Pastor Stephen Dedman

Tag: faith

Great Are His Works

Encouragement

How great are your works, O Lord ! Your thoughts are very deep!
Psalms 92:5

It shouldn’t take much for someone to see that God’s works are wonderful. Wonderful doesn’t even begin to describe how great His works are.

God made no mistakes from the time of creation nor has He held back any glorious design. Take the human body for example. How wonderful it is that the human body can heal itself.

The human brain has the capacity to store over 74 terabytes just in the cerebral cortex alone. Imagine if we used our brains to full capacity.

Now take creation as an example. The earth provides the perfect environment for humans to exist. The stars in the heavens remind us how small we are compared to God. The sun is just at the right distance to bless us and not burn us. God is wonderful in all His works.

If and when you struggle in your faith or wonder if God cares, stop and consider this verse as a reference that God knows and cares. He made us with much more detail than anything else. He loves us and cares for each and everyone of us.

When we consider His works and thoughts we may never comprehend the extent to His greatness. Maybe one day it will all be revealed to us when we get to Heaven.

If you are struggling today consider his greatest work when He sent His Son to die for you and to give you eternal life. He has prepared a way for you to spend eternity in His presence. That alone says enough.

Pray

Lord, help me to know that You care. As I face my struggles, give me comfort and peace that you are in control. I know you will work it all out.

Your Time Is Precious

Encouragement

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16

In what areas do you invest most of your time and energy to? What do you spend a lot of your time doing or thinking about? 

A fool makes unwise choices with his time and energy. With every new opportunity that comes along, the fool chases off in a different direction, not questioning whether that is the best choice.

Most of the time the loudest voice gains the most attention. But at the end of the day, the fool squanders the investment of time and energy on the things that don’t matter.

The devil knows that if he can get you to waste your time and energy on things that don’t matter then you will not be investing in the things of God. At this moment, the devil is trying to rob your time in the Word of God. The devil knows how to tempt you and make you veer away from God’s best.

Time is precious. Don’t waste your time on the things that you know are not of God. Instead take time to listen for the voice of God as He directs you to the most important and best things that bring everlasting joy.

Pray

Lord, help me to spend more time with You today. Speak to my heart and show me what I need to do to accomplish Your plans. Give me wisdom to discern the most important choices I can make today.

Listen And Obey

Encouragement

But when they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah reached out his hand and steadied the Ark of God. Then the Lord ’s anger was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him dead because of this. So Uzzah died right there beside the Ark of God.
2 Samuel 6:6-7

We all seem to struggle with authority. It’s not unusual for us to think we are smarter than those who are in charge. 

It’s not so much about following instructions; we just have better ideas. Sometimes we think we know better than those who are in charge. Sound familiar?

David was returning the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem to provide a central place of worship for all of Israel. God had specific rules for how it was to be carried. The Levites were appointed to carry it on poles that were slipped through rings on the sides to avoid touching it. So David’s first mistake was placing the ark on a cart that disregarded its holy nature. 

Then God struck Uzzah because he erred in thinking the ground was less holy than his own hand. He thought he had a good idea to keep it from tipping over. His intentions were good, but by touching it he was insensitive to its sacredness and acted irreverently.

Sometimes we act the same way towards God. He has designed magnificent plans that we need to follow. We err in thinking that we have a better idea. We must remember that God’s ways are better than ours. He desires that we listen and obey immediately and completely for His glory and for our good. Any other way is simply disregarding His authority in our life. 

Pray

Lord, help me to know Your will and way for my life. When I struggle with living my life Your way, help me to remember that You are in control and I must submit to Your authority.