Praise the Lord!

It is time to Praise the Lord!It's not time to ask or petition but to give thanks and Praise God for who He is.When we petition, we are asking God to do things for us but that is not what He is calling for. Right now He desires hearts that are full of gratitude and that Praise Him for who He is.He delights not in the strength of the horse, nor does He take pleasure in the legs of a man.The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy and loving-kindness. Psalm 147:11He determines the number of stars and calls them each by nameHe is great and mighty in power; His understanding has no limitHe covers the sky with the cloudsHe supplies the earth with rainHe makes grass grow on the hillsHe provides food for the animalsHe spreads snow like woolHe hurls down His hail like pebblesHe sends His command to the earth; His word runs swiftlyHe grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat"He captures your life, your entire life, in one glance. He sees your birth and burial in one frame. He knows your beginning and your end, because He has neither". Isn't that Awesome?!, I read that in a book by Max Lucado maxlucado , I couldn't put it better.I was just thinking, you know how these days it's all about "who you know, and who knows you"?, well quite honestly I know not of any one who can do even an eighth of one of the things mentioned about God. I'm definitely privileged to be known by God and that in itself causes me to praise Him.

Revelation

"You opened my eyes to your wonders anewYou captured my heart with this loveBecause nothing on earth is as beautiful as you"That's the song on my heart today.There are things I have known about God for a long time but somehow lately I'm getting a fresh revelation about them.Forexample, that God loves me inspite of what I do, He loves me! Period, it has nothing to do with what I do or who I am.Nothing I say or do will EVER change the fact that He loves me. I can not make Him love me more or love me less, He just loves me, He is fixated on me, He knows everything about me, even to the tiniest details like the way my nails grow.He calls me to love Him too, but the big difference here is that even though I have every reason to love Him using the "because" factor, as in He is naturally good, gives me nice things and so on, He is calling me to love Him for who He is and not for what He does/can do.His doings/ works are like the icing on the cake, but who He is/ His character is the real deal.He calls me to stand in His righteousness, note that there is absolutely nothing I could ever do to get into right standing with God. It's about allowing God to take control of my life and having Jesus dress me in His righteousness through the blood He shed at calvary. All I have to do is acknowledge and surrender, no need to sweat it.Now isn't that just amazing?!

Marvel

The word of God is so wonderful, at times I'm left speechless and in awe.The other day I was reading Psalm 111 and the character of God was imprinted on my heart in an amazing way.It says;7The works of His hands are [absolute] truth and justice [faithful and right]; and all His decrees and precepts are sure (fixed, established, and trustworthy).8They stand fast and are established forever and ever and are done in [absolute] truth and uprightness.9He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant to be forever; holy is His name, inspiring awe, reverence, and godly fear.Verse 5 in the NIV says ... He remembers His covenant forever.10The reverent fear and worship of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom and skill [the preceding and the first essential, the prerequisite and the alphabet]; a good understanding, wisdom, and meaning have all those who do [the will of the Lord]. Their praise of Him endures forever.There is a whole lot of things that stand out for me in these scriptures but the one that I would like to mention is His covenant. God's covenant with us is all about Him, it is His show, we partner together but He is the one who "rocks". I'm excited that God made a covenant with me as a believer and He has vowed to keep it forever, nothing will change that regardless of the many times I fail.This kind of ties in with something else that I have been learning, that it's not about me but all about Him. The "show" is His, I need to get out of the way so that God is exalted, takes His rightful place. Yeah, so I have needs, I want to achieve certain objectives, the list is endless but I have to learn not to focus on my issues but on God. Besides, isn't He the one who has Fire going before Him to consume His enemies on every side? The one whose lightening lights up the world that the earth sees and trembles?AND the one who makes mountains melt like wax before Him, before the Lord of ALL the earth?God is true, righteous, just, faithful, trustworthy ... so I was thinking if He can do all these things just by being who He is - God, certainly my lists of prayer requests are, can I say meagre?!For a long time my needs have been the center of my focus but when I see that God can literally make mountains disappear, I realise I need to focus on Him more than on what I want Him to do for me. I guess it's time to get out of the way and allow God to take center stage.