Life is short... and it's not about us. Eternity is long... and it's all about God.

When God made the universe, he intended that everything in it would point praise back at Him. Every glittering star, every speck of sand, every ocean wave, every strand of DNA—everything was designed to declare how great God is. Even in making humanity, God really wasn't too concerned about us; he was thinking mostly about Himself. God was focused on how we would magnify and glorify Him (see Isaiah 43:7).

God is most concerned about Himself. In essence, God approaches every decision with this question: "What would bring me the most glory and honor and what would make me look the best in this situation?" Then he acts accordingly.

God declares, "I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols" (Isaiah 42:8). God made everything, and He made all of it to give glory to Himself.

We far too easily forget the truth that this entire universe is about God, and instead we try to hijack the spotlight to focus on us. We spend our short, little 60, 70, or 80 years here on Earth trying to make much of us, forgetting that all of creation is designed to make much of God.

God made you for a purpose, and He sent Jesus Christ into this world to invite you to join His purpose for your life, which is to magnify His name. So, don't waste your life magnifying something that is like a wisp of vapor or a puff of smoke, which is visible for a little while and then disappears into thin air. Instead, leverage your life as part of the eternal story of God—a story in which every second lifts up and magnifies God.

[Weekly Wisdom - ChristNotes.org]

Don't Waste Your Life

Don't Waste Your Life Sermon Jam featuring a John Piper sermon excerpt from the 2000 One Day Conference and the song "Don't Waste Your Life" from Lecrae's album titled "Rebel".

Infinite in Wisdom

How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
(Psalm 104:24)

God is infinitely exalted above all created beings in wisdom. How little do even the wisest of men know! How frequently are they deceived and frustrated, their wisdom turned to foolishness, and their schemes undermined! But when did God's wisdom ever fail? When was He frustrated from accomplishing His purposes, even though all the bleak army of hell continually tries to overturn His will? When was it that God altered His mind and purpose or took a wrong step in His rule of the world?

Solomon realized he needed uncommon and extraordinary wisdom to rule such a kingdom as he had; but what wisdom, what vast knowledge and infinite insight must He have who rules and governs every being in the world? How great is the wisdom of Him who rules every thought, every purpose, every motion and action, not only of angels and men but of every creature, great and small, even to every atom in the whole creation -- and that forever and ever! What infinite wisdom and knowledge is necessary in order to do this!

But this is exactly what God does. This He has done and this He will do. All the changes that occur in all the world, whether great or small, He knows them completely, even to the tiniest insect that crawls upon the earth or the dust that flies in the air.

But God's wisdom and omniscience shine clearest of all in His perfect knowledge of Himself. We miserable worms are confounded by the idea that He is eternal, that He has existed from everlasting to everlasting -- yet He clearly understands it with the greatest of ease, in one simple view. He also fully comprehends His own infinite greatness and excellency, which no one can do without infinite understand.

--Jonathan Edwards

Job, Elihu, and God

I just finished the Book of Job which is a story about a man named Job and his trials at the hand of Satan and the will of God. The majority of the book is a theological discussion with Job and his friends which attempts to answer the question of how God allows a righteous man to suffer. Job maintains his innocence while his three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, argue that Job is not innocent but instead guilty in his sins. They make good arguments, citing God's harsh dealings with the wicked and favor toward the righteous. However good their arguments were, the three friends were ironically the ones who were without wisdom, blinded from reality. When the LORD spoke at the end of the book, He was angry at the three friends for not speaking what was right. Their arguments and dealings with Job should be a warning to us to stop our mouths whenever we judge others without understanding the "whole picture".

What I had forgotten was that there was a fourth character whom God was not angry with. He was burning to speak to Job and waited until the three older men spoke their words of wisdom, or more accurately, folly. His name is Elihu, which means "My God is He". Why wasn't God angry with Elihu? What was it about his six-chapter (Ch. 32-37) speech, which prophetically and immediately led to God speaking to Job out of the whirlwind? It may be wise to carefully consider Elihu's understanding of man and of God.

First, Elihu understands that we have no self-righteous standing before God. Who are we to claim any rights before Him? Second, Elihu proclaims God's goodness justice. He will never do anything unjustly nor pervert justice. The wicked will ultimately see their destruction but the oppressed and the righteous will be preserved by the hand of the Almighty. Finally, Elihu proclaims God's power and majesty and dominion over His entire creation. Because all is His, we simply must acknowledge that reality and submit to Him. This leads to Chapter 38, when God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind.

Elihu's speech to Job: Job 32-37
The LORD's response to Job: Job 38-42

Praise is a Reaction of Grace

Shai Linne - Throne of Grace

LORD Over All Things

A few nights ago, I fell on my knees, face down to the ground, and prayed for spiritual renewal. Spiritual life has been somewhat stagnant lately and my prayers and worship aren't as passionate as when I was saved by the grace of God. I know the problem is partly my flesh and partly the work of the evil one. As I prayed, I knew that God was listening, and that He was soon going to refresh and renew me. I thanked God for the peace that came over me and for speaking, as deep speaks to deep. When I opened my eyes and got up, I noticed a fly in my room. Strange, because I don't remember the last time I saw a fly in my room, especially around midnight. As it flew, I sensed that this was no ordinary fly, but one that symbolized Satan, who is also known in the New Testament as Beelzebub or Beelzebul in Greek, meaning "the lord of the flies". All of a sudden, it landed on my Bible which was on the floor. It was motionless and I thought about going to the kitchen to get the fly swatter. But I hesitated because it was as though the fly wanted me to kill it and spill its guts all over the Bible. Instead, I waited on God to move, and lo and behold, the fly took off and flew to an empty spot on the carpet. Strange, because I rarely see a fly stay motionless on carpet. Flies usually land on a window sill, blinds, counter top, table, chair, edge of a bowl or cup, but rarely on a house floor. I abandoned the idea of running to the kitchen and getting the swatter, and instead picked up a piece of scratch paper from the shelf. I was thinking, "What are the chances I'm going to kill this fly with a piece of paper? The force of the air as I attempt to cover the fly with a piece of paper will certainly push the fly out to its freedom." I lowered the whole piece of paper quickly but gently as to not smash the fly to the carpet, causing a mess. The fly did not get away and in fact, I didn't even see it try. I slowly brought in the edges of the paper toward the center and scooped up the fly, without making a single mess on the carpet. I heard the Lord echoing His words thousands of years ago, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine."(Exodus 19:5). This is the One who determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. (Psalms 147:4-6). This is the same Lord who has the power to bind up Satan and ultimately cast him into the lake of fire forever and ever (Revelation 20:1-10).

I was about to fall on my knees again as I witnessed God's handiwork. I just stood there amazed that God answered my prayer so quickly. He is supremely sovereign over all things, from the smallest interactions between protons and electrons to the grand design of the bodies of stars and galaxies in our universe. He who controls the movements of these inanimate objects surely has His hand over living creatures, over every man and woman, and especially over the lives of His children. We who love and cherish Him have nothing to fear, for He is with us. He never fails to meet our needs and lift us up when we are down, and every time His grace overflows and makes our cup runneth over, there is only one appropriate response: Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Why is God Just to Punish Jesus for our Sins?

Why is God just to punish Jesus for our sins when doing a similar thing would be so unjust for a human judge to do?

Very good question.

When Jesus died, he said, "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son and glorify yourself." And the Father came back and said, "I have glorified it [my name], and I will glorify it again."

The way to understand Jesus' substitutionary death under God's wrath is that he is doing it in such a way as to glorify or magnify the infinite worth of the glory of God.

God's glory has been trampled by people like us. Every time we prefer something to the glory of God, we demean the glory of God. And we do it every day.

Since his glory has been impugned and belittled, he has to exalt his glory by punishing sinners and saying, "My glory is infinitely valuable. If you trample my glory, you lose glory. And I restore my glory by your losing glory."

Jesus enters in and he is able to do what no human could do. This is why there is a difference. No human ever could do this in a court of law. He is so perfect and he suffers so much, and his motives are so Godward, that when he dies on the cross, what is manifest is, "Look how valuable the glory of God is!"

If a mom stepped forward in a courtroom and said, "Let me take my son's place. Let me take my son's place, please." We all know that would be unjust. She goes to the electric chair, and this son goes on to sin more.

The two differences are

1. She's not doing that to magnify the worth of the state—God. She's doing it to magnify the worth of her son, and that's not what's happening at the cross.
2. She's freeing the son, untransformed, to go into the world and sin some more.

And those are the very two things that are different about the death of Jesus.

1. Jesus dies not to magnify the sinner's worth, but to magnify God's worth.
2. And he dies and changes those who escape from hell. He doesn't just release more sin upon the world. He puts the Holy Spirit in our lives and begins to transform us into the image of Christ so that we bring more glory to the Father than if we had been left in our sin.

desiringGod.org