The Importance of Acknowledging that God is the Creator and Controller of the Universe!

1 Corinthians 10:26.         For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.

So it’s Friday, and we’re all overjoyed at the prospect of the weekend hovering right around the corner; time to rest and /or party. And many of sent up the cry of ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ whether sincerely thanking God, or just mouthing the platitude, only you alone know. But hopefully, many will be truly thankful to see another day in God’s great universe, because that’s the right and wise way to be. 

Remember the Lord created the universe and everything within it as Bruh David says in Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2) Meanwhile Bruh Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians reminds them thus: ‘For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.’ (1 Cor. 10:26) And Ethan the Ezrahite puts it this way in Psalm 89. ‘The heavens are thine, the earth is also thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them.’ (Ps. 89:11) 

Yes friends, not only did God establish the universe and all therein, but He still controls it and rules sovereignly over it! For as Ethan the Ezrahite continues in Psalm 89: ‘Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgement (righteousness and justice) are the habitation (foundation) of thy throne: LOVING-KINDNESS and truth shall go before thy face.’ (Ps. 89:13-14) So the Lord our God is also strong and mighty, and only deals in truth, justice and righteousness. 

And because of that, Ethan could further say: ‘Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound (make a joyful noise to the Lord): they shall walk, O Lord in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn (strength) shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.’ (Ps. 89:15-18) And that’s the living truth my brethren! The Lord God Jehovah is our shield, our defence our strong arm in the time of battle. 

Listen as the psalmist tells it. ‘When the wicked spring (sprout) as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever: But thou, Lord, art most high for evermore. For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn (my strength) shalt thou exalt like the horn (strength) of a unicorn (wild ox): I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.’ (Ps. 92:7-11) 

That tells it like it is my people! The Lord will destroy the wicked, the workers of iniquity in His own time and strengthen those who sincerely trust in Him. And on top of all that, the psalmist furthermore proclaims: ‘The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon (tall and strong). Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing (plump and green); To show that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.’ (Ps. 92:12-15) 

Now friends, who wouldn’t want to be a part of all that eh? Strong, exalted, flourishing, bringing forth good fruit even in your old age, with the Lord being your rock and strength and defence! It doesn’t get any better than that my people! And yes it’s hard to withstand all the temptations of the wicked enemy, but fortunately the Lord has given us all the tools to do it, with the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to lead and guide us. And if all that fails, then we even have the option of going to the throne of grace directly to ask for divine aid. So, let’s do that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant. 

Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Ah my fellow saints, unfortunately it’s not only the sinful world that needs to wake up and smell the coffee, no, many of us supposed believers also need to do that too, because we’re not pulling our weight, we are not doing our best to represent God in this ungodly world, we’re behaving too much like the world, and that will never do. It will never help us to turn things around. So please, let’s wake up and do what we know we’re supposed to do nuh; that’s stand strong and work for Christ! Much LOVE!

…regardless of what you believe…God IS the Creator and Controller of the universe…and those who disobey His will…will suffer the consequences…               

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   29 July 2023 Psalm 24:1.

Psalm 24:1.       The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

And what a perfect way to begin a lazy-day Saturday: dark and cloudy, raining and somewhat humid! Yes friends, that fits in very well with the kind of Saturday morning we desire, where there are no pressing circumstances to attend to, and one can simply take one’s time to do anything…or nothing. (smile) Anyway, my lazy time for this morning has already been used up by lying in bed, so it now behooves me to get to the Father’s business. Therefore, let’s now offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity of heart, mind, body and soul. 

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Now, that’s cutting straight to the chase. No messing about with a whole lot of unnecessary, flowery words, but getting right down the nitty gritty, letting the Lord know how much we LOVE, desire and need Him, how grateful we are for His awesome presence and nearness in our lives, the way He comforts and relaxes us, and He’s oh awesome and amazing that we just thirst and hunger to know Him more, to get ever closer to His magnificent person that just overflows with LOVING-kindness! 

Wow! There’s certainly no other God as wonderful as our God Jehovah! In fact, there’s no other God BUT our God Jehovah! All other supposed gods are fakes and failures, dead to the world! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the One True and Living God in existence, the One who made the universe and all therein! And if you don’t believe me, then listen to these words of Bruh David from Psalm 24, which prove my declaration. (steups!!!) Read with me: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2) 

Meanwhile Ethan the Ezrahite writes in Psalm 89: ‘O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Thou hast broken Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon (mountains) shall rejoice in thy name. 

Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgement (righteousness and justice) are the habitation (foundation) of thy throne: mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth shall go before thy face. Blessed are the people who know that joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn (strength) shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defence: and the Holy One of Israel is our king.’ (Ps. 89:8-18) 

Oh my fellow saints, what a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve! A God whose foundation is based on truth, justice and LOVE! And the truth is that I wasn’t planning to include so much of the psalm, possibly just verses 11and 12, but when I read all that beautiful and powerful description about our great God, I just had to include it. (smile) 

And my people, we can never know too much about wonderful God or give Him enough glory. So please, wherever, whenever and however we encounter God’s praises, let’s take serious note of them and file them in our hearts so that later on we can bring them to remembrance and use them for His glory and our praise. That takes us to another great passage of scripture extolling God’s greatness, where Bruh David blesses the Lord, as the Israelites generously made their offerings to build God’s temple. 

Read with me: ‘Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: And David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.’ (1 Chr. 29:10-13) 

Oh friends, what a powerful exaltation on our wonderful God’s behalf! And the beauty of it all is that Bruh David knew in spades what he was talking about, because all throughout his long, interesting and contrary life, he felt the power of God working in and for him. And the same thing will happen to us if we stand up strong and live for the Lord the way Bruh David did! He wasn’t perfect, but through thick and thin, He made the Lord his constant companion, always seeking His will and His favour. 

And that’s all the Lord asks of us yes: to seek His will and favour. But we’re so rebellious and so intent on doing our own thing because of our free will, that we often stumble and fall, and only then become wise and cry out to the Lord for help. But friends, a lot of those mistakes can be avoided if we wake up and walk with the Lord right from the very beginning. 

But no, we foolishly want to spread our wings and fly in our own strength, forgetting that we’re not birds, who were meant for that purpose. We were made to walk, and the only way we could ever fly, even like the lowly sparrow, much less soar like the mighty eagle, is with the help and strength of Almighty God. Please, let’s remember that when we try to get ahead of ourselves. Much LOVE!

…in the beginning…God created the heaven and the earth… (Gen. 1:1) 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ