Tag Archives: Creator

When You Lift Up Your Eyes, What Do You REALLY See?

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“I will lift up mine eyes to the hills — From whence cometh my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1, NKJV) There is actually quite a bit going on in this one simple verse, so it’s worth breaking down. Let’s take a look.

First, David is an observant man. Like many of us when we are out in nature, we behold the magnitude and majesty of our surroundings and feel strongly convicted that there is something out there greater than we are. In this case, David is so taken with the beauty around him that he is lifting his eyes UP towards the Creator. Think for a moment of things you have seen by lifting up your eyes.

lift eyes

Imagine Reality

You have seen the wind blowing through a canopy of leaves in a kaleidoscope of glittering green as you lay in the shade… Perhaps you have imagined shapes in the clouds as they shifted and passed overhead! You saw them forming nebulous white cotton-candy sculptures that floated across the heavens. You have gazed into a sky so blue it went on forever, or you have watched approaching thunderclouds with dread and apprehension.

Lift your eyes… You have seen the miraculous palette of a sunset as its colors splashed across the horizon, full of shades so rich and so subtle that you almost couldn’t even process them…There are pastel shades of peach and gold, deepening in the twilight as the earth miraculously turns on its axis away from the sun; and there are times that same sun peeks out from behind grey clouds, turning their edges silver as beams of light poke through small windows in the clouds to bathe the earth with magical radiance…

lift eyes

Would You Look at That?

You have watched a bird in flight, marveling with envy at such effortless freedom…You have looked at hills and mountains, impressed with their character and grandeur. Marveling at the scale, you have felt insignificant beside them, and have been awed and inspired by their majesty. You have looked deep into the eternal darkness of the night sky, watching the moon and stars in their courses, moved by the infinity of it all, captured by the deep twinkling lights which sent the very beams you are watching hundreds or even thousands of years ago…

When you lift up your eyes, you see the universe in its awesome magnitude, and perhaps you recognize that such a vast, diverse, and beautiful creation had a vast, diverse and beautiful Creator. David lifted his eyes to the amazing and intricate design in the hills and beyond, and fell in love with the Designer.

Up and In

Secondly, this Creator did amazing work with “up” and “the hills”. He also did some pretty nifty stuff with “around” and “in”. From horizon to horizon, from deep space to deep oceans, from vast mountains to microscopic life, the Lord who made heaven and earth deserves our respect and awe.

Everywhere you look, it’s pretty hard not to be impressed with God’s handiwork and curious about His character. David was very personally involved with Him, drew inspiration from Him, and found help in Him. If you stop and think about it just for a second, it really makes a lot of sense. Perhaps if there IS a Creator, He can offer help to those whom he Created.

David had great passion about his Creator. He prayed to the Lord, wrote and sang songs about Him, and even consulted him about important decisions. When he was lonely or troubled, he sought solace and comfort from the One whom he knew was stronger, greater, and wiser than he was. David was pretty smart. I guess he realized that if the Lord God made heaven and earth, He could help those who looked to Him for help. Say! When you  lift up YOUR eyes, what do YOU see?

Lift Us

Lord, who made the heavens and the earth,
Who blesses us with Thy eternal worth,
Surrounds us with Thy everlasting glory
And teaches us the never-ending story:
Enable us to lift our eyes and see
This world the way your will was meant to be.
When dreams are crushed, and life is filled with “why’s,
And, under circumstance, ambition dies,
Enlarge our faith by lifting up our eyes.

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Amazed By the Awesome Universe? What if it Had a Creator?

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I was standing outside looking at the stars the other night, and it hit me again that the universe is utterly amazing. I hope I am never so jaded that I fail to be amazed by the world around me. Looking up at the infinite expanse of space, I wondered: is God the Creator of all of this, or just a figment of our imagination? Is it all made by God, or is God all made up? Is there a God who really does things?

The Bible contends that God exists, and that He is active in our universe. “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” (Habakkuk 1:5, NIV) This sentence is something that has confounded skeptics and caused debates. Does God do amazing things?

Is God really even out there? Believers say He is. The academic intellectual doubts it. Atheists scoff at the notion. What do you think? Have you ever seen God work, or felt His presence?

Is There a Method to Decide?

Has God really ever done anything in our midst that we would not believe, even if we were told? It is easy to look the world around us and fail to see God. He doesn’t appear on command, and you can’t detect Him with your senses. On the one hand, there are those who say that the only acceptable evidence is purely empirical, based on what we can observe and analyze.

Just apply the scientific method to all that we see, and to our very existence. According to science, we came from random explosions in an expanding universe that somehow interacted to synthesize amino proteins which came together to form DNA. It’s all explainable using quantum physics and scientific analysis. You just have to allow enough time for that random process to work and evolve. (I mean, lots and LOTS of time… eons and eons of it, during none of which could we actually use the scientific method to observe.)

amazed

Amazed or Not?

But on the other hand, believers say God created the universe with a design and a plan. It was also not an observable event, but it makes more logical sense to me that a rational designer created the universe with an observable design…

On the one hand, you can try to talk to God, but you’ll receive no direct answer, and hear no vocal response. But on the other hand, people speak and listen to God with surety every day.

On the one hand, we live in a world where there is cause and effect, and the things that happen can all be explained; on the other hand, people see the hand of God at work. And on that one hand, technology is altering the way we get information, and people are living in tweets and sound bites, gravitating away from reflection and contemplation. Culture resides in the here and now, not the dusty past… But on the other hand, God revealed himself through the Word, and put his wisdom and his story into a book that has to be explored and meditated upon.

Seems kinda backward of God, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t he have waited to come when He could have made the news? Wouldn’t technology have provided a better communications base than the Bible? The intellectuals of this world shoot holes in faith, and many people could say they have not really seen God. Yet Habakkuk claims that God will do something utterly amazing, which “you would not believe, even if you were told.”

“I Wouldn’t Believe it if You Told Me”

You know what? Habakkuk’s prophecy came true. God did just that. He sent his Son to earth as a fragile infant. Jesus of Nazareth said things no one had ever said, and lived as no one else had ever lived. His love and humility astounded his followers and confounded the wise. He went to the cross, in the utterly amazing story of redemption. Habakkuk was right. God did something “in your days” that no one saw coming, even though they had been told about it… It changed the nations, reshaped history, and fulfilled prophecy from thousands of years before.

God not only made everything, but God showed up. He gave us his Word, and He gave us his Son. You’ve now been told; whether you believe it or not, and whether you choose to be amazed by it is totally up to you. (By the way, if you believe it, make sure you tell somebody else about it today! They might be amazed, too!)

The Amazing God

Habakkuk said that God would do some things among the nations
Which would be quite historical, and cause some big sensations.
He said that folks would look upon God’s work and be amazed,
Yet there some who still observe and really are not fazed.
They say that God is not at work, and they can’t really see
That God has ever been at work to alter history…

They might just note that calendars are dated from the birth
Of a baby from Judea who changed everything on earth.
Read his teaching, analyze his life, and then observe
That he came not to rule the world, but to ransom it, and serve.
Habakkuk said we’d be amazed at all that God could do:
Who knew that in a baby, his prediction would come true?
I’ve been amazed by Jesus; tell me, scientist, have you?

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread
For the Kindle Edition, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Bo-Jackson-ebook/dp/B01K5Z0NLA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-2&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread

Creator: Think About Who God Is, and Who You Are

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Owner’s Manual

Do you ever use the owner’s manual in your car? You know, the book from the people who MADE the car? It contains almost everything you need to know about your vehicle. Doesn’t it make sense to get information from the designer and creator of your car when you have a question? In the Bible, David says that makes good sense for us to get information from our creator as well: “Your hands have made me and fashioned me; Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.” (Psalms 119:73 NKJV)

David seemed pretty obsessed with God’s commandments in Psalm 119.He rejoiced in them as in great riches (v 14), he meditated on them (v 15), and he took delight in them (v 16). In verse 27-28 he said, “Cause me to understand the way of your precepts, so that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds. My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.” David found understanding and strength in the Scriptures. Why do you think David was so taken with God’s word? What was it about God’s precepts that made David almost giddy with excitement?

Why the Excitement?

You can certainly reflect on David’s reasons, but here are a couple to consider: 1) He had lived by them and knew they made a difference. David’s life had not always been easy or soft, but it always included meditation and reflection on what God revealed to him. His confidence in God’s commandments came from actual experience, from applying them in the crucible of his life and finding them to be reliable, helpful and sustaining. It made sense for David to recommend them to us because he knew the Creator’s love firsthand.

2) David understood who he was, and he understood who God was. As strong and successful as David became, he never forgot why it made sense to respect God’s authority. David said, “Your hands have made me”. David accepted God’s place in the universe, much like Paul in Romans 9:20: “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Isaiah echoed the same sentiment in Isaiah 64:8: “We are the clay. You are the Potter. We are all the work of your hands.”

creator

More Profound than You Think

Gary Larsen’s humorous view of the Creator doesn’t begin to reflect the complexity of God’s work in and around us. The reason the Bible provides a sound platform for living is because it comes from our Creator. Does anyone know more about how we operate than the one who conceived and formed our DNA? If we are made in His image after all, perhaps His words can give us guidance.

When we have a problem with our car, we look in the owner’s manual for help. It provides insight because it is provided by the one who made the car. When we have problems in life, we can also look into the owner’s manual, provided by the one who made us. And doesn’t it make sense that we should pay attention to our Maker? Is there a better place to look than into His book to find insight? Our Creator should have reliable advice for us that actually works in the crucible of events when life happens. If God is NOT our creator, then follow whomever; but if He is, then there’s no one better to pay attention to.

The Creator’s Place

God conceived and his words gave birth,
Creating the cosmos, Heavens and earth!
He reigns over all, and His presence commands
The stars in the sky and the works of His hands;
He’s the creator of every day,
So we should consider that when we pray:
“Lord, You are the Potter, I am the clay;
Help me see the world that way.
In all I think, and say, and do:
Remind me, Lord, to follow YOU.
Whatever may come, or the day may bring,
I am your subject, and you are my King.”

To buy my latest book, Real People, Real Christmas: Thirty-one Days Discovering the Hidden Treasures of the Christmas Story, go here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729034918/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For Slaying Giants: Thirty Days with David, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Slaying-Giants-Thirty-Devotions-Ordinary/dp/172568327X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535814431&sr=8-1&keywords=Slaying+Giants%3A+Thirty+Days+With+David
To buy my book, Beggar’s Bread, go here: https://www.amazon.com/Beggars-Bread-Devotions-Ordinary-Guy/dp/1535457392/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473336800&sr=8-1&keywords=Beggar%27s+Bread