O Lord, how manifold are your works!

 

Psalm 104:24-35

 

September 1, 2022

 

O Lord, how manifold are your works!  In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.  There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.   These all look to you, to give them their food in due season.  When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.  When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.  When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

 

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles who touches the mountains and they smoke!  I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.  May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.  Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more!  Bless the Lord, O my soul!  Praise the Lord!

 

Many of us may skip over words like manifold, but it is not the word used to control exhaust on a car, yes they are spelled the same way. In Scripture, it means various, diverse, or many.  Do you stop and ponder all the many blessings, that the Lord Jesus has done for you, blessings you take for granted each day?  This is a short list of ones I often assume I was entitled to; being born in the USA, but much more being a Texan by birth.  Having parents that love God and did the best they knew how to train us in righteousness.  I had a dad who had knees that would swell to the size of a football, and had to wear ace bandages to help with the pain, walk for many years to work, and a second job, selling uniforms.  He also read the Bible to us.  Our second home was the little Baptist church, where we had friends and saw some of the people living out the Christ-life to the best they knew how and I also saw the worst of people in those little business meetings.  I’m also grateful to God that we always had clean clothes, some had patches but we never knew we were poor till later in life.  God our Father orchestrated all of that, for your good and mind.  
What about the family God gave to me; Fred, my brother, and Doris my sister, Jan a wonderful wife, Natalie the best daughter any man has had, Byron a great son-in-law, John Mark, and Zach are our treasure.  The best blessing of all was a barber named Bob Keese who invited this lost Baptist to attend a Bible Study.  Out of that study that I had no desire to be at I found myself going to each Wednesday for six months, and discovering the five men knew Jesus, and I was only informed about Him.  Yes, I have much to be thankful for,  The men that God sent into my life to mentor me, men, like Jack Archer, Greg Hood, Ken Ryan, Harlon Caton, Carroll Ray Jr., John Davis, and so many others who have been used by God like Pastor Larry York, and Pastor Ray Still, and my friends Paul Wendell an Erik Tullberg at this time. 

 

Each of us who set our hearts on being God's Ambassador in this life should have Psalm 19:13-14 as the theme of our prayers.

 

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

 

 

Keep Your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed of great transgression.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock, and my Redeemer.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice