"Created for Praise"
Nov. 4, 2019
Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars! Praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the Name of the LORD! For He commanded and they were created. And He established them forever and ever; He gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.
—Psalm 148:3-6 (ESV)
The world appears to be anything but orderly. In fact, it very often seems to be in complete disarray. Military and political conflicts stir up the nations. Disasters, natural and man-made, swirl across the globe. Yet there is order in this disordered world. The sun rises and sets, just as expected, giving predictability to our days. The waxing and waning moon marks the months. The stars and planets maintain their courses and, as they go, their motion is a song of praise to their Creator, who set them on their way.
The creation account in Genesis reflects this ordered majesty. God calls the earth, the seas and the sky into existence and marks the passing of each new day. On the sixth day, God creates man—male and female—in His own image: people created to serve and praise Him and to care for the world He has made.
The people God created did not continue in the order into which their Creator placed them. They rebelled against His Word and ate the fruit forbidden to them; "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25a). Their sinful disorder spread through the world and, like an inherited disease, carried down through the generations to infect our lives, as we too rebel against God.
Yet even in this fallen world, "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1). For before the foundation of the world God planned to restore His creation, including the people made in His image, to the ordered majesty He first decreed. Jesus, God's own Son, would come to "reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20b).
By God's grace, through faith in Jesus, our sins are forgiven, and we are reconciled to God. Each of us is, in Christ Jesus, a new creation. The psalmist declares, "Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him, all you shining stars! Praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!" We joyfully join in as creation praises its Creator, an echo of the praise to come, when "at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11).
THE PRAYER: Our God and Creator, the earth and skies declare Your majesty. For the sake of Jesus our Savior, accept our grateful praise until the day comes when all creation bows down to confess that He is Lord. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- When you look at the stars at night, what do you think about? What strikes you most about the insignificance of planet earth in respect to the enormity of the universe?
- How do you envision God's creation of the universe beyond the earth? Was there more of a process, do you think, that took place than God simply speaking the stars, planets, and galaxies into existence?
- What is your favorite kind of earth environment—mountains, beach, desert, or someplace else? Why?
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
When you look at the stars at night, what do you think about?
No comments:
Post a Comment