Let The Nations

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy. The King is mighty, He loves justice— You have established equity; in Jacob You have done what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy.  Psalms 99:1-5 NIV

There is no word more important to meditate on and be sustained by. If we are being sustained by the approval of our best friend, or employer or the world around us, more than the living words of Jesus, let us return to the Source who gave us life. Let us live for His glory, sustained by His Word.

Lord Jesus, thank You that You spoke and You speak this day. We are listening.

God revealed Himself to us in His written word, and so the Bible is at the center of God's revelation. 

Without the Scriptures, we would know very little about Jesus. God's word remains His chief way of revealing Himself to us today. 

The Bible reveals our need for God: 

Romans 3:21-23 TPT But now, independently of the law, the righteousness of God is tangible and brought to light through Jesus, the Anointed One. This is the righteousness that the Scriptures prophesied would come. It is God’s righteousness made visible through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And now all who believe in him receive that gift. For there is really no difference between us, for we all have sinned and are in need of the glory of God.

It shows us the result of this sin: 

Romans 6:22-23 NIV But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And it reveals His punishment of all who sin and do not repent:

Matthew 25:41 NIV Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

AND then the Bible reveals God's answer to our need:  

John 14:6 TPT Jesus explained, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father except through union with me. To know me is to know my Father too.

…. the Bible promises that Jesus is our way to triumphant living: John 10:10 NIV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

God wants us to respond to this revelation by turning to Christ as our Savior and Lord. When we do this, in Christ we experience God. And the Bible leads us to a personal relationship with its Author.

This same process applies to any problem we have. When we study the Scriptures to find God's answer to our need and we obey what they reveal to us, we experience God personally. We not only find his answer to our problem but also the personal help of Holy Spirit. 

Acts 14:15-17 NIV  Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, He let all nations go their own way. Yet He has not left Himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

For me The Bible became a bridge to a relationship with God. I was so lost so broken - did not know Jesus God Holy Spirit- but I had heard about a book called the Bible - an important piece of my salvation was searching for a Bible app online because I needed deliverance… and when I found the King James Version Bible onlineI read it front to back - staying awake and reading it for 3 days…. Thank You Jesus for sitting with me.

My friends, we must study the Bible because it is an authoritative book.  

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NIV All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Now we discover another guiding principle for Bible study: we must obey what we learn in God's word. 

The Bible accomplishes God's purpose for it only when we are obedient to the truths we find there. Three facts help us better understand what the authority of the Bible means for us and for our study of Scripture.

Isaiah 40:8 NIV The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.

The Scriptures consistently claim authority for their truths. Since it was inspired by God, the Bible communicates the authoritative words of the Lord. 

Matthew 24:34-35 TPT I assure you, the end of this age will not come until all I have spoken comes to pass. The earth and sky will wear out and fade away before one word I speak loses its power or fails to accomplish its purpose.

The Scriptures were authoritative for their first readers, but they are still God's authority for our lives today.  

The Bible is clear: to transform our life through a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are empowered by Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us in a life-changing way.

Isaiah 43:5-7 NIV Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the ends of the earth— everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.” 

From the story of creation in Genesis to the book of Revelation, God has glorified Himself to humanity through those who follow Him. Humanity was created to glorify God! The people of Israel declared the glory of God to the nations that surrounded them in the Old Testament by worshiping one God instead of the gods of the land. The Church declares His glory to this day by proclaiming the Gospel -- that God sent His Son to live a perfect life, die on a cross to pay the price of our sin, defeat death and rise from the grave before returning to the Father. 

As a believer, you are called to glorify God in all that you do -- from laundry to work to relationships -- everything! 

In both daily tasks and major life events, you have the opportunity to honor the Lord in your actions and with your words. 

This could be through praising Him for what He has done in your life during a conversation with a friend while hanging out or sharing a Bible verse , or through sharing the Gospel with a coworker over lunch. 

I encourage you to say that out loud: “I’m a daily Bible reader.” Write it down somewhere. Own it. Commit to it.

Then once you’ve done that, ask God for help! Don’t you think He will help you develop a daily habit of getting to know Him better? Of learning and growing up spiritually? Of course, He will! He wants you to seek Him because He has great things to tell you, awesome paths to lead you on. He has a good plan for your life, and He wants you to know what it is and how to walk in it! 

We bring glory to God when we make Him the center of our lives, when we can point to Him as our source of joy, of peace, and of provision in all areas of our lives.