blessings

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Sharing the rich, indwelling Word (Colossians 3:16)

Bible-28“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

I have really been looking forward to this verse in the Three Sixteens series, because it identifies a strong connection between music and grace, my two favourite topics! When we make the effort to speak or sing the ‘Word of Christ’ to one another, we are showing grace because it serves to build others up in their faith. This is such an important yet sometimes overlooked aspect of praising God together. The horizontal encouragement that is gained from enthusiastic congregational praise is priceless! Praising God brings us untold blessings, both individually and together as the growing body of Christ.

But what is the ‘word of Christ’, you may ask?

Put simply, Paul most likely means the ‘teachings of Christ’, the doctrine of grace through faith in Jesus Christ, which at first was passed on as spoken words. This exhortation comes in the context of a letter which emphasises the person and work of Christ, a message that is centred on the Word of Truth, the good news of the gospel of Jesus.

This WORD is to have its gracious and glorious way in our lives, both individually and in community, as Christ shapes us to be more like himself. When we gather to listen and bow to the authority of Christ’s living Word, His word dwells richly in us. This Word indwells us by the Spirit. Such a glorious but unseen mystery this is!

John Piper speaks about the important role God has given each of us, to be speaking in a way that helps others persevere in the faith. In his message on Hebrews 3, Piper focuses on verse 13, where the writer says we must “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

“God has designed his church so that its members endure to the end in faith by means of giving and receiving faith-sustaining words from each other. You and I are the instruments by which God preserves the faith of his children. Perseverance is a community project. Just like God is not going to evangelize the world without human, faith-awakening voices, neither is he going to preserve his church without human faith-sustaining voices. And clearly from the words, “exhort one another” (verse 13), it means all of us, not just preachers. We depend on each other to endure in faith to the end.”  Read more

We Christians are to be tactfully and thoughtfully challenging one another with the Word of Christ. Singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is but one way to do that… But what a great way to do it! And this is why it is so important to choose songs with lyrics that are true to the Living Word of Christ, rather than just songs that create a warm fuzzy feeling amongst us, or have a catchy rhythm.

How good it is that our times of corporate praise and worship give opportunity to speak the words of Christ to one another in song. Such an encouragement God’s people can be to one another!

You may also enjoy:

Sharing the Perspicuity of God’s gracious Word

The Blessed and God-breathed book (2 Timothy 3:16)

From the Gospel Coalition: 7 Arrows for Bible Reading

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The blessings of explaining your faith

discipline-of-evangelism-sharing-the-good-newsI have been working through the course Christianity Explained* with a new friend over the past few months. She came to our church because she has seen the huge changes Jesus made in the life of her adult son, and wanted to know what it was all about!
Now I must say, it can be a scary thing when you realise you are the first person to explain to someone who Jesus is and what he has done. You think you will say the wrong thing or put them off, and damage their only hope of knowing peace with God!  But then you remember that God works through His Spirit and His Word (and us) despite our abilities or inabilities. You just have to keep resting on this knowledge and move forward. God worked in my own stubborn heart (and yours I trust) so that I would come to a point of repentance and faith. . . and He will keep drawing people to Himself in this way until Jesus returns! Softening hearts to the Gospel is something only God can do. Let’s trust Him to do it. And just keep explaining it as best we can. (Apart from all this, Christianity Explained is a really easy course to use, where the Bible and the course booklet explain everything simply and well. You can check out the summary of the course at the end of this post, with links for where to buy the resources.)

It is such a privilege to be explaining Christianity to someone – not just because of the earthly and eternal benefits involved for them – but also for growing your own faith. I have been challenged and refreshed in going carefully over the basics again, looking deeply into Mark’s Gospel and being confronted by Jesus up close! I see anew his character, his humour, love, compassion and his determination to fulfill his rescue mission for all people, even for those who despised him. He showed people such grace and such patience, dealing with crowds who really just wanted to see a show – crowds that made it difficult for those who had real faith in Him to get close. He lived for three years with a group of men who almost understood who he was, yet showed great lack of faith at times and were probably quite annoying! (a bit like me).

I have also been challenged by the way my friend has been so keen to share with her friends the things that she has been learning about Christian beliefs, particularly the difference between salvation by works and salvation by grace! She realises that GRACE is so totally opposite to the message the media portrays of do-gooder Christians who are trying to make it to heaven!

So can I encourage you if you are a Christian, to keep explaining the Gospel as much as you can . . . not just in the quick hit evangelism format (which is often very useful) but in the more relaxed teaching-style format of this course (or something similar). It gives people plenty of time to think and process what they are being told, and for God to challenge them personally through His Word. It also means you grow a close relationship with someone else who gets to know you, over time, and see how your belief makes a difference in your life.

Don’t miss out on sharing that moment of awe, when someone sees God’s amazing grace for the first time! It is such an encouragement to see God working, challenging someone in what they know and believe about the Son of God who died for them. Whether or not they become a Christian in the end – well that is up to God (and I pray that may be so) – the encouragement and growth gained along the way is certainly worth the journey.

* * *

*CchristianityExplained_coverhristianity Explained is a great short course which in 6 sessions takes you through the basics of what Christians believe and who they are. The course, developed by Michael Bennett, has been widely used in Australia and internationally for several decades. Each session takes about 45mins to an hour to complete, depending on how many questions your person wants to ask and discuss. It is based on the gospel of Mark, which course participants read at home in small segments for the duration of the course. It is a great tool for clearly and fully explaining the Gospel – one to one, or in a group setting. The 6 sessions focus on the meaning of:
1. Jesus, Son of God
2. The Cross
3. The Resurrection
4. Salvation by Grace
5. Repent
6. Believe

Check out the course here at The Good Book (US) or Koorong Books (Australia).

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Holding on to what we already have in Christ – Philippians 3:16

walkToday we have arrived at Philippians 3:16 in the Three Sixteens series. Let’s start by looking at the verse in a few different versions:
But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. NLT
Only let us live up to what we have already attained. NIV
In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. Holman

At first glance it seems this 3:16 has little content to grab hold of and provides little encouragement. But if you think on it a while, possibly the reverse is true! There is huge encouragement here, as Paul points us to what we already have in Christ, urges us to keep hold of it – and live up to it!
So what have we already attained?
In verses 8-11 we find out what Paul is referring to as he urges us to “hold on” and “live up to” the privileges we have IN Christ:
“. . . I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Knowing Christ surpasses all else. If we are in Christ we are secure, we are united with Him in his sufferings, death and resurrection. We are not self-righteous, but we have the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith! We are right with God, we are holy and acceptable to Him because we are IN Christ. A great analogy for this is being clothed in Christ’s “robes of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10, Revelation). We are wrapped up in Christ’s perfection, our sins are completely covered. When God the Father looks at us He sees the righteousness of Christ his perfect Son.

What great progress we have made – if we are found IN Christ. Let’s live up to it! We don’t have to attain or achieve anything. This is pure grace! I love what the Holman translators have done with the verse: we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. We should live up to the truth that we have the righteousness that comes from God – so let’s live in a manner worthy of what we have attained. Let’s be “killing sin” as John Piper puts it, by the sword of the Spirit (God’s Word).

Blessings to you as you seek to live up to Christ’s righteousness today. How will you go about that?

“Come as you are and He will cleanse you. You are guilty; your pardon is of God” –Charles H. Spurgeon

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Powered by the Spirit (Ephesians 3:16)

revival_fire-817x1024Happy to say I am finally back to continue this series on the Three Sixteen (3:16) verses. (If you have recently joined us you might like to check out my posts on Matthew through to Galatians. Click here).
Today we have arrived at Ephesians; verse 16 is the first sentence below:
 “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:16-19 NLT)

If you ever needed a verse to print out and stick on the fridge, this is the one!
It is just such a mystery the way the Spirit works to deliver this inner strength. Who could ever write anything to adequately describe the work of the Spirit in us? (Probably not me, but I’ll have a go anyway.)
The Spirit’s presence, gifted to us when we receive Christ, brings us peace, union with Christ and power, supernatural power  – inner strength! This power is glorious and unlimited. The Spirit gives us the inner strength to say yes to God and no to sin and selfishness. He gives us the strength to own the name of our Saviour in the face of ridicule and persecution. The Spirit strengthens by leading us to the fullness of grace and strength in Christ. He does not seek glory for Himself. He empowers us so that the glory goes to God.

The Spirit’s work is not about providing a warm fuzzy or sentimental experience of God’s love. His task is to make Christ at home in our hearts, to enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so that we can KNOW God, making us complete with all the fullness of life and power in Christ.
This is the power of the Spirit of Christ! This inner strength requires and supplies the knowledge of truth in the face of Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6 – “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

We should also remember that this gracious gift (of the ‘inner strength of the Spirit’) fulfills the big OT promise that came through Ezekiel, that God would deal with our sin problem once and for us. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Praise be to God for this next great 3:16 reminder of how he has dealt with our sin, in Christ, through Christ and for Christ. We get the present and eternal benefits of His sovereign and merciful plan.
We are powered by the Spirit!
How’s your battery running lately?
(Perhaps we could talk more about recharging at another time.)

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Try these New Life Resolutions

SYD0037 New Year's Eve Fireworks Sydney NSW _DSC2336In some ways the start of a New Year brings with it a sinking feeling, a feeling that although we have successfully negotiated our way through a full year plus the hectic Christmas period, now we have to do it all again! And then there are the New Year resolutions that everyone else seems to be making. Where do we put God in all this, the God who sits outside the passing of months and years, and controls the changing seasons? He does not change from year to year. How do we look at the road which stretches ahead with optimism, with joy, and our eyes firmly on Christ?

At the New Year’s Sunday service last year our pastor shared an alternative to New Year’s resolutions (which are usually broken by mid-January and forgotten mid-February). These New Life Resolutions apply every day in every season as we seek to follow Christ. We need not feel frustrated with these or give up when we fail. . . because, yes, we will all inevitably fail!  For this is the reason Christ died. . . because we could never “make it” on our own. “But God gives us more grace”. Here are some guiding principles to hold on to each day as we seek to live in the freedom of the new life Christ has won for us: (from Luke 12)

1. Resolve to live by GRACE not WORKS. If we are in Christ it is His works which we are judged on, and He is perfect! Have confidence in this, and extend this grace to others. (verses 1-3)
2. Resolve in your thoughts to TRUST GOD. Don’t allow our minds to entertain thoughts that are fearful of man, the future, anything! (v 4-8)
3. Resolve in your words to PROCLAIM CHRIST. The promise is that if we acknowledge Christ before men He will acknowledge us before His Father! Be proactive and speak up, tell others you are a Christian, ask what they know about Jesus. He promises to give us the words. (v 8-12)
4. Resolve in your actions to IMITATE GOD.
The aim is to transform our walk, our talk, our thoughts to those of Jesus. Be rich toward God! Rely on the power of His Spirit in you to transform you (v13-21).

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What thankfulness can do

Old Testament 1 exam now completed. Very thankful for what I’ve learned; also thankful for the break from study. Now I can get back to the blogging!

Just sharing today a short list of 5 benefits of gratitude, which a fellow blogger posted over at “Revelling in the Overflowing Grace of God”. While most Americans are celebrating their Thanksgiving Day it is worth stopping to consider why we should build gratitude into our lives every day.

“Gratitude, the act of giving thanks, can:
1. Refocus our attention… Our lives are filled with distractions. Perhaps if we began our day with gratitude, we would not get up with the weight of the world on our shoulders.
2. Relieve anxiety… Most of us know Philippians 4:6-7. … do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Thanksgiving shoves aside anxiety and replaces it with peace, not just any peace, but the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding!”
3. Refresh our relationship… When I’m showing gratitude, it keeps me from thinking that it’s all about me and my needs. I’m focused on God instead of me. That one’s a little tricky, because I’m giving thanks for things that are important to me. Still, I’m giving glory to God for those things.
4. Reinforce our faith… Remembering God’s past faithfulness boosts confidence in his present and future grace.
5. Rejoice our spirit… “Thanksgiving is the best way to dig ourselves out of the doldrums of discouragement.”

Colossians 2:6-7 has some relevant words of encouragement to add here on the source of thankfulness:

6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. (NLT)

Happy Thanksgiving! (I’ve never said that before.)

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“It’s always a good time”

Sometimes when I go to the gym in an attempt to work the knots out of my muscles, I feel rather out of place. It doesn’t bother me that I don’t fit in with the gym junkies, in the pink fluoro outfits and expensive running shoes. It is more the music film clips on the big screens all around that make me feel rather awkward. There is something about staring at women, in what equates to their swimming costumes (or less), singing and dancing rather erotically in front of my eyes that just doesn’t seem right. Images that would have been classified as pornography 40 years ago are now the stock standard of the gym environment.

Anyway, let me get to the point. In the midst of all these rather alarming images I was pleasantly surprised to encounter a film clip where the people were fully clothed (though the shorts are quite short!). They were not making “out” together, and the activities they participated in during the unfolding narrative looked more like a youth group camping trip than the events at a strip club. This is a good thing. They even cooked marshmallows on the fire, but there was no singing of Kum Ba Yah. . . . Instead they were singing their new “party anthem”  – “It’s Always a Good time” with Owl City’s Adam Young with Carly Rae Jepsen. (How clever was he, to enlist the “Call me maybe” girl in his latest hit!) Now I must warn you if you listen to this song, it may get stuck in your head for hours, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on your reaction.

If you are not aware of Owl City (from #1 songs like Fireflies and Vanilla Twilight – the ultimate “what is that in the sky” situation) he is a rather unconventional performer/composer/musician who comes across as a home grown good guy from Minnesota. He also happens to be a Christian. And despite all the references to the carefree Gen Y lifestyle (the phone, the ATM, the sleeping all day to get up at twilight) there is a clear and simple acknowledgement in this song that we have been blessed with a good life.

“We don’t even have to try, it’s always a good time.” is the catch phrase of the song.

Absolutely! We can move, sing, shout, enjoy friendships, eat, laugh – there’s so much good stuff to enjoy, simple things. We don’t even have to try that hard to enjoy this life – because it is good! We don’t need to alter our minds with drugs or alcohol to experience good things. God’s creation is good. Yes it is a creation marred by our rebellion, but God’s grace to us is that we don’t have to live out our days in misery. (Perhaps it is often our own ungrateful or entitled attitudes that make us think life is all bad!)

Yes, Adam Young, life is good.
It’s even better if you have peace with your Creator and the hope of eternal life through Christ.

You can also check out Owl City’s version of ‘In Christ Alone’ here.

And if you are interested, here is a little more on Owl City which I’m borrowing from Wikipedia (with good references!):
“Owl City’s music is described as indietronica and synthpop and is often described as belonging under the “electronic music” label.  Young has stated that he is inspired by disco and European electronic music, as well as instrumental genres such as drone, ambient, and post-rock. He cites his biggest influences as Johnathon Ford of Unwed Sailor and Thomas Newman. Young also incorporates a large amount of his Christian faith into his music, since he is a vocal Christian. Young’s faith is evident on the album, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”, especially in “Galaxies”. Explaining why the faith-filled song was added to the mix, he said, “I feel like if I were ever to hide the fact that that’s what’s so important to me, it would be a crime, that I should probably be put in jail for that.”

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To know Christ means to . . . ?

Knowing-Christ-Screen-530x397” . . . everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ”.
Philippians 3:8 (NLT)

Knowing Christ is what makes us Christians. We know Christ and have decided to follow Him. We want to know Him better. We wouldn’t be following Him if we had never met him or realised his worth. But how well do we go at explaining, in practical and understandable terms, what it means to “know Christ”, to “know God”. This is something that non-Christians really want to know. What does it mean to have a relationship with God, what does that look like? We need to get a whole lot better at explaining this.
Probably a good place to start is to talk about what it means to “know” another human being. If you know a person it means you have met him, you have knowledge of their name, appearance, you have encountered their character and spent time with them. Just a knowledge of their existence is not actually “knowing”, just as you don’t know some random Facebooker who applies to be your friend, or some far distant cousin you have heard exists, sitting far out on a branch of your family tree. Knowing is about a relationship.

So knowing God means having a relationship, which has a beginning point. This may be for some a slow and gradual growing relationship starting in childhood, or it could be a sudden meeting in a dark alley, as with a stranger. And once you know Him, how could you forget – His character, His love, His grace is irresistible. HE draws us into a relationship with him, and we grow to know Him better, as we spend time soaking in His story which is revealed to us in all the pages of the Bible. He speaks to us there. We know and understand more of His character and ways. We speak to him in prayer.

And He is not far from us; He is with us. His Spirit, the Spirit of His Son has come to live in us! And we are IN Him! We are found in Christ, wrapped up in His righteousness and made perfect in Him. How much closer could this relationship be? One song my youngest daughter sings at school asks about The Creator (which is the song title):
“What if he was much closer,
Closer than your toaster,
closer than your tie?”
An interesting way to phrase it!

To me, knowing Christ means I am in the growing process of having my selfish and sinful desires replaced with his desires. I know peace with God, forgiveness through Christ’s finished work on the Cross. So I want to follow His agenda and align the desires of my heart with his. I want to obey and please Christ. I want to know Him better – He is the Word of God to us. None of this comes from myself! I am certain of that. So I know I know God because of this.

How would you go at explaining what it means to know Christ?
Casting Crowns has attempted to answer this very question in the song below – and the emphasis is on that desire to grow in knowing.

TO KNOW YOU (Casting Crowns)

To know you is to never worry for my life, and
To know you is to never to give in or compromise
To know you is to want to tell the world about you
‘Cause I can’t live without you

To know you is to hear your voice when you are calling
To know you is to catch my brother when he is falling
To know you is to feel the pain of the broken hearted
Cause they can’t live with out you.

More than my next breath, More than life or death
All I’m reaching for, I live my life to know you more
I leave it all behind, you’re all that satisfies
To know you is to want to know you more
To know you is to want to know you more

To know you is to ache for more than ordinary
To know you is to look beyond the temporary
To know you is believing that you will be enough
Cause there is no life without you

More than . . .

All this life could offer me, could not compare to you, compare to you
And I’ll count it all as lost, compared to knowing you, knowing you

 

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Coheirs with the Child of the Promise (Galatians 3:16)

Unlike other memorable Three Sixteens in this series, here in Galatians the 3:16 verse is no piece of cake! It is perhaps quite confusing. It talks of the promises to Abraham (land, people, fame, blessing) which you usually think of as being received by many descendants. God made the promised family group descending from Abraham into a great, blessed nation. Through this nation all the world would be blessed. Yet here Paul seems to be saying ONE person receives the promise. Have a look:

Galatians 3:14-18 (NLT)
Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith. 15 Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16 God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

The Scripture referred to here in verse 16 is Genesis 12:7 and 13:15, where God promises he will give this land to Abraham’s “offspring”, or in Hebrew “seed”.
Now like me you may be taken at this point with the fact that “seed” could be used as a singular noun, or a plural one. Perhaps Paul was using this grammatical anomaly to his advantage (as some commentaries would suggest), playing on the “seed/seeds” confusion to make a point to his Jewish audience. Just because they were Jews, one of the many “seeds” who had sprouted up as part of Abraham’s family tree, this did not automatically make them a true child of Abraham, a true child of this promise. Afterall, these were the “foolish Galatians” (3:1) who were hoping to receive the salvation Christ won for many (by his death and resurrection) by their own good works – by keeping the Jewish law. Paul says no. Don’t go back to trying to keep the law! You must be IN Christ, who is the true heir of this promise.

This is the certainty we have. Christ and only Christ is the way of blessing, open to all who receive him as their Lord and Saviour, regardless of their racial credentials. Through Christ many can come into God’s family, not by their own merit, but by Christ’s. Jesus is the ONE descendant from Abraham who makes it possible for us to receive the GRACE of this promise. He is the promised Seed, who fulfilled all the promises of God, promises to Adam and Eve, promises to Abraham, promises to King David – promises made through Isaiah of a suffering servant King who would give his life as a ransom for many. The Promise was to Abraham, and it is fulfilled in Christ. We must be IN Christ, not just in Abraham’s family tree, to be co-heirs of the Promise, with Christ. This is a remarkable reminder of God’s grace to us IN Christ. In Him we receive the undeserved favour of the Son who should ALONE receive the blessings of the Father. But we also receive these blessings IN Christ, if we are IN Christ.

Let’s continue to rest in His righteousness and not our own.

Ps. If you are intrigued by that CD cover image at the top, you can click here to find out more about the album.

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Creation sings the Father’s Song

Our church family is going through a rapid period of growth at the moment. This is not due to our evangelistic efforts, but by God’s gracious gifts. Four babies were born in the last few months (Alexis, Benjamin, Jackson, Jennifer). What a great opportunity this presents to be reminded of our Creator – the miracle of God’s design in creating new little people. We see it too in the relationship of love and care which grows between parents and their children.

Think of the way a baby’s cry wakens parents in the night, to alert them to their desperate need for food or attention. Think of the way that cry prompts a physical response in mum, to “let down” milk which will sustain her precious little one. She doesn’t have to even consciously think about the process. (Perhaps there are a few unconscious dads staggering about making up bottles as well!) Think of the way human relationships develop between a husband and wife so that they can share the intimate and difficult moments of childbirth, and care for a newborn through the small hours of the night. Think of the inner strength God has given mums to endure days and weeks of broken sleep and other emotional demands. Think of the tender strength of a dad to help everyone hold it all together (and change nappies)!

A song I’ve been listening to lately contains a line which so aptly describes God’s command over creation: “He commands the newborn baby’s cry”. Without that God-given inbuilt response, a child would not demand food or be able to ask that any other need be seen to. Without all those ‘small hours’ moments, parents would not get to know the unique personality of their child so quickly and well, and form a lasting bond.

All these systems have been established by our loving God, to grow us physically and in relationship to each other – and in relationship to Him. They truly show His glory to the world, even to those people who choose to believe His truly amazing design is random and without purpose or meaning. May God help us to continue to be amazed at the wonder of His creation. Though marred by sin and human defiance, creation still points to God’s amazing mind that we cannot fully comprehend.

Make sure you keep your eyes open to the miracles of the God who is seen everywhere, but most especially in us! (Genesis 1:26, Romans 1:20)

Creation sings the Father’s Song (by Kristyn and Keith Getty & Stuart Townend)

Creation sings the Father’s song, He calls the sun to wake the dawn
And run the course of day Till evening comes in crimson rays.
His fingerprints in flakes of snow, His breath upon this spinning globe,
He charts the eagle’s flight; Commands the newborn baby’s cry.

Hallelujah!
Let all creation stand and sing,
“Hallelujah!”
Fill the earth with songs of worship
Tell the wonders of creation’s King.

2.Creation gazed upon His face; The ageless One in time’s embrace
Unveiled the Father’s plan Of reconciling God and man.
A second Adam walked the earth Whose blameless life would break the curse,
Whose death would set us free To live with Him eternally.

3. Creation longs for His return, When Christ shall reign upon the earth;
The bitter wars that rage Are birth pains of a coming age.
When He renews the land and sky, All heaven will sing and earth reply
With one resplendent theme: The glory of our God and King