Awesome: August 13, 2009

TODAYS WORD FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 13, 2009

AWESOME

Defined by Webster:

Inspiring; admiration or reverence; feeling awe.

GODS WORD

“Let them praise your great and awesome name.” Psalm 99:3.

“Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doings.” Psalm 66:5.

“You shall not be terrified, for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.” Deuteronomy 7:21.

WORDS BY KEN AND DOTTIE

We have teenage grandchildren and a frequent word that we often hear in their conversation is “awesome.” They talk about awesome times, awesome issues, awesome friends, awesome ideas and the list goes on and on.

In church we sing songs that refer to an awesome God that we serve. The awesomeness of the God we serve and the awesomeness that our grand children refer to in their conversations are not even comparable.

Yes, we serve an awesome God! Each one of us should stop for a moment from our busy life and think about that statement. God is awesome. He is all powerful; He is all knowing; He owns the cattle on a thousand hills [as the old hymn says], He is our creator and He is our Father. The most awesome thing about God is His great love for us and that He loved us so much that He gave His only Son to die to pay the penalty for our sins. And when we accepted His Son and asked Him to forgive us for our sins, He did and then we began to experience how awesome He is. We are privileged to serve an awesome God.

We have traveled to many areas of our world and have viewed many sites that our grandkids would call awesome. Some of these sights are considered wonders of the world [like the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids in Egypt]. Yes, they are awe inspiring and they leave a lasting impression on our minds.

We have experienced other sites in this world that have left even a greater and lasting impression on our hearts and minds. Two sites we visited were not awesome in a positive sense but they had an awesome affect on our lives. One was the dump in the Philippians where 100,000 people live on top of the garbage. The other was the shanty towns in Kenya East Africa where we witnessed the worst poverty and disease we had ever seen. To us this was overwhelming and heart breaking.

We have also seen sights in our travels that have had left a lasting emotional impression on our lives. To us at the time they were awesome. One example was the awesome emotional impression we experienced at a two day conference for the 75 churches in Kenya that was sponsored by the ministry we were part of at that time. These Kenyans came together for this conference to learn more about the Lord. Some walked for two to three days to be part of this opportunity. The singing by the choirs, the praying by the people and the preaching by the pastors all showed us the dedication each person attending had for their Lord. They showed a deep desire to know more about God and to us this was what we would call awesome.

But when we think of the word awesome none of these places or events even come close to what we know as the real definition of the word “awesome” --- that is our God! Let us never forget that we serve an awesome God and He is always there for us if we only ask for Him.

TODAYS FAMILY PRAYER

Truly You are an awesome God and I praise You for all that You have done for me. Thank you for Your love, Your direction, Your protection, Your leading and Your blessing to both me and my family. May I never forget how awesome You are and may I always be thankful for Your great love and awesome leading in my life.