Morning devotion

Since I have had the privilege of teaching the Bible my number one exhortation has been for people to read through the Bible. It continues to amaze me how many people in the church have not read through the entire Bible one time. For those of you who stop by this blog may I encourage you to take an informal poll of those who are your Christian brothers and sisters. Ask them, when the time is appropriate, as to whether or not they have read through the Bible. I think you will find that one of the problems that Christians encounter is a lack of understanding the whole Bible or the unity of the Bible. One of the key truths that has been so clear to me is the SOVEREIGNTY of God. In my morning devotion I was captivated in Psalm 65 with the SOVEREIGNTY of God in verses 3-11. I have listed from the New Living Translation the aspects of God's SOVEREIGNTY in this particular Psalm.
- God forgives sin
- God chooses those who come near to Him
- God is the hope of everyone on earth
- God formed the mountains by His power
- God quieted the raging oceans
- God takes care of the earth
- God ordered it so
- God drenches the plowed ground with rain
- God softens the earth with showers
- God crowns the year with bountiful harvest

Friends the center piece and chief priority in our life must be this SOVEREIGN God and not ourselves. You were hard wired to worship the greatness and magnificence of God Himself. Don't you understand that is why you love a sunset over the Atlantic Ocean, as you stand on the beach, and feel the cool breeze in your face as the water washes over your feet? It is for this brief moment in time that you are able to completely forget about yourself, and enjoy the glory of His creation. The sunset is but a pointer, foreshadowing or echo of the splendor, wonder and awesomeness of God Himself. Have you ever been to the mountains in the fall and see the glorious colors that radiate from all the trees? You pull over to the side of the road and look down into the valley. And again, for a brief moment in time you are completely captivated with the beauty of creation. You have once again been reminded that God alone is the One who can bring you to the point of completely forgetting about yourself and be absorbed by those things that declare the glory of God!