Awesome: March 27, 2013

Today's Word for Wednesday March 27, 2013.

AWESOME

DEFINITION:

Inspiring; admiration or reverence; feeling awe; amazing; characterized by reverential fear.

SCRIPTURE:

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.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We have teenage grandchildren and a frequent word that we often hear in their conversations is "awesome." They talk about an awesome time, awesome events, awesome friends, awesome ideas and the list goes on and on.

In church we sing songs whose words refer to an awesome God that we serve. The use of the word awesome is humbling to all believers when we think of the awesomeness of the God we serve. Our grandchildren often say "awesome" to describe everyday things but they understand that there is a difference in the meaning of "awesome" because they know personally the awesomeness of their Lord.

Each one of us should stop for a moment from our busy lives every day and worship God, who is awesome to say the least. 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 is our Father. When we think about how awesome God truly is we cannot help but be filled with reverential adoration. We cannot begin to comprehend the awesome love God has for us. He loved us so much that He gave His only Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

When we accepted His Son into our hearts and asked Him to forgive us for our sins, He did, and at that point we began to serve our awesome God. It was then we began to understand how awesome our God really was. What a privilege is ours to serve our awesome God today.

We have traveled to many areas of our world and have viewed many sites that our friends and grandchildren would call awesome. And when we saw these sites we also thought they were awesome. Some of these sites are considered wonders of the world like the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Egypt. Yes, they were inspiring and they left a lasting impression on our minds that we probably will never forget. 

But we have experienced other sites that have left an even greater and lasting impression on our hearts and minds. One such example was the garbage dump in the Philippians where 100,000 people, many of them were children, lived literally on top of the garbage. It was at this place that we saw a young girl sitting in her lean-to shack with only a box inside serving as a table. There was one booklet on the box and it was a Sunday school booklet that we had sent to the Philippians months prior to our visit. This was an awesome sight for us. In a dismal and seemingly God-forsaken place our awesome God had found a way to let a little girl know of His great love for her.

But when we think of "awesome," none of these places or events comes close to what we know as the awesomeness of our God. Let us never forget that we serve an awesome God and that He is always available for us if we only ask for Him. Remember today's words from the scriptures above (Psalms and Deuteronomy). We need not fear because our awesome God is with us. God's works are awesome, so let us not neglect to "praise His great and awesome name."

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 27:1.

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

PRAYER:

You are an awesome God and I praise You for all that You have done for me. Thank You for Your love, Your direction and Your protection in my life. May my family never forget how awesome You are and may we always express our praise and thanksgiving to You.