Global God



Prayer:  May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him! (Psalm 67)

Read: Psalm 67

Think about It: Our world is often shattered by those who would go to war in order to exterminate a population group who is different. We have seen numerous examples in our own lifetimes and the images that come into our living rooms of these military actions via the media are terrible. Sadly, these actions are often taken in the name of some religion. While Christianity has (rightly sometimes) been blamed for some of these actions in the past, that is not in keeping with the true message of the Bible. 

Throughout the Old Testament and also in the message of Jesus we find that the Gospel is available to everyone, no matter ethnic background or skin color. God always meant for His message of salvation to be shared with the entire world. Early in the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was set right into the heart of trade routes and was geographically and politically located so that she could share the love of the True God. While in fact that did not happen, it was always possible. When Jesus comes as a Baby, He is announced both to Jew and Gentile. He came for all. The Apostle Paul's ministry was very specifically defined by God; he was to spread the message of Jesus life, death, and resurrection for the sins of all to the Gentiles.

Our Psalm for today speaks to that message as well. This Psalm was probably used as a liturgical piece during worship. It declares that God is great and that when His people live as He calls He is glorified before the nations. The goal is that they all see how great God is and come to worship Him for themselves. Our God's love is big enough for all the world. His Father's heart longs to see all the peoples of the world praise Him and become a part of His kingdom.

Prayer: Dear Lord, it is so amazing that You would surrender Yourself to become like one of us. It is so amazing that You give Yourself to the whole world, not just a portion of it. It is so amazing that You would cover the sins of everyone who would believe in You and that Your blood would open the doors of heaven to all the inhabitants of the earth. Your are a mighty and awesome God! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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