The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).

One of the early sights and sounds in Heaven soon after the Rapture will be the glorious praise service where the worthiness of God is expressed. One of the reasons that God is worthy of our praise is His marvelous and incredible creation. He created all things for His pleasure. Sally, Marcia, and the new girl in school named Karen were all riding home on the school bus. These third graders were discussing the universe. This was a pretty big subject for three young girls. One asked, “Well, why would God create everything? to which Karen responded “Because He wanted to.” You know, some of the most profound theological statements come from the lips of young children riding the school bus!

For today: I see His power in the work of creation and know His grace in the gift of salvation. How about you?

“I cried unto God with my voice…In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord…I remembered God” (Psalm 77:1-3).

Asaph was apparently going through an extremely difficult period in his life. One of the things that I appreciate about this Old Testament believer is his openness in expressing his hurts and difficulties. He is one of the most transparent men I know! So often we men can be going through awful, literally awful times in our lives. Yet when we are asked “How are you doing?” the reply is “fine.” Not so with Asaph. He hurt and he said so. I like what he said in what has come to be known as Psalm 77. He said, “I cried, I sought, I remembered God.” These are the same things that will be good for us today. Don’t live in denial. Honestly cry out to the Lord. Seek to get to know the Lord better. Remember the Lord in all that you do. You’ll be glad you did.

For today: We need to wise like Asaph. What a joy to belong to Asaph’s Lord.

“God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of His holiness” (Psalm 47:8).

I’m afraid I’ve never been very politically correct. I don’t want to be rude and unfriendly. But I will tell you dear friends that I believe this horrible wave of political correctness that is sweeping our beloved country is from the devil himself. Political correctness pronounces everyone to be right. It includes every belief and ascribes correctness to every belief. It bends over backwards never to offend people. With all my heart I do believe that everyone from every ethnicity, tribe, and language can place their trust in the true and living God. But they must come one way. There are not many ways to get to God. There is only ONE way. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Once coming to Christ for salvation, believers from all around the world come to the joyous insistence that there is one God who rules and reigns in His sovereignty. He is absolutely awesome!

For today: I am so glad to belong to the true and living God Who rules and reigns over all. How about you?

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” (Psalm 32:8).

When I was traveling every weekend in ministry, I finally broke down and purchased a GPS. This GPS had a woman’s voice, so Karen and I named it “Priscilla.” Her nickname would be “Prissy.” I will confess that for the first several trips using my GPS, I didn’t trust it. There were several times that I really thought I needed to turn, but “Prissy” was directing me to go another ten miles before turning. How amazing that this little device could communicate with the satellite and plan out a route for me! This is not to say that “Prissy” was perfect. On the contrary, we believers do have the wonderful promise that our great God is guiding us with His eye and instructing and teaching us in the way we should go. That’s better than any GPS we could ever purchase!

For today: I am so glad that my life is not left to chance. God is guiding me. How about you? Do you have this same assurance?

“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2 NKJV).

Ken and Elaine took their family camping. After having their evening family worship around the camp fire, the family enjoyed sitting together and watching the fire. For the hour or so that the young children were able to stay awake, the family talked much about the Lord. How very dark it was in that remote area of the park! Looking up into the nighttime sky, Alainne said, “Daddy and Mommy, Miss Diana my Sunday school teacher said that ‘when we look at the sky, it’s just like it is telling us that our very wise Creator God put me there.’ Well, seeing all these stars tonight, I think they surely are talking really loud, aren’t they?” They rest of the family giggled a little. But they all had to admit that our Creator God uses the beauty of His creation to remind us that they utter speech and reveal wonderful knowledge.

For today: If He could create all of this, then surely He can take of us.