Rejoice And Praise Him

Psalm 67

Fear and Joy; A Savior Born!

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  (Luke 2:8-11 KJV)

I would be most probably be sore afraid too if an angel of the Lord showed up and the glory of the Lord shone around me. This is not a little thing. It would be a shock and awe moment. A bit of fear and a whole lot of awe.

But, this angel who brought fear to the hearts of the shepherd also brought good news; very good news of great joy. Their Savior was born. He lives! 

The shock and awe of Christ's birth seems to have worn off a little in these days. Now, it's not so much about celebrating the birth of a Savior and King; but, about personal celebrations of a holiday; not so much a holy day.

May the wonderment of a child born in a barn for the sole purpose of saving us from our own sinful ways be with you this Christmas season.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Holy, Holy, Holy is God Almighty

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:1-5 NIV)

Holy, holy, holy is God Almighty! The whole earth is full of his glory! Talk about shock and awe! Can you imagine having a vision similar to Isaiah's? To come into the presence of God in such a manner; to see His full glory! I believe it would be the most earth shattering experience possible. All of a sudden we would realize that we, who can be so full of ourselves at times, are nothing. God is everything. And, that God who is everything cares about us so much He would bring us into His Holy presence.

I can only begin to imagine what it would be like to see a vision of God in this manner. But, I know that one day I won't have to imagine because I will truly experience God in this manner. One day I will see Him with my own eyes and not just with the eyes of faith and I am quite sure that I will be as awestruck as Isaiah.

Holy, holy, holy is God Almighty! When we come into the presence of God to pray; to speak with Him; and maybe even more importantly; to listen to Him, maybe we ought to more deeply consider that we are truly in the presence of Almighty God and maybe just a little more awe; a little more respect, might be called for. Just maybe we ought to remember that we are in the presence of the King of kings!

May God bless us with a greater understanding of our sinful natures and of His holiness so that we might worship Him with respect and adoration. 

God's Peace - Pr. J