Are you acquainted with this awesome God who wants you to know Him intimately? Think about the wondrous things He has done beginning with the beauty of the earth. Hear the sounds of heaven released in the nighttime as the creatures of the earth make a symphony to the Lord. Who is like our God? Consider the bright light of a full moon as it shines through the oak trees creating playful shadows; twinkling stars announcing that our God rides on the wings of the wind. Hush, don’t you hear them singing the song of the Lord? Yet you and I sing a song that they cannot sing – the song of the redeemed! Isn’t you heart overwhelmed with the awesomeness of God? Just think the Creator is your God, your Lord, and your Savior! There is none who can compare to Him. He is a big God, yet He is small enough to live within your heart, even the heart of a child. Who is like unto our God?
Who among the gods is like You, O Lord? Who is like You--majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or with the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? You are magnificence, a big God, yet You have taken Your place in my heart. You abide in me and I abide in You. Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God. You have done great things. Who, O God, is like unto You? You are my Lord and Savior, Creator of the heavens and earth. You are a big God – more than enough to help me in any situation. Oh, my God – You went before me and prepared the pathway that I am to walk. I love You with my whole heart, soul and mind. Amen
Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
Exodus 15:11 [AMP]
Messages of Comfort
Prepare for God’s Arrival
1-2 “Comfort, oh comfort my people,”
says your God.
“Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem,
but also make it very clear
That she has served her sentence,
that her sin is taken care of—forgiven!
She’s been punished enough and more than enough,
and now it’s over and done with.” 3-5Thunder in the desert!
“Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road straight and smooth,
a highway fit for our God.
Fill in the valleys,
level off the hills,
Smooth out the ruts,
clear out the rocks.
Then God’s bright glory will shine
and everyone will see it.
Yes. Just as God has said.”
6-8A voice says, “Shout!”
I said, “What shall I shout?”
“These people are nothing but grass,
their love fragile as wildflowers.
The grass withers, the wildflowers fade,
if God so much as puffs on them.
Aren’t these people just so much grass?
True, the grass withers and the wildflowers fade,
but our God’s Word stands firm and forever.”
9-11Climb a high mountain, Zion.
You’re the preacher of good news.
Raise your voice. Make it good and loud, Jerusalem.
You’re the preacher of good news.
Speak loud and clear. Don’t be timid!
Tell the cities of Judah,
“Look! Your God!”
Look at him! God, the Master, comes in power,
ready to go into action.
He is going to pay back his enemies
and reward those who have loved him.
Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock,
gathering the lambs in his arms,
Hugging them as he carries them,
leading the nursing ewes to good pasture.
The Creator of All You Can See or Imagine
12-17Who has scooped up the ocean
in his two hands,
or measured the sky between his thumb and little finger,
Who has put all the earth’s dirt in one of his baskets,
weighed each mountain and hill?
Who could ever have told God what to do
or taught him his business?
What expert would he have gone to for advice,
what school would he attend to learn justice?
What god do you suppose might have taught him what he knows,
showed him how things work?
Why, the nations are but a drop in a bucket,
a mere smudge on a window.
Watch him sweep up the islands
like so much dust off the floor!
There aren’t enough trees in Lebanon
nor enough animals in those vast forests
to furnish adequate fuel and offerings for his worship.
All the nations add up to simply nothing before him—
less than nothing is more like it. A minus. 18-20So who even comes close to being like God?
To whom or what can you compare him?
Some no-god idol? Ridiculous!
It’s made in a workshop, cast in bronze,
Given a thin veneer of gold,
and draped with silver filigree.
Or, perhaps someone will select a fine wood—
olive wood, say—that won’t rot,
Then hire a woodcarver to make a no-god,
giving special care to its base so it won’t tip over!
21-24Have you not been paying attention?
Have you not been listening?
Haven’t you heard these stories all your life?
Don’t you understand the foundation of all things?
God sits high above the round ball of earth.
The people look like mere ants.
He stretches out the skies like a canvas—
yes, like a tent canvas to live under.
He ignores what all the princes say and do.
The rulers of the earth count for nothing.
Princes and rulers don’t amount to much.
Like seeds barely rooted, just sprouted,
They shrivel when God blows on them.
Like flecks of chaff, they’re gone with the wind.
25-26“So—who is like me?
Who holds a candle to me?” says The Holy.
Look at the night skies:
Who do you think made all this?
Who marches this army of stars out each night,
counts them off, calls each by name
—so magnificent! so powerful!—
and never overlooks a single one?
27-31Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
“God has lost track of me.
He doesn’t care what happens to me”?
Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind.
Isaiah 40 [Message]
Your righteousness also, O God, is very high [reaching to the heavens], You Who have done great things; O God, who is like You, or who is Your equal?
Psalm 71:19 [AMP]
Lord, You are my shield, my glory, and my only hope. You alone can lift my head, now bowed in shame. I cried out to the Lord, and He heard me from His Holy Temple. Then I lay down and slept in peace and woke up safely, for the Lord was watching over me. And now, although ten thousand enemies surround me on every side, I am not afraid. Salvation comes from God. Jesus is my Lord! What joys He gives to all His people. Amen
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me;
you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
4 I cried out to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy mountain.
Interlude
5 I lay down and slept,
yet I woke up in safety,
for the Lord was watching over me.
6 I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies
who surround me on every side.
7 Arise, O Lord!
Rescue me, my God!
Slap all my enemies in the face!
Shatter the teeth of the wicked!
8 Victory comes from you, O Lord.
May you bless your people.
Interlude
Psalm 3:3-8 [NLT]
Confidence and Strength
Lord, You are my confidence and will keep my foot from being caught in a trap or hidden danger. I have returned to You and waited for You and I am saved; in quietness and confidence is my strength. In Christ and through faith in Him I approach God with freedom and confidence, and I will not throw away my confidence; it will be richly rewarded in the name of Jesus. Amen
For the Lord shall be your confidence, firm and strong, and shall keep your foot from being caught [in a trap or some hidden danger].
Proverbs 3:26 [AMP]
15 This is what the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
“Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
But you would have none of it.
Isaiah 30:15 [NLT]
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Ephesians 3:12 [NIV]
Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
Hebrews 10:35 [NAS]
Called to Fellowship
God, You called me into fellowship with Your Son Jesus Christ my Lord and You are faithful. You called me to this through the gospel that I might share in the glory of my Lord Jesus Christ. You saved me and chose me for this holy work not because I deserved it but because that was Your plan long before the world began--to show Your love and kindness to me through Christ Jesus. Thank You for calling me; You are faithful to confirm Your word with signs and wonders for Your glory. I love You, my Lord God, with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind (intellect), and I shall love my neighbor as I do myself. Jesus, You are Lord! Amen
God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and therefore ever true to His promise, and He can be depended on); by Him you were called into companionship and participation with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1st Corinthians 1:9 [AMP]
[It was] to this end that He called you through our Gospel, so that you may obtain and share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
2nd Thessalonians 2:14 [AMP]
For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
2nd Timothy 1:9 [NLT]
Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].
1st Thessalonians 5:24 [AMP]
“This is the day the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
-Psalm 118:24
Our God Reigns
Heavenly Father, You are the Lord of my life. You made my spirit the candle of the Lord that searches out my innermost being, and I submit to the Holy Spirit who searches my heart and He knows Your will for my life. Everything is exposed to Your Word, and I submit to the constant ministry of transformation by the Holy Spirit. Thank You for healing all my hurts, fulfilling all my needs and for helping me process and resolve all issues perfectly with the Word of God. I choose this day to submit to Your Lordship and declare with confidence: my God reigns over my life! Amen
The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me [the Anointed One, the Messiah] to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity],
Luke 4:18 [AMP]
The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.
Proverbs 20:27 [AMP]
So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will.
Romans 8:26-27 [AMP]
For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.
Hebrews 4:12-13 [AMP]
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"
—Matthew 11:28
