Tag: delight-in-God.com

God’s Indescribable Gift

God’s Indescribable Gift  – Merry Christmas 2023

God's indescribable gift

In Christ alone my Hope is found

Here at Delight in God, we want to wish you and your loved ones Joy and Happiness this Christmas, and throughout the New Year.

God’s indescribable gift to us is Jesus!

He is timeless – not just for one celebrated day, but a precious and historical truth whom we can embrace throughout the new year.

For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6, (NASB).

Glory to God in the highest!

May we always reflect His glory to a lost world.

Poet M.S Lowndes expresses this beautifully in the following Christmas poem.

The Lord’s Light Within

Lord, we reflect with thankful hearts
On the wonder of your birth
The love you expressed when you left
Your glory to come to earth

For your life was like a beacon, Lord
Shining brightly in the night
Filling the world with the radiance of
The Father’s glorious light

And we, too, long to have inside
Your light for others to see
The beautiful reflection of your grace
And the wonder of your majesty

For as your life indwells our hearts,
We can shine wherever we are
And arise to take hold of each new day
With your light ablaze in our hearts

So rekindle the flame within us, Lord
So it will not flicker nor dim
Ignite us with the light of your love,
So you will shine brightly within

© By M.S.Lowndes

 

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas!

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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 Poetry courtesy of M.S. Lowndes. “The Lord’s Light Within.” [online post]. From Heavensinspirations.com, ©M.S. Lowndes, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, n.d. Web. Accessed December 15, 2023. https://www.heavensinspirations.com/lords-light-within.html

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Happy Thanksgiving 2023

 

Wishing You a Very Happy Thanksgiving 2023

Happy Thanksgiving 2023

Can you believe it’s Thanksgiving 2023 already?

It seems like time always flies at the end of the year.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say “thank you.”

My heart is overflowing with appreciation for all of you who have visited my blog, Delight in God, through the years.

It means a lot to me that you have followed me on my faith journey.

Whether it’s celebrating in God’s blessings, or working through the trials that He allows in our lives, we can know that our Father will lead and guide us – always to a greater good.

I am so thankful we have a loving God who cares about us.

We deserve His wrath, and yet He gave us His Son to pay the price for our sins so that repentant sinners will have eternal life.

Who would demonstrate such incomprehensible love like that for you and me?

Only a Holy Sovereign God, who deserves ALL of our praise.

On this Thanksgiving Day 2023, we give thanks to the One who created all things.

In closing, I wanted to share this encouragement from the psalmist in Psalm 146:

1Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, my soul!
2I will praise the Lord while I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. – Psalm 146:1-2, (NASB).

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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

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Sing For Joy

To Sing For Joy – God-Exalting Reverence 

Occasionally on Delight-in-God.com, I like to share beautiful spirit-lifting music with you.

The song today is not only worshipful, I want to sing for joy every time I hear it!

I’ve listened to “Precious Jesus” dozens of times by now and it never gets old.

You might want to turn up the sound on your speakers for this one.

Jesus!

He is precious to God, a beloved cornerstone, described as such in 1 Peter 2:4-5 . . . 

Sing for Joy to our precious Savior

We, as Christians, are the living stones of God’s church.

His Son Jesus, our precious Savior, took the weight of our sins upon Himself and, through Him, we have eternal life.

Spurgeon writes, “He is preciousness, He is an honor, He is everything that is glorious to you. You can never think highly enough of Him, or speak well enough concerning Him. All the world beside may disallow Him, but unto you He is precious.” – as quoted in Precept Austin.org.2

To Sing for Joy – A Call to Worship!

What does the Bible say about singing?

Actually, singing is mentioned a lot in God’s Word.

Here’s just one example in Book of Psalms . . . 

Psalm 95:1-2 says:

1Come, let’s sing for joy to the Lord,
Let’s shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2Let’s come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving,
Let’s shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments.3

Together in churches across the nation we gather on Sundays to praise God by the reading of His word and through our singing.

When we sing for joy with a song like this, we are shining the light of our Savior to a dying world in need of Hope.

“Hope” –  as in the confident expectation of our precious Lord’s return.

As beautiful as this song is, can you imagine how heaven will sound?!

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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

2 Precept Austin quotation is from the 1 Peter 2:7-8 Commentary, [2022] Courtesy of Precept Austin, Subheading, “The Preciousness of Belief” Web. Accessed 12 September, 2023.

3 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

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Designed By The Almighty – The Dumbo Octopus

The Dumbo Octopus – Designed By The Almighty

Now I’ve seen everything!

Who ever thought an octopus could be described as “cute”?

Meet the Dumbo Octopus.

With its flappy ears (flippers, actually) and big soulful eyes, this little creature has captured the fancy of those who are lucky enough to see one up close.

 

And how about that name, “Dumbo Octopus.”

It does kind of look like “Dumbo” the Elephant from the Walt Disney film of long ago.

I never cease to delight in what God has created!

To know that every animal is designed by the Almighty, not by random chance or an accident, is humbling indeed.

This little one has a long scientific name that seems almost bigger than he is.

 “Grimpoteuthis”

When you pronounce it, it sounds like this:  “Grimp oh tooth this.”

Designed by the Almighty

 The Dumbo Octopus – NOAA Ocean Exploration1

The Dumbo Octopus can reach lengths of about 12 inches long.

They like to eat worms and other wiggly things that swim in the deep along the ocean floor (Helminstine).2

In the Bible, Psalm 104 (attributed to David) conveys the many wonders of the world that God created, including under the sea.

All glory to God!Psalm 104

Deep Dive

According to the Institute For Creation Research, a Dumbo Octopus was spotted swimming at a depth of about 21 thousand feet.

Now that’s deep!

It should be appreciated that the Dumbo Octopus has no high-tech submersible to house and protect it in those depths. It only has what its Creator gave it—the innate ability to thrive at those great depths. – James, J.S. Johnson, Institute For Creation Research.4

How humbling it is when we realize that the wonders and complexities of the creation around us lead us right to our Creator God.

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1Photo courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration. November 19, 2019. Online Image. NOAA Photo Gallery. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanexplorergov/49203817176/in/photolist-2hXYqBs-2jsp69y-vcXdBp-nxFUAS-HaDW8D-GKstCA-M6NLAN-LHdtjs-LuNYZ-zfR4-8daU8S-zfR3-2jp5RY1-5HWhs1-atvdh1-5vWZVP-BgJv-2eDnx8-2eDnzk-9brE82-4xkYfi-4momfm-2eDnyK-2WdjX2-2jsRGjG-2jq7LFb-2jqvgwC-2joUX8d-4xkYwZ-aFTer8-2eDnwi-9vVvpb-eShSAu-ndWySt-6jrqSG-BByY-4Lrt8W-75wewg-4LnfFi-KfebxD-ajdhaL-2joHca9-4LnfEg-2jpw7nX-s2sNUH-4d4ANn-7MgSUu-6obpVp-4jLdhE-2jqbSpy

2 Quotation from Anne Marie Helmenstine (Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences) – science writer, educator, and consultant. “All About Grimpoteuthis, the Dumbo Octopus.” Courtesy of ThoughtCo. July 13, 2019. Web. Accessed 31, July, 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/grimpoteuthis-dumbo-octopus-4160927

3 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

4 Quotation courtesy of The Institute For Creation Research. By James. J.S. Johnson, J.D., TH.D. From “Like Father, Like Son, in the Deepest Deep”, June 23, 2020. para. 10. Web. Accessed 29 July, 2022. Retrieved from https://www.icr.org/article/like-father-like-son-in-the-deepest-deep

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Facing Your Giants

Facing Your Giants

Why do Cicada killers have to be so darn big?

Research has it that these wasps can grow up to two inches long!

The stuff of nightmares.

giant cicada killers

Because it’s the cicada killers’ favorite time of year, I think I’ll stay out of the backyard for a while.

And speaking of giants . . .

See what I did there.  😉

It’s time to get serious because it seems like everyone is facing some pretty big challenges right now.

Dealing with a trial can feel pretty lonely at times, but God’s Word reveals that the Lord is always with us. 

I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel better.

To think that the Creator of the entire universe is just a prayer away.

Facing Your Giants Together With God

God is sovereign and all powerful.

He is bigger than any trouble you might be facing.

There is no problem that is so big that God is not bigger. There is no difficulty that is so hard that God isn’t capable of helping us through it, or fixing it for us. – Senior Pastor James Kaddis, Calvary Chapel, Signal Hill. 1

Look, I get it.

Our impatient human minds want God to fix things “now”, right?

It doesn’t, and never has worked that way.

God is not at our beck and call.

It’s frustrating, even devastating at times while we wait.

But . . . keep . . .  praying.

What we do have is the assurance that He will be with us through our circumstances.  

Facing Your Giants With Comforting Words From Psalm 121

facing your giants

Remember these comforting words from the Psalmist regarding God as the Keeper of Israel?

Now we, as redeemed Christians through Christ’s blood, are all His people.

Psalm 121

I will raise my eyes to the mountains;
From where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who watches over you will not slumber.
Behold, He who watches over Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your protector;
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not beat down on you by day,
Nor the moon by night.

The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time and forever.  – Psalm 121, (NASB).2

Don’t let the evil one distract you from prayer in the midst of a trial. He is the master of delusion and distraction.

Often we become apathetic in our lives until we face a severe storm. Whether loss of a job, health crisis, loss of a loved one, or financial struggle; God often brings storms into our lives to change our perspective, to shift the focus from ourselves and our lives to Him. – Paul Chappell, Senior Pastor and author.3

Regarding humility, Pastor Chappell goes on to say . . . 

Storms can bring fear, cloud judgment, and create confusion. Yet God promises that as you seek Him through prayer, He will give you wisdom to know how to proceed. The only way you will survive the storm will be on your knees. – Paul Chappell, Senior Pastor and author.4

My prayer is that this blog, Delight-in-God.com, filled with articles and collected bible verses and other inspirations, will encourage you in the challenging days ahead. 

Scoffers will mock us for emphasizing prayer, but let ’em.

God is still in control.

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1 From Kaddis, Pastor James, “Big Problems??? God is Bigger!!!” Courtesy of Calvary Chapel Signal Hill. YouTube Podcast, [6:22-6:25]. July 12, 2022. Web. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBRkqaMS_QA

2 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

3-4 Quotations from Senior Pastor Paul Chappell, courtesy of Christian quotes.info.

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