Doxology

Doxology. Not a word you probably said today...well, if you just read this, you did, but do you know what it means?

A doxology is a formation or formula of praise words. Hopefully it's something we utilize every day.

There is also a song called Doxology. I grew up singing it every week and I can't think of the song without the sound of an organ.

 
Here is how the song starts:

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow."

It is so easy to look at the negative in our lives. I'm sick. I'm broke. I can't believe my kids did this. I can't believe my spouse did that. Pretty sure my boss hates me. The negatives keep coming...but so do the blessings, if we chose to see them.

I'm sick, but I'll recover. I'm broke, but I have what I need. My kids got in trouble at school, but they are learning from their mistakes. My spouse did something wrong, but I am blessed to have a spouse to love and be loved by while we, together, practice mercy through forgiveness. My boss may hate me, but I have a job that allows me to provide for my family.

"Praise Him all creatures hear below."

Do others hear your praises or are they more in tune with the negatives?

"Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts."

It's not a competition, but I don't really want anything to give God more meaningful worship. It's about respect and recognizing who God is to me. So, do I worship God with a fervency of the angels or beyond?

"Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

It's easy to sing praise to the Father once we recognize His everyday blessings. It's easy to give praise to the Son when we recognize the death, burial, and resurrection showing us the extent of God's love and the forgiveness of our sins. But that last one, the Holy Ghost...don't forget Him! I love the term "ghost". It comes from the German word "geist". You've probably heard the word polter"geist", but did you know we also get the English word "guest" from "geist". He is our Holy Guest on a day to day basis, sustaining us, leading us, guiding us, correcting us, and when necessary convicting and rebuking us.

We have so many reasons to praise God. Brian and I don't often get multiple comments, so let me ask you to share your doxology below...your words of praise for God. Let's encourage one another in this!

all about Christ,
David

Just the front gate...

It tough to wrap our minds around what heaven is going to be like...We've all seen cartoons, movies and TV cast their view of what it will be like. We've also heard every "St. Peter @ the pearly gates" joke. But it's hard to even imagine heaven...right?

Well...How about just looking at front gate...Rev. 21:21 says "The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each made of a single pearl." 

Mark Bourne, last summer @ The Event, shared that according to size of the gates recorded in the Bible, one pearl, for just one of the front gates of heaven, would be worth $9 Octodeillion, or 9 to the 57th power. Still not getting it...that's a 9 with 57 zeroes behind it...(just look at the picture)...

And that's just one of the front gates!

Focus

The new year is now 22 days gone.

68 days till Easter. 163 days till July 4. 337 days till Christmas. 344 are left in this year.

Time goes by pretty fast and I'm sure you are already thinking about an upcoming date this year. Maybe it is Valentine's Day or an anniversary. My daughter's birthday is just days, really hours, away.

As we focus on these points in time, other things slip up on us. We forget to make a call, forget to go somewhere, forget to meet someone, forget to pick something up. We lose focus.

This happens at work, at home, politically (I can't believe it! I know, right?), and yes, even at churches across this globe.

As for the church, our focus and our chase needs to be Christ. Anything else will distract and pull us away. We chase our rabbits and our squirrels to the point of forgetting what we are supposed to be chasing after.

But what is the church? The church is a community of individuals gathered together because of Christ. Maybe those individuals understand a phrase like "the sacrificial lamb who takes away our sins" or maybe they are individuals who just want to know how to live a better life (which is a great starting point!). If we lose our focus, if we lose sight of Jesus Christ, we have lost our direction, our way, and our effectiveness.

It is my prayer that we may find our focus and sustain it daily.

1 Corinthians 2:2 "For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (NET)

all about Christ,

David