that exists that is worthy of my worship. There is certainly nothing created that deserves anything remotely resembling "worship." I confess that, sometimes, I give "worship" to things other than you. I ask your forgiveness for this and pray that my heart be wholly yours. You deserve glory and honor from me and all who call themselves by your Name. My life seems to be rather chaotic right now, Father, and I pray for some order. And I believe that one way I can find this order is by directing my heart to follow you more closely. Let my devotion to you increase exponentially over the next few weeks and months. I'm taking the risk of even sounding foolish to others to achieve this. I don't care what others think. I need you, and I only care about that. Your purity draws me to you, along with the magnificent glory that I see in you. I stand in awe. You are beautiful beyond description. Too marvelous for words. "Oh, Yes!"


I hope that I can take this attitude and these thoughts into the shared worship time tomorrow morning. I hope that I can share them with others, not so much in words, but in attitude. In feeling. I pray that, as I lead worship tomorrow, people will be compelled to worship in the same way. That everyone in our church tomorrow morning will sense the glory and honor and power and blessing that comes from our God.

Carpe eternus vita, friends!!



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