Saturday, August 17, 2019

Lord's Day Devotion - God of Order

Our God is truly an awesome God!  He is like no other.  Have just read the last few chapters of Ezekiel which talks about allotting the land to the Israelites, especially to allocate a "holy district" (Ezekiel 45:1 ESV).

Focus on the exact measurements:


"25,000 cubits  x  20,000 cubits" (vs 1); 500 cubits  x  500 cubits for the sanctuary (vs 2) and 50 cubits for open space around it (vs 2) [Ezekiel 45].

Different measuring for different purposes. Such exact measurings, likely a surveyor's delight; a gift from the "Master Architect".  "Holy districts" and "holy portions" (Ezekiel 48:10 ESV).  Everything so organized and orderly; no chaos.  That's my God!  My heavenly Father!

Stemming from that, my thoughts jumped to Father God knowing the exact number of strands of hair we each have on our respective heads (Luke 12:7 ESV).  This God cares so much about us He even knows that!  Some of us have more, some of us, less hair.  Some have lost their hair to cancer and chemo some from age or were just born that way (with no hair).  Whatever, our orderly Father knows and keeps tract.  He knows and He cares.

Jumping to another "stepping stone" of God's order I think of the record He keeps of our names.  In the book of Luke and chapter 10:17-20, the 72 harvesters were sent out 2 x 2 into the towns and villages Jesus was going to visit en route to Jerusalem.  They were able to do wondrous works of disease healing, and exorcising of demons as well as preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.  They were so exuberant at this and said so to Jesus in their "report".

Jesus' rebuttal was, don't rejoice in those things, rather,

 "...rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20 ESV)!  

Skip to the next stone. Think...the Lamb's book of life (Revelations 21:27; 13:8).  There we read about our names being written in that book;

"...written before the foundation of the world..." (vs 8 - ESV).

Orderly.  Planned.  Our Heavenly Father, God, had it all written out.  He will not lose one of them (John 17:12 ESV).  Jesus' prayer to His Father assures,

"I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost..."

(Yes, one was "lost"--"the son of destruction" --  reference to Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, sending Him to the cross of crucifixion, and who did not repent of his sins -- I believe his name was not ever written in that book of life as God knew Judas Iscariot's unrepentant heart even before Judas knew it himself.)

These lists come now as no surprise.  Look at 1 Chronicles and also Revelation.  An audit, almost, of whose sons are whose sons and of the numbers of each tribal group represented.  God knows them and has not forgotten about them.

This is my God and Father of order.  What He promises will come to pass.  This was made possible and available to mankind through Jesus' death and resurrection.  This we remember every Lord's Day.

Give thanks with a grateful heart followers of Jesus Christ, ones who's names are written in the book of life, who's strands of hair are all counted.  Give thanks as you pass the bread and cup of wine and partake of them in remembrance of Him.  

This is just one more feature of all we can give thanks to our Heavenly Father for and that comes with the salvation through Jesus Christ "package".  We can count on our God who is systematic, well ordered and knows how to keep the records straight.   Awesome God, indeed!

                                                      ~ERC  August 2019~

I like this Hillsong, This is our God.  Sung so reverently.  Have a listen.   May we each fall at His feet in worship.





















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