Blessed by the Word

How many ways can we find blessings in the Word of God?  The psalmist said that the word was sweeter than honey and richer than silver or gold.  Was he just writing poetic thoughts or was he serious?  When he said that the word was a teacher, a guard, a guide and a light was he just filling up space, or is it true?  The answer to those questions will not depend on us, but on God.  What God said is not alterable by us or our opinions.  The psalmist said, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”  Paul said that “All Scripture is given by inspiration from God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness.”  Paul also said that “God cannot lie.”  In other words, all the blessings of God are true and certain.  As Paul said, “All the promises of God in Him (Christ) are yea and amen.” 

So, where do you want to start picking flowers for your glorious holy bouquet?  There are some beautiful songs early in the story of Christ that may make a nice nosegay to carry around.  After meeting Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, Mary sang the Magnificat in Luke 1. She quoted many scriptural promises of God’s blessings.  It is a blessing that God pays attention to us (vs. 48).   It is a blessing that he has good plans for our future (vs. 48).  It is a blessing that He is in the business of doing great things for us (vs. 49).  It is a great blessing that He displays for us His mercy and strength (vs.50-51).  It is a great blessing that He fills us with good things, remembers us and keeps His promises (vs. 53-55)  Those are just the easy flowers to pick from this garden and we can carry them with us at all times.

Every day we depend on God’s gracious blessings to see us through the struggles of life. Sometimes we find ourselves looking at the cloudy sky instead of golden sun behind it.  We need to pick up His word and let it refresh us (a blessing) and encourage us (a blessing) and strengthen us (a blessing) so that we can live in the joy of His glory. 

Sarah Hale put the Lord’s Prayer into a simple song.  In this prayer we find the promises of blessings and hope for each day.  This prayer has been sung in various forms throughout the history of the church.  Remember, God is true and when we come to Him we can count on Him to fulfill His word.  The Lord’s Prayer is His own words.

Our Father in heaven we hallow Thy Name. May Thy kingdom holy on earth be the same.   O give to us daily our portion of bread; it is from Thy bounty that all must be fed.

Forgive our transgressions and teach us to know that humble compassion which pardons each foe.  Keep us from temptation, from evil and sin, and Thine be the glory forever!  Amen.  

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

Blessed Is the Man

God has poured out so many blessings upon us it would be literally impossible to count them all.  There are many blessings that are visible.  We could take the short cut on some of those and just be thankful for creation.  That, however, would really be a cop out.  What is it about creation that makes us feel really blest?  Do we include our family in creation?  Do we include or pets?  Some seem so indifferent to the multiple ways that we are blessed with creation that they just flippantly say, “Well, I’m thankful for creation”?   

What about other things we are thankful for?  How about the things that are intangible, are we thankful for them?  Can they be simply summed up as being thankful for intangibles?  Which intangible are we most thankful for? 

We can move to another category for things by which we are blessed.  How about spiritual blessings?  Do we find ourselves thinking of them at the top of our list of blessings?  Paul said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3)  How many spiritual blessings can we name and our thankful for? 

One that we need to not only be thankful for, but to actively participate in, is found in Psalm 1.  “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scorners; but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night.”  The psalms begin a paean of praise to God for His abundant blessings and will continue to do so for the next 150 psalms.  Those blessings include the visible, the intangible and the spiritual.  The psalmist reminds us right up front that those blessings begin with seeing and knowing God in His word and in following His leading and obeying that same word. 

A paraphrase of Psalm 1 is a good way to start our week on the blessings of the Word.

1.     Blessed is the man who puts his trust in Thee

The paths of sin he will not take, the scoffer’s seat will flee             Refrain

Refrain:   Yes, blessed is the man who puts his trust in God

He makes his way secure below, the streets of gold will trod                     

2.     He shall be a tree beside the rivers deep

His leaves will be forever green, his fruit eternal keep                     Refrain   

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

Old and New

Many things are old and new again.  Styles come and go and come around again.  Great athletes who have supposedly become “has beens” return on a new team and astound everyone.  A senior citizen becomes a media darling and a cult hero to the young with a simple one liner, “Where’s the beef?”  Solomon said that there is nothing new under the sun.  It is just a new set of eyes that see it and embrace it before it resurrects in the next generation.  There is a famous hymn that has had this life experience of its own.

Originally written during the revival era, traveling worldwide and translated into many languages and then passing into relative obscurity, it was resurrected by an evangelist in what is considered the post revivalist era.  The hymn is “How Great Thou Art”.  It began as a poem written in Swedish and had no music.  Several years later it was set to the tune of a Swedish folk song.  From there it traveled down to Germany and was translated into German then on to Russia where it was translated into Russian.  An English missionary heard it there, rephrased and added new words and altered the music.  From England it moved to India, part of the vast English Empire where it was heard by an American evangelist and taken to the United States in the early 1950’s.  Used at a Bible training seminar in America and then made its way back to London where it was shown to the Billy Graham Crusade staff. The Graham Crusades made it popular again all over the world beginning in the 1950’s, which happens to be just after the end of the revivalist era.  The old was new.

Billy Graham said, “The reason I like “How Great Thou Art” is because it glorifies God. It turns Christian’s eyes toward God, rather than upon themselves.”  Lawrence Welk said it was the most requested song ever on his television show.  By the mid 1970’s it had been performed over one million times!  As we wrap up our devotions on creation this week, let us sing a much beloved song and worship the Great Creator who inspired it. 

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder consider all the works Thy hand hath made. I see the stars I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Refrain:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee: How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

http://www.mannamusicinc.com/hgta.htm

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

Artists and Sparrows

My favorite American song writer was Stephen F. Foster.  His musical scores and lyrics changed and molded American music.  He was the most widely sung secular American song writer of the 19^th century.  His music was more widely sung and known than are the contemporary writings of John Grisham, Danielle Steele and Steven King combined.  With that in mind it may surprise people to know that Stephen Foster died in abject poverty.  It is not that he squandered his money; it is simply that the art inside of him had to escape and he gave almost all of it away for pennies a song. 

Artists such as writers, painters and musicians are far more often in the bottom ten percent of income than the top.  What they produce has to be produced.  It is their contribution to society.  Holding it in is like trying to cork a volcano.  So, as a writer I understand being in the bottom ten percent of earners. 

That is why I like sparrows.  Yes, that does make sense.  There are a lot more sparrows than there are cardinals or finches or bluebirds.  People seldom ooh and aah at a sparrow.  But while they are not highly regarded by men, they are highly regarded by God.  I like to feed the birds.  Watching them eat outside the window is enjoyable for my Bride and me.  Because of income limits I can’t afford fancy bird seed that attracts all the more beautiful species.  But, friends of ours give us stale bread each week, bags of stale bread each week.  We put that out and guess who comes to eat it?  It is not the cardinals or the finches.  It is not even the nuthatches or chickadees.  It is the sparrows and starlings.  Through me, via my friends, God provides daily bread for them.  God cares for sparrows and God cares for me.  (Matt. 10:29)

The hymns of the evangelistic era took on a new component in their themes.  They became much more personal expressions of praise.  This is what God has done for me, they said.  They still exalted His glory, His power, His truth and His grace, but they framed it in a new context.  This is true and it happened to me.  One such song from that era is “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” by Civilla Martin.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear, and resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears; though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.  I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, for His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

“Fairest Lord Jesus”

God in creation has long been a source of music for the church.  The psalms are full of praise to God for His creation and numerous calls for creation to give praise to God.  The prophets speak of restored creation praising God and the Book of Revelation sings His praise for creating all things.  God’s power and glory in creation continued to inspire hymn writers through the early church years and beyond.  One of the great hymns of praise that centers on this theme has a history which is not fully known. Its first written record is during the Reformation era.  Sometimes called the Crusader’s Hymn, because legend had it that German crusaders had sung it on their way to the Holy Land, “Fairest Lord Jesus”, resounds with the theme that the glories of Christ surpass all the glories we see in the things that He made.

Pagans center their worship on creation.  Mother Earth and Mother Nature are two of their goddesses.  The focus of nature worship is that we find such sublime perfection in it.  Of course, there is no such sublime perfection in nature if we look more deeply.  When Adam sinned God cursed the ground.  There went perfection right out the window.  Nature is actually quite grisly.  We speak of a dog eat dog environment in the workplace, well, where did such an idea come from?  Did it come from the sublime perfection of nature?  I love the fragrance of the hyacinths in my yard.  Just a few of them fill the entire yard with their wonderful scent.  But they are short lived and are pretty ugly when dead.  Where is the sublime perfection of nature in that? 

The beauty of nature is often here and gone in a matter of days.  A babbling brook can become a rushing torrent of death.  A glorious mountain vista can become a major landslide or avalanche.  A beautiful forest, with just one stroke of lightning, can become a raging inferno that produces mass death and destruction.  Nature is certainly beautiful, but don’t blink.  But there is something that is always glorious, beautiful, fragrant and sublimely perfect.  That something is Someone.  He is “Fairest Lord Jesus”.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands, robed in the blooming garb of spring;

Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer, Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight, and all the twinkling starry host;

Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer than all the angels Heav’n can boast. 

Beautiful Savior, King of creation, Son of God and Son of Man!

Truly I’d love Thee, truly I’d serve Thee, Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

To Worship and not Be Worshipped

When God created the beasts of the earth, air and water, He spoke and they were made.  Teeming thousands of animal species sprung into existence with a simple word of God.  When God made man He did it differently.  He formed man and then breathed the breath of life into man.  Man became, the Scripture says, a living soul.  Man was created with a unique ability to worship God, not just with the voice of praise, but with the whole being, body, soul and spirit. 

But fallen man was not content to worship God.  Man had fallen because he wanted to be like God.  He was not content with the inferior position of worshipping another.  As time progressed this became the pattern for man’s theology.  Man wanted to be like God, so man should receive worship like a god.  From tribal chiefs to emperors man claimed a direct descent from the gods.  (There were now many gods and not just One.)  Such descent meant that man was also a god and as a god was deserving of worship.

Contemporary man would scoff at such a primitive idea, but it would be a false scoffing.  We have elevated the product of our minds into being god.  Education for many is now god.  Politics and politicians for many are now god.  Economics and its solutions for man’s problems is now god.  Science with its perceived limitless possibilities is now god.  Anything that offers the hope of salvation for mankind is a god.  Since all these things come from man, then it is only logical that the dictum in modern thinking is that god is in us all. 

Our purpose was to worship and bring glory to God the Creator, the Redeemer, the Giver of life, the One True and Triune God.  We have corrupted that purpose into worshipping the strength and vitality that God has given us.  God’s gift to us of reason has evolved into the greatest god of our age.  Certainly we are not the only age of mankind to live in this error, but with time we are perfecting the doctrine to new heights of human glory. 

We can’t force all humanity to worship the true God, but we can willingly bring ourselves to sing His true praises.  With the ancient church in the grand hymn of Theodulph of Orleans we can worshipfully sing, “All Glory, Laud and Honor”.  (c. 800AD)

The company of angels are praising Thee on High

And mortal men and all things created make reply

The people of the Hebrews with palms before Thee went;

Our praise and prayer and anthems before Thee we present.  

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly Blog and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.  

Adam and the Animals

When God made Adam He placed him in the Garden of Eden and brought all the animals to him.  Adam named them and had the benefit of their company.  But that wasn’t enough. God saw that Adam, even with all the animals of the Garden, was alone. 

We live in an age where society practically worships animals.  We glibly say, “Dogs are people, too” or “Cats are people, too”.  That is attributing to them a far higher rank than God gave them.  Even in the unfallen state of creation there was a gap between man and beast.  I have a dog and two cats.  I am very fond of them.  On my desk is a picture of my dog, Molly, and it is in a frame that says, “I love my dog”.  I do, of course, love my dog.  You can read all about her in my book The Gospel According to Molly and in my twice weekly blog about her found on my website.  But as much as I love her, she is still a dog.

After Adam’s sin God tells us in Romans that man began to turn affection for the animals He had created into a foolish religious system.  Man began to worship the creature more than the Creator.  They made images of all manner of beasts.  Even the Israelites fell into that sin and made a golden calf while in the wilderness.  “There,” Aaron said, “is your god.”  In our society today there are many who take that statement quite literally.  In their thinking man is corrupt and animals are perfect.  Man should be, in their theology, subject to the needs of animals.  This is paganism pure and simple. 

God’s comment to Adam was that the creatures were to be subject to him.  When we reverse God’s truth on this point we lose our spiritual perspective of truth.  God created order and that order begins with Him.  He then passed authority to man over His creation.  To put animals above man is to usurp God’s authority in the first place.  That is the theology that Satan, in the form of the serpent, used to bring about man’s fall.  Eve believed that the creature, the serpent, was right and not God.  We must not join Eve in letting God’s order get out of order. It is not creation that we are to worship, but with all creation we are to give true worship to God.  Let us sing with David this song of worship from Psalm 8.

You made man to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; You have put all things under his feet: sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

The fowl of the air and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas.  O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

You may also find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/

You may also enjoy my new Gospel dog blog, The Gospel According to Molly and my new Alzheimer’s blog, “Taking Care of Joe: An Alzheimer’s Blog” found on my website.