Epaggelia

The physical universe itself is a message from our Creator, He shouts “glory”.  He is glorious in His size, having created the entire cosmos so big. He is glorious in His engineering, having created something that works together so well, having all parts so interwoven & interactive. He is glorious in His artistry, having created something so beautiful. He is glorious in His goodness and kindness, having created such beauty for all humanity to see, no matter how ugly we are. He is glorious in his power, having laid within his creation such vast resources of energy. Glory should motivate a Christian to be thankful, not wasteful, gratitude that works to take care of such glory. Gratitude that praises our Creator, not ignores Him. This Psalm 19 was a favorite of C.S. Lewis because of how beautiful it’s Hebrew lyrics were, reflecting how beautiful the glory of God was in creation. The apostle Paul saw this lyrical beauty and applied the power of creation’s message to the gospel message in Romans 10:18. The nature of our universe is directly referred to in Romans 2:14-15, showing our conscience being shaped by a glorious creation all around us. This glorious creation has both a positive and negative effect on our conscience, which we can see in Romans 1:19-20. Therefore to overcome a negative effect on our conscience, we need Christ in our life, because he is the “Yes” that shapes our conscience for true goodness, 2nd Corinthians 1:19-20.

In verses 7-9, we have five different words to describe God’s Word, so that His message is known to us as more than what His creation can tell us about Him.

1. law (refreshes souls)
2. testimony (wiser minds)
3. statutes or precepts (gladens hearts)
4. commandment (enlightens eyes)
5. judgments or rules (truly right)

Messages reflect the nature of the authors, no matter who the author is. God is showing us that His nature is refreshing, wise, joyful, enlightening and always right! Indeed God is love, 1st John 4:8. Therefore God is justified in demanding our respect, not because of just who he is, but also because of how He has proved his virtuous nature in Jesus Christ. We just need to ask God for enough courage to submit to him, and show him due respect/awe/fear!

Ephesians 3:20 says “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us”. When we pray, do we ask him to strengthen us according to his power, or do we expect to do what is right on our own strength by our own wit? How do you pray?
The perfection of the law of the Lord is in His ability to convert or change us from the inside out, 2nd Peter 1:3 says He gives us everything that pertains to life & godliness. God’s word does not give us all knowledge, but all the knowledge it does give us is true and perfect. God’s word is never wrong in science or history or the understanding of either divine or human nature. The Bible says very little about science & history, but what it does say is true. Therefore for real life and real godliness, His word is perfectly able to change us into His perfection! Jesus is our righteousness and we become his righteousness, 2nd Corinthians 5:21.