Psalm 113:1-9 - Hallelujah! Give praise, servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD. Let the name of the LORD be praised both now and forever. From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of the LORD be praised. The LORD is exalted above all the nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God--the One enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the garbage pile in order to seat them with nobles--with the nobles of His people. He gives the childless woman a household, making her the joyful mother of children. Hallelujah! CSB God is transcendent! He is above and other than all of His creatures. We may be made in His image, but we are still creatures. God is God and there is no other being like Him or on the same plane as He. If we were able to lower ourselves and take on the form of a single-celled creature to act on their behalf to "save" them , the humiliation necessary would be less than Jesus went through in becoming a man. The Incarnation is truly a mystery as Creator became creature in order to lift His creatures up into heavenly places to sit with Him!
God is Imminent! He is near to the lowly, the poor, the weak and the humble! He is closer than our skin. He is closer than the air we breath. This God who must "stoop" to look at the heavens and the earth has chosen as His friends people like you and I in all of our weakness, sin and poverty! He chose us while we were His enemies, bound by sin and satanic power and called us sons and daughters. He lifts us up, gives us His favor, love and kindness and shares all He is and has with us. He did all of this through the person of Jesus Christ, the Savior of men. God the Master, became the Servant who washes our dirty feet and souls with His own blood! Wow! That is the essence of the gospel.
Last night at the conference I am attending, T.L. Osborn talked about how he has preached the good news in almost 90 countries of the world and seen millions come to faith in Jesus the Savior. At 82 years of age this wonderful man of God shared story after story of the redeeming, healing and freeing power of Jesus the Messiah of God among the peoples of the earth. He had three main points to make which are the essence of what he wanted to say to a room full of pastors from many of the countries of the earth. Those three points are as follows:
- Be the VOICE of Good News!
- Believe for the VALIDATION of the Good News!
- Believe in the VALUE of people!
As I listened to T.L. make these points with illustrations of God's moving among the weak, poor and lowly of the earth, I was reminded of the beauty of the good news. God the Transcendent One, has become the Imminent One in Jesus Christ. He did this that He might take the garbage dwellers of the earth like me and seat us with His princes! This is my identity, this is your identity as a follower of Jesus the Christ! FORMER GARBAGE DWELLER MADE PRINCE/PRINCESSES AND SONS AND DAUGHTERS! Truly, this is the GOOD NEWS!
Isaiah 57:15 - For the High and Exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy says this: "I live in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the oppressed.
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