“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” Hebrews 12:28 ESV

Click here to listen: “What Can I Do”

“From the high and Holy to a manger lowly,

The greatest mystery the world has ever known.

How You left Your majesty to embrace humanity

It awes and humbles me to be loved by a God so high.”

I remember a few years ago, standing inside my front door, taking my shoes off at the bottom of the staircase, when I gave myself an ultimatum:

Either God loves you, or He doesn’t.

I have no idea why I was thinking about that, but my mind tends to wander to interesting places when I let it.

So there I was, one shoe on, one shoe off, basically deciding if I believed the Bible to be true or not. Because the Bible clearly says that God loves me (John 3:16 ESV), so if the Bible is true, then God’s love for me is also true.

So yes, affirmative, true, I believe that God loves me.

A Change

Something pretty cool happened. My daily Bible reading time became less routine and more about discovering God’s love throughout scripture. God is love (1 John 4:8 ESV), and so his actions are love (Galatians 2:20 ESV). Time and time again, God reveals through scripture how much He loves me. Even recently I’ve been doing a study of the book of John, and words I’ve read before are now jumping off the pages at me. And I can’t help but feel God’s love radiating from Scripture.

• Jesus left Heaven – the place of perfection – to become human and live on earth (John 3:13 ESV)
• Jesus left Heaven – the place filled with the holiness of God – to dwell on earth until his death (John 12:27-28 ESV)

And what should my response be?

Praise (Psalm 150 ESV)

I thank God for things that happen throughout my day, but how often do I stop and thank Him for His love? Not often enough.

Thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4 ESV)

Is this always my response? Well, no, because I’m a mere human who strays from the throne of God.

But when I pause and remember His love, I can think of no other response to God’s gift than to be awed and humbled.

And when Christmas is over, with family back home, decorations put away, and the return of the regular dinner menu, what’s left? 

“Every day make everything I do a hallelujah”

And “Hallelujah” means Praise the Lord.

Because a Savior was not sent on Easter, but given at Christmas. His birth was the beginning of the greatest sign of love.

Wow.

What will you do this week to make praise and thanksgiving, through the lens of awe, be part of your daily life?

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” Hebrews 12:28 ESV