The Heavens Declare The Glory Of God

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The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.

(Psalm 19:1 NKJV)

Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
And My right hand has stretched out the heavens;
When I call to them,
They stand up together.

(Isaiah 48:13 NKJV)

I am just in awe as I look at the below photos. This is just a small glimpse of the majesty of our God.

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According to NASA's "Imagine The Universe" website,
about one million earths would fit into the sun.

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This irruption on the sun would engulf the earth many times over.
The earth is the little blue dot in the lower right hand corner of the above picture.

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In the photo above, the earth is not even visible and the sun is tiny compared to the star "Arcturus."

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And Arcturus is nothing compared to Antares.

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

(Colossians 1:17 ESV)

Our God measures the universe with the span of His hand and in Christ all things are held together. Scripture tells us that God knows even when a sparrow falls to the ground, and that we are more valuable to God than this bird. Our heavenly Father even knows the number of hairs on each of heads. And our God desires a personal relationship with us which is real. It is mind blowing to think about this. Take a look at creation and see the wonders of His work, it reveals the glory and majesty of our God. The creation which we see is cursed due to sin, can you just imagine what it will be like in the new heavens and earth, which is not corrupted by sin?  In light of all this, we should get excited every Sunday when we get to go to church and lift up our praises to Him. Each and every morning we should rejoice that we get to spend some time in His presence singing Him praises, listening to His voice through reading His Word, and our precious time in prayer with our God. Any time you do not feel like praying or spending time with the Lord, just remember who He is and how awesome He is, and how can we not want to lift up our praises to Him and come into His presence?

²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:29-31 NKJV)

Praise God, Even When It Hurts

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My tears have been my food day and night,

         While they continually say to me,
         “Where is your God?” 

        (Psalm 42:3)

I remember a time before I was saved thinking, concerning a Christian man who lost his job. “Where is your God now? He sure helped you, didn’t He?” During trying times, one may ask, “Where is God?” Maybe a job loss during these difficult economic times or the loss of a loved one leaves a person in doubt and intense sorrow.  They keep calling out to God, yet their suffering continues. It is easy to say "God has forgotten me."

         I will say to God my Rock,
         “Why have You forgotten me?
         Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” 

         (Psalm 42:9)

Life sure can throw some difficult things at us at times. I know in the past I have felt like God has forgotten me, or why would He help me? However, we must always remember when the storms of life come our way; there is always an open door. Are we going to walk through the door drawing closer to God remembering all the good He has done? Are we still going to lift up our praises trusting He is with us?  Or are we going to close the door?

        Why are you cast down, O my soul?
         And why are you disquieted within me?
         Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
         For the help of His countenance. 

            (Psalm 42:5)

No matter how terrible things may become, we always have a reason to praise God. He sent His son to die for us. God gave us eternal life, those who believe upon His Son, Jesus Christ. Is that not enough reason to continue praising Him? Yet He has done so much more. Maybe take some time right now to remember the good He has done in your life and never let it depart from your heart and mind. If you are struggling with something right now, Psalm 42 and 43 are awesome Psalms to dive into.

And always, always remember:

⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

⁶ So we may boldly say:

      “ The LORD is my helper;
      I will not fear.
      What can man do to me?”  

      (Hebrews 13:5-6)

All scripture from the NKJV