Skip to main content

Desert Solitaire

By
Our Daily Bread Devotional October 19th 2016

Read: Psalm 136:1-9
Bible in a Year: Isaiah 56-58; 2 Thessalonians 2

And God saw that it was good.(Genesis 1:12)

Desert Solitaire is Edward Abbey’s personal history of his summers as a park ranger in what is now called Arches National Park in Utah. The book is worth reading if only for Abbey’s bright language and vivid descriptions of the US Southwest.
But Abbey, for all his artistry, was an atheist who could see nothing beyond the surface of the beauty he enjoyed. How sad! He lived his entire life in praise of beauty and missed the point of it all.

Most ancient peoples had theories of origins enshrouded in legend, myth, and song. But Israel’s story of creation was unique: It told of a God who created beauty for our enjoyment and childlike delight. God thought up the cosmos, spoke it into being and pronounced it “beautiful.” (The Hebrew word for good also signifies beauty.) Then, having created a paradise, God in love spoke us into being, placed us in Eden, and told us, “Enjoy!”

Some see and enjoy the beauty of the Creator’s good gifts all around them, but don’t “worship him as God or even give him thanks.” They “think up foolish ideas of what God [is] like. As a result, their minds become dark and confused” (Rom. 1:21 nlt).

Others see beauty, say “Thank You, God,” and step into His light. —David Roper

Loving Father, we praise You because You are good. Thank You for infusing Your creation with beauty and purpose and for placing us here to enjoy it as we discover You. Your love endures forever!

All of creation reflects the beauty of God.

INSIGHT: This psalm of worship praises the wonders of God’s creation and God’s providential intervention for His people. The repeating refrain is, “His love endures forever.” Key concepts in this psalm are God’s creation (see Isa. 40), the love of God (see Pss. 5-7), and the miracles of God (see Ex. 6-7). The list of items for which to thank God, our Creator, are vast and extensive: God is good (v. 1); He is over all other “gods” (v. 2); God is the Lord of lords (v. 3); He alone does great wonders (v. 4); God by His understanding made the heavens (v. 5); He placed the earth on the waters (v. 6); God made the great lights (v. 7); He made the sun to govern the day (v. 8); and God made the moon and stars to govern the night (v. 9). Dennis Fisher
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

You've been blessed through this reading share with Others. Share the DO's and the DON'T.

Popular posts from this blog

Dominion Mandate Daily Devotional February 26, 2016

By
THEME: RETREAT TO REFRESH READ: Matt. 11:25-30 When some musicians want to release great songs, they retreat to secluded places where they can reflect, meditate and create. Some choose places overlooking the vast oceans, some choose where there are waterfalls, and some choose places with thick forestations.  As they observe the beauty of nature, the swift moves and songs of the soaring birds, the colourful flowering vegetations, the serene beaches and the unending waves of the nearby waters, they capture inspiration that helps them develop the hit songs they have been longing for. I met one of the world’s renowned musicians in Atlanta, USA a few years ago where journalist surrounded him and were asking what he had come to do and why his beards had grown so much. He said that his last album did not perform well enough and he was incubating another one he wanted to release that would perform better. He said that he needed to pull away from the Noise of New York and California ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A NEW MONTH OF DIVINE ANNOUNCEMENT

By
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. Luke 1:13 The Bible is replete of records on how God announced some events before they finally happened. Because you made it into the new Month, God will specially announce you in Jesus name.  Whenever God want to do something unusual, He first of all announce it, for instance, when He wanted to delivered the children of Israelite from the hand of the philistine whom He has delivered them to, He sent an angel to break the new to the parent of the deliverer - Samson. Judges 13.  When God wanted to turn the hearts of men back to Himself, He sent angel Gabriel to announced the birth of John the Baptist to his father, Zacharias. Also when God was fully ready for the redemption of man, He first announced it to the one whose body His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ will pass through to the earth. Luke 1:26-38. That was the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nothing To Do, Only Believe By Joseph Prince

By
Daily Grace Inspirations Thursday 11th August 2016 …“What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” - John 6:28–29 When I was a young Christian, I attended a seminar on what we must do to “work the works of God”. I was told that we had to pray more, fast more, know our enemy and so on. I came away from the seminar confused. Then one day, I found the same question in the Bible. But the answer was very different! In the Gospel of John, we find Jesus being asked the same question by the multitude who had been awed by His miracles—“What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” The people had seen Jesus healing the sick, and feeding 5,000 men with only five loaves and two fish. Notice how Jesus answered them: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” My friend, the greatest doing is believing—believing in Jesus the sent one, who has done it all ...
2 comments
Read more