Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

February 27
Thursday


CONSIDER
THE LILIES

READ:
Psalm 19:1-6
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The heavens declare
the glory of God;
and the firmament
shows His handiwork.
__Psalm 19:1
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I enjoy nature and giving praise to its Creator, but I sometimes wrongly feel guilty for admiring it too much. Then I remember that Jesus used nature as a teaching tool. To encourage people not to worry, he used simple wildflowers as an example. "Consider the lilies, He said, and then reminded people that even though flowers do no work at all. God dresses them in splendor. His conclusion? If God clothes something temporary in such glory, He surely will do much more for us (Matt. 6:28-34).

Other portions of Scripture indicate that creation is one of the ways God uses to tell us about Himself:
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork," wrote David. "Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge" (Ps. 19:1-2).

"Let the heavens declare His righteousness for God Himself is Judge," Asaph said (50:6).

And Paul wrote, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse" (Rom 1:20).

God so loves us and wants us to know Him that He put evidence of Himself everywhere we look. __Julie Ackerman Link

````````````````Father, Your love is overwhelmingly evident, yet`````````````````
```````````````so often we miss it. Thank You for the unfailing`````````````````
`````````````reminders of Your grace, love, and mercy. Give```````````````````
````````````````us eyes to see Your beauty in Your creation.`````````````````````
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In God's pattern book of nature
we can trace many valuable lessons

********************************Today's Bible Reading __ Psalm 19:1-6*****************************
1 The heavens declare the
glory of God; and the
firmament shows his
handiwork. 2 Day unto day
utters speech, and night
unto night reveals
knowledge. 3 There is no
speech nor language where
their voice is not heard.

4 Their line has gone out
through all the earth, and
their words to the end of
the world.
In them he has set a
tabernacle for the sun,

5 which is like a
bridegroom coming out of
his chamber, and rejoices
like a strong man to run its
race. 6 Its rising is from
one end of heaven, and its
circuit to the other end;
and there is nothing hidden
from its heat.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The cosmological argument (first cause) and the theological
argument (argument from design) are two of the many cases for
the existence of God. David, however, did not write Palm 19 to
prove God's existence. Rather, already captivated and awed by the
immensity and beauty of the skies, he simply declares that God
exists: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
shows his handiwork" (v.1). Nature proclaims and praises the
Creator God, who is worthy of our honor and worship. David
reflects on how God has revealed himself to mankind so that we
can know him. First, God reveals Himself through his created
works (vv.1-6) and then through His spoken Word (vv.7-14).