Reflections on “Our God Reigns! January 23, 2024

“Waste places of Jerusalem break forth with Joy. We are redeemed, redeemed.The Lord has saved and comforted His people. Our God Reigns, Our God Reigns!”

The Lord reigns; He is robed in majesty, the Lord is robed; He has put on strength as His belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting. Psalm 93:1-2.

You are the Lord, You alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships You.” Nehemiah 9:6.

What does being Sovereign mean? The Lord God is called Sovereign, as is Jesus Christ. They are the greatest, highest, and unequalled. What makes them sovereign? They have not changed from their purpose to redeem and to love with their whole hearts to redeem us from sin. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.” Acts 4:24.

God does not change or vary. “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” Malachi 3:6. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures. James 1:17-1.

God’s wisdom and knowledge are so deep, they are unfathomable. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9.

God is self-existent and self-sufficient. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Psalm 50:12-15.

What is the greatest commandment to obey? “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. Matthew 22:36-38.

It is through obedience to this commandment we learn what true Love is. It involves our hearts, souls, and our minds. First, we must learn to obey. The verses that begin our search for the parts of love we will find in the way to Love.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6.

Love consists of Joy, Peace, Trust, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Goodness, Patience, Kindness, and Self-Control. This makes our paths straight and gives us Hope and Joy. Do these words sound familiar? They are listed in Galatians 5:22-24. This is the teaching of the Holy Spirit when we live these attributes.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24. It’s not what we desire or want to do, but living a holy life as God teaches us through the Holy Spirit. The works of the flesh are listed in verses of Galatians 5:19-21.

Why should we obey our Lord God? Reading Genesis 1 about God creating the Heavens and Earth filling it with animals and vegetation seemed to me glorious, and then I read Genesis 1:27-28!

“So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female, He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God has not changed or added anything. He has not changed in His Purpose to redeem and love and give life to those who love Him and obey!

I heard a choir sing a short response to prayer time: Keep Silent. Then I read these verses: He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire. “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46:9-11.

In this world of endless words, silence is difficult to find. The useless words make it difficult to give Glory to God.

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your Name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants you have established strength because of your foes to still the enemy and the avenger. Psalm 8:1-2.

But in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. Hebrews 1:2-3.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25.

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. Revelation 21:23-25.