January 9
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“I know the greatness of the LORD — that our Lord is greater than any other god. The LORD does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths. He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.” (Psalm 135:5-7, NLT)

More than forty years ago, J. B. Phillips wrote a book (which is still in print, by the way) titled, “Your God is Too Small.” The title alone provokes the question: How big is your God?

The psalmist, as we see in today’s selection, had a big God.  There is a direct relationship between the size of our problems and the size of our God. As I heard related many years ago in a sermon by the Rev. Gerald Mann of Austin, Texas: “Big God, small problems.  Small God, big problems.”

Having a God that cannot be bossed, because He is all-powerful; that cannot be bought, because he has infinite resources; is a comfort, a joy, and an arsenal for whatever problems life presents!  – Luther

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January 8
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“If someone claims, ‘I know God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.” (1 John 2:4, NLT)

Here is the essence of knowing God: Obedience to His commandments.

It is not doing great things in God’s name that shows we know Him.  It is not acquiring volumes of knowledge about God that shows we know Him. It is not the depth of our sacrifice that shows we know God. To know God is to obey His commandments.

God’s commandments are to love God with all our being; and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  (Please see Mark 12:30-31.)

To be sure, to do great things in God’s name; learning all we can about Him; and sacrificing ourselves for His name’s sake are honorable ambitions.  However, unless these and other works begin at God’s initiative, our labor and our accomplishments are in vain.

Let complete obedience to our Creator and our God be our daily goal. It is only through obedience that we become like Him.  – Luther

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January 7
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“God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil — evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6, The Message) 

God had made humans in His own image and after His likeness.  The potential for immense good was resident within every creature, and it broke God’s heart to see divine inspiration squandered, and human potential corrupted.

Yet, it was this apparent disregard of goodness, justice, and mercy by the very people that God had created, that He regretted having created us.  Moreover, God was about to hit the “reset” button on the world that He had called “good” at the dawn of Creation.

Even in the midnight of divine reckoning, God does not extinguish the flickering hope of reconciliation. In the case of today’s scripture, God’s immutable righteousness required the “reset”; as His unfathomable mercy allowed a “restart” through the faithful obedience of Noah and his family members.

God continues to seek us — even in our rebellion.  God continues to loves us — even with a broken heart.  How can we resist such love?  – Luther

Special greetings today to Diane L. and to Billie C.: Happy Birthday!

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