Am I Awed by the Awesome One? (by Peter Brock)

Yesterday I came across an article entitled, "When Awe is Absent". It was written by Tony Woodlief of World magazine and it caused me to hesitate and take an inward look. I'm including two separate portions of the article here and I encourage you to read it in its entirety. I've provided a link at the end of this entry. May the article challenge you as it did me to not relegate God and His Word to "tertiary status" in our lives.
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"After the Pentecost, and after Peter assembled the first Christian megachurch by preaching to the multitudes, we read in the book of Acts: “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.” I’ve always been suspicious of people who exuberantly declare their awe at God, and doubly suspicious of people who try to elicit the same emotion from me. Genuine awe, in my limited experience, doesn’t inspire chattiness. Then again, I can’t expect my inner workings to be true of everyone; awe inspires some people to spout praise, just as it leaves me dumbfounded."

"...God is “the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness.” An awesome God, thoughtfully considered, should inspire awe. But how I feel — and perhaps this is true for you as well — is determined by what I believe. My lack of awe stems from my habit of relegating the word and the Word to tertiary status. I am often not in awe because I am often not thinking about the Lord. I fall into the trap of confining “God time” to a church service or a prayer, and keeping it entirely separate from the rest of “my” time. I think that kind of disintegration prohibits spiritual fullness. “Be strong and courageous,” the Lord said to Joshua. “Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

He is with me, but I am not always with Him."

Full article

God My Way? (by Peter Brock)

Due to a conference I attended recently, as well as some current reading, I have been challenged as to the magnificence and greatness of our almighty God. In today’s church culture, there is the temptation to be culturally relevant rather than God-honoring. There is the temptation to make God “palatable” to unbelievers and believers alike. At times we want to make God our friend, forming Him into something acceptable to our chosen Christian life style. Yet, as I have been reminded from the Scriptures, our God is much different than what we often make Him out to be.

- Scriptures teach us that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace.

- He is the one living and true God.

- He is infinite, and perfect in all His attributes.

- He is the Almighty Creator of all things.

- Because He is the absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, God is perfectly sovereign in creation, providence, and salvation.

- All that comes to pass is ultimately for His own glory.

- He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events.

- By His perfect grace, He has chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own.

- He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

How do I/we worship the God of Scripture? In my personal daily life my worship of God is evidenced in my every thought, action, choice, attitude and word. In corporate worship, every part of worship should direct our attention to our God and who He is in His perfect character. Our worship needs to be different from the world because our God is holy and righteous. It needs to be different because our God is eternal and sovereign over all creation.

May we, as individuals and as a body of believers, maintain a high view of the God of Scripture that affects every aspect of personal and corporate worship. Allow the words of Psalm 104 to remind you of the greatness of our God.

Psalm 104

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty,

2 covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent.

3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind;

4 he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.

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31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works,

32 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke!

33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.

35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more!

Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!