Celebrating His Greatness

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.
5They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.b
6They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10All you have made will praise you, O Lord;
your saints will extol you.
11They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.c
14The Lord upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.
18The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.

Psalm 145

We are approaching the college football bowl games. This is the time of year in which many fans will either celebrate the greatness over their team or the upset of loss. Stadiums will be packed to the max of fans that are chanting songs of praise for athletes that they probably will never meet. Much money will be spent over the next few weeks for the purpose of…celebrating a game. As I spent time today reading over Psalm 145, I was drawn to a song of celebration. Celebrating the greatness of God was central to David. Take just a few minutes and read all 21 verses of Psalm 145.

Celebrating the greatness of God is a glorious task that we are privileged to have. David begins this Psalm with a powerful proclamation of God as His King. The Psalm moves to daily celebration (v.2), unsearchable celebration (v.3), multi generational celebration (v.4), and majestic celebration (v.5-7). From these verses, we go into a description of the Lord’s character. Friend, He is truly gracious and merciful! The fact that we even have a voice to celebrate Him (v.21), is truly amazing to me.

He satisfies (v.19), He upholds (v.14), He is infinitely kind (v.17), and He is all loving (v.20). I could go on with a list of His greatness based on this psalm alone! So, why would any of us truly want to celebrate the greatness of others? Why would we worship teams, bands, movies, etc.? How can they truly measure up to the greatness of God displayed in Psalm 145? Today, celebrate His greatness. Live in His greatness. Enjoy His greatness.

Who do you have?

I remember as a child wanting several different things for Christmas. Some of those things were mixed with other things that are now sitting in my garage. Some of those things were cherished gifts that still remain on my heart. Please permit me to share one with you today.

In the 6th grade, Adidas soccer company made a line of jackets that several of my friends had. I remember for almost 3 weeks, coming to my parents and begging, "I HAVE to have this jacket!" Of course, I didn't have to own that jacket. Of course, it was materialistic. Of course, I was a typical, annoying boy that was begging for something that was self-centered. Of course, by grace, I look back now as an adult and laugh over the way I acted. I laugh, but I also weep, because I see that same attitude in some of my students in my church.

Christmas morning arrived. I woke up and ripped into my presents like a high tide smashing a surfer. I came to the last gift...and behold, it was the Adidas jacket! For the next few weeks, I wore that jacket everywhere! I would wear that jacket even if I didn't have to wear it! I wanted my friends to see my new prize. I wanted my family to see the true joy I thought I had in the jacket. After a few months when the momentary feeling went away, that jacket ended up in a closet and later given away. Why was it so important to me at that time?

What do you have? Who do you have? What truly is the desire of your heart? Will it pass away or be swept away like the foolish man who built his foundation on sand? (Matthew 7:24-27). Will it be like the fool who stores up for himself treasures on earth that are destroyed by moths and thieves? (Matthew 6:19-20). This morning, this rich verse was the meditation on my soul. I'd like to share it with you:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You. - Psalm 73:25

I pray you will wake up each day with this verse on your heart. I pray you won't get wrapped into an emotional frenzy of clinging to stuff that eventually fades away. I can promise you that I'm living testimony that so much of the junk that I wanted to HAVE in my life truly never satisfied. I am also a living testimony that the Living, Sovereign, Lord of this World completely satisfies! His wrath for your sin and mine was satisfied on the cross of His only Son. His mercy is satisfied when any sinner repents and turns to Jesus Christ. His joy is satisfied when we cling to Him and find Him to be our only true treasure. His glory is satisfied when we as His church shine His brilliant light to a lost and dark world.

What do you have? Who do you have? May this short verse strike a chord of a daylong worship service in your heart today.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Dave

Majesty of His Word

Last night, after I left the gym, I caught the last few minutes of a great sermon on Isaiah 66. This morning, as I awakened to pains in my body that probably shouldn't be there...I was brought to worship with one single verse. Take a minute with me and allow these words to soak into your heart.

"All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look; he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." - Isaiah 66:2, ESV.

WOW. This is the only expression I have right now to offer to you! What a powerful display of God's concern and esteem over His children. Let's take just a moment today and break down some of these truths.

1. Humility. This is a tough word to speak. In Isaiah 66:2, as well as other passages of Scripture, we can see a clear blueprint that the Lord esteems humble followers. Our culture offers us self-centered pills to swallow. For example, we want the best education with the best salary for the best house in order to have the best circle of influence. We want our students to be the ones noticed in all the musicals and plays. We want our decisions to be considered in the church as well as the H.O.A. meetings. Friend, I've swallowed this pill with you! In fact, I see this pill around me almost daily! Why is it that humility is something we don't focus much on in the life of the church? Why is it that we can't examine passages such as James 1:27 (a passage I preached at a funeral service this past Sunday) or Philippians 2:5-11 (a passage the focuses on the humility of our Savior)? Why is it that we spend over $800 on Christmas day (not including all the presents and travel arrangements, according to Francis Chan), and yet over 1 billion of our population lives on under $2 a day? Friend, we all must repent of any self centeredness and focus on humble submission to the infinite treasure we have found in our Savior (Matthew 13:44).

2. Contrite in Spirit. What on earth does this mean? The idea behind the original Hebrew is a Spirit or heart that has been smitten. What causes us to be smitten? What captivates and captures our Spirit? What draws us to surrender daily? Do we give our hearts over to idolatry? College Bowl games, latest concerts, new books, athlete scandals, etc. What attacks our attention? Our Lord desires and esteems believers that are contrite in Spirit...in His Spirit. May we find our hearts contrite; in complete awe of His majesty and splendor!

3. Trembles at His Word. WOW. Does His Word really cause us to tremble? Do we take the same fear and amazement in our lives like the disciples had when they witnessed Jesus calm the storm simply by His Word? (Mark 4:35-41). Do we find joy in His Word like the writer of Psalm 119? Do we wait with great anticipation to read His Word and hear His voice daily? What causes us to tremble? I sometimes get nervous when I'm around "celebrities." I start to tremble when I have the quick second to speak to them. It's ridiculous. Why can't I tremble even MORE when I open up and read His Word? God esteems those that have a reverent fear and love for His Word. You can simply read Psalm 119:9-11 to get a glimpse of that. His Word draws the lost to salvation and saints to refreshment. His Word sets the captives free. His Word brings families together and binds marriages under His covenantal love. His Word heals broken churches and broken down ministers. May His Word cause us all to tremble...to sweet worship.

May we find majesty in His Word together; beginning today. Thank for you taking just a few minutes and reading with me. I pray you will find the majesty of His Word today!

Soli Deo Gloria!

What really is joy?

In case you haven't heard yet, my daughter's middle name will be Chara, which from the Greek New Testament translates, "joy." Lately, I've been thinking about what this word really means. When someone says, "I have joy," what does that mean? Do they have momentary happiness because their cards are all lined up? Do they have emotional celebration because they are loved, their kids are well behaved, or they've had success in their jobs? What does it really mean to have joy?

A great resource that I recommend you to read is found in a little book called, In Our Joy by John Piper. This small book will only take you a few hours to read. I'd recommend visiting www.desiringgod.org and order a few copies. They run only $1 each. In this small book, Piper offers beautiful Scriptures to remind us of our joy that we have in Christ. One verse that has been saturated on my heart is found in Matthew 13:44. In this verse, directly after the beautiful passage on the Parable of the Sower, Jesus offers us a taste of what true joy is. A man finds a treasure hidden in a field...leaves it there, sells all he has and buys the field! I'm sure many that saw the field were confused and perplexed to why he would make such a radical move. Who would really sell all they have and buy a field that seems to have nothing visibly appealing? Who would rejoice in such a radical decision? My friend, I would submit to you today that this man had true joy.

We lose the beauty and joy in the Gospel in church today. So often, I hear words that offer people to just trust in Jesus and walk forward. I hear words that don't fully articulate the grandeur of our Savior! True joy is found when you and I give up our selfish treasures, our selfish motives, our plans, our expectations, our goals; and we humbly sell them and receive the free purchase of Christ, our Redeemer. His blood on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the grave is our source of true joy.

There is a house down the road from me that has several Ford mustangs. It seems that everyday when I drive by the home, I see a man outside working and admiring his cars. Their garage is full of expensive models as well as a few outside parked in their driveway. I don't know anything about this man because he doesn't even live on my street. However, when I see him outside cleaning those cars, I wonder where his treasure lies. When he dies one day, who will receive those cars? Will those cars cause fights among the family? Will those cars be auctioned off in order to pay for potential debt or other issues? Was it really worth the time and effort to spend countless hours on them?

Jesus made it very clear to us about our joy when he spoke powerful words in Matthew 6:19-24. I'd encourage you to take some time today and read that passage. It basically teaches us that treasures in this world will be destroyed one day. However, our treasure, like the treasure in the field that the man rejoiced over, will never be destroyed. Friend, our treasure and our joy is in Christ. He is the only One that truly satisfies, truly saves, and truly gives our souls eternal happiness. You can simply read all of Matthew 5 to get that!

My sweet daughter is already a joy to me. I can't wait to meet her. I pray her middle name will magnify the eternal joy that I hope she will share with me in the glorious Savior.

Hard to believe I get paid for this...

Us at the Operation Christmas Child Processing Center near Atlanta, GA

I just got back an hour ago from working in one of the Operation Christmas Child processing centers in Atlanta. Joining me this evening was 14 students. From 6-10pm, I was blessed to enjoy both fellowship and missions with teenagers that stole my heart. We worked side by side, inspecting shoe boxes that were donated, and boxing them up to be shipped to India and Ukraine. I'm tired, but overjoyed with the evening.

Brooke and Eden (my sweet girl that hasn't been born yet...) are in Washington D.C. tonight. The evening worked out so well for me. Brooke left for a short trip with Emory University while I got to take students over to Suwanee, GA for mission work. I can't believe I get paid for this.

I don't enjoy sitting in my office and just doing 8am-5pm hour shifts. There are days in which sitting in my office drives me crazy (not to mention my rear end begins to hurt)! Sometimes, I just want to get out and do what Jesus called me to do that doesn't require a computer. Tonight, my Savior delivered a glorious opportunity to do an evening outreach with my students. Taking them home tonight after we worked in the warehouse, I was overwhelmed with love and joy in my ministry. I've been blessed to have 4 years at my church in the student ministry. Hearing my students talk behind me as I drove home in the cold rain gave my joy such beautiful warmth in the absence of my family. Again, I find it hard to believe that I get paid for this.

I love my Savior. I love my students. I love my job. I pray each day will be for the glory of my Risen King. If days require me to work just 8pm-5pm in the office, may it be for His glory. If days allow me to leave campus and serve the community with my students, may it be for His glory. If days require me to sit in meetings and work on administrative responsibilities, may it be for His glory. May all of what the Soverign Lord leads me to do...may it be for His glory.

What a glorious night. What a glorious Savior King. I can't believe I get paid for this.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Dave