Read
An error occurred, and the scripture passage could not be retrieved.
Please try again later, or contact the website administrator.
Reflect
I walked out very early this morning seeing Venus so bright and low in the eastern sky, that she was reflected in the still water of the bay. And Orion suspended high above her among all the other stars so luminous I was overcome with wonder at the beauty of it all and found myself so naturally falling into a rhythm of praise and exhalation that seemed to rise from within me.
The Bible tells us we were created by God bearing His image (Genesis 1:26) so that we could worship and praise Him as Creator of all. Romans tells us that all of God’s invisible qualities are seen all around us in the visible creation and therefore we have no excuse to not praise Him (Romans 1:20).
Psalm 66 helps lead us into that act of praise and worship. The psalmist boldly says, “Tell everyone on this earth to shout praises to God!” We are to recount all the awesome things He has done and be reminded that He has kept us steady. He brought us through tough times of testing but we ended up in a land of plenty so we must remember to keep the promises we’ve made. And perhaps most importantly we are to share with each other, as an encouragement, the good things God has done for us.
Look back over your life today and be reminded of how God has listened to you by listing the answered prayers you’ve received and tell others about it.
Now some hours later dawn is beginning to colour the sky anticipating the sunrise. I think all my praise is simply the appropriate response to the One who created it all as I have been privileged to join with all creation in praising Him on this new day.
Respond
God, you made it all and the sun now rises in answer to your morning call. I join with all living creation to bring you worship and praise as my sacrifice of thanksgiving. And I will tell everyone, of you, who are always kind, in Jesus name I pray.
James Paterson
James works as a visual artist. His current body of work is a series of metal wire sculptures called Prayer Machines which are whimsically ambiguous machine-like objects that give expression to mystery. “I love to share the gospel message, using art as a bridge, to encourage people in their relationship with Jesus.” He and Lynn have four young adult children. Publications Jim’s Grandiose Big Bible Picture Book (Bastian Books ,2007)