How Great is Our God!

So much of what I read this morning and last night brought not only a spirit of conviction, but a spirit of thanksgiving as well.  Our God is faithful. There is forgiveness with Him!  

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.—Psalm 103

Not only that but His heart toward us is kind!  He is tender-hearted toward His children and stoops to help them. Beloved…God grieves over our sin…He sees what they cost us.  He knows what we forfeit through our own pride and foolishness. He does not condemn us but admonishes us as a father. His heart is for us. He loves us and His love seeks our highest good.  He desires that we depend on Him in everything and for everything.  He wants us to pray hugely…to expect great things from Him. Beloved…the Lord wants us to open our mouth wide because He wants to fill it with good things. 

Oh Father!  May my heart be forever broken and humble before You…

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise. 

Forgive me for those times when I go my own way…when I don’t listen to Your voice.  When I forget what You have done, and I step on Your mercy.  Oh Lord, You have redeemed my life from destruction. You have lavished me with lovingkindness and filled my mouth with good things. Thank you that in Your Son, there is no condemnation. Thank you that with You there is forgiveness. As a father pities His children so You pity those who fear You.  Thank you that You will never leave me or forsake me. You are my precious Emanuel…my God who is with me. Thank you that Your will for me is good and comes from Your heart of love. 

Oh, help me by Your Spirit to put off me and put on You. Help me to love others not with my own human love but with Your perfect sacrificial love. Help me to love them rightly by seeking YOUR highest good for them. Lord, enlarge my prayers!  Place Your desires on my heart and as I pray may You do exceedingly abundantly above all that I could even ask or think!  Be the abundance of my heart and out of that abundance may my lips show forth Your praise continually.

Below are some of the Scriptures that I read today as part of my through the bible in a year plan.  

"Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you!

O Israel, if you will listen to Me!

There shall be no foreign god among you;

Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

I am the LORD your God,

Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

"But My people would not heed My voice,

And Israel would have none of Me.

So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart,

To walk in their own counsels.

"Oh, that My people would listen to Me,

That Israel would walk in My ways!

I would soon subdue their enemies,

And turn My hand against their adversaries.—Psalm 81:8-16

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"—Matthew 23:37-39

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"

Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."—Matthew 22:34-40

Have mercy upon me, O God,

According to Your lovingkindness;

According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

Blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,

And my sin is always before me.

Against You, You only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in Your sight—

That You may be found just when You speak,

And blameless when You judge.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,

And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear joy and gladness,

That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

Hide Your face from my sins,

And blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners shall be converted to You.

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

The God of my salvation,

And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,

And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

You do not delight in burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart—

These, O God, You will not despise.

Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;

Build the walls of Jerusalem.

Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,

With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.—Psalm 51

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

And all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The LORD executes righteousness

And justice for all who are oppressed.

He made known His ways to Moses,

His acts to the children of Israel.

The LORD is merciful and gracious,

Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

He will not always strive with us,

Nor will He keep His anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father pities his children,

So the LORD pities those who fear Him.

For He knows our frame;

He remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

And its place remembers it no more.

But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting

On those who fear Him,

And His righteousness to children's children,

To such as keep His covenant,

And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

The LORD has established His throne in heaven,

And His kingdom rules over all.

Bless the LORD, you His angels,

Who excel in strength, who do His word,

Heeding the voice of His word.

Bless the LORD, all you His hosts,

You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.

Bless the LORD, all His works,

In all places of His dominion.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!