“To man He said: ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’” Job 28:28
What is it to have true wisdom and understanding? It is to fear and honor the Lord God who made us and to depart from evil by repenting of the sin and wickedness in our lives and looking to God for mercy and forgiveness in the shed blood of Christ Jesus, our Savior.
O gracious God, have mercy upon us, forgive our foolishness for Jesus’ sake, and grant us wisdom from Your Word and the understanding needed to depart from evil and to live for You. Amen.
“And God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am,’ and He said, ‘You will say this to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.”’ ” Exodus 3:14
What is God’s name? That is what Moses asked God when God appeared to him at the burning bush to send him back to Egypt to lead His people out of captivity. God’s answer, “I am,” fittingly describes Him as the eternal God who is. He has no beginning and no end. He always was, He always is, and He always will be! The true God — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, our Maker and our Redeemer — is the eternal “I am.”
O eternal God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — You created me, and You redeemed me! Grant that I may honor You as the true God and look to You for mercy in the shed blood of Christ Jesus, the only-begotten Son and my only Savior. In His name, I pray. Amen.
“It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.” Psalm 92:1-5
God’s creative works testify of His great wisdom and understanding, as well as His almighty power. They are reason to acknowledge the true God and offer Him our worship and praise! The fact that He has redeemed us from sin and death through the innocent sufferings and death of His only-begotten Son in our stead and then raised Him up from the dead is certainly reason to thank and praise His name!
“We praise Thee, O God, our Redeemer, Creator, in grateful devotion our tribute we bring; we lay it before Thee, we kneel and adore Thee; we bless Thy holy name, glad praises we sing.” ( Julia B. Cory, 1902)
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created.” John 1:1-3
The Word, identified in verse 14 of John 1 as “the only begotten Son of the Father” who took on human flesh and lived among us, was already in the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. He “was with God,” and He “was God.” He was there in the beginning with God the Father and the Holy Spirit of God. “All things were created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created.” The only-begotten Son of God, who, in time, took on human flesh and became a true man in the person of Jesus, is the eternal God, our Creator, and our Redeemer.
Christ Jesus, You are the eternal Son of God, my Maker and my Redeemer. Grant that I worship and adore You for who You are and place my faith in You and Your atoning sacrifice on the cross for my salvation. Amen.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water.” Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, God already was, for He has always been and always will be. As Moses wrote of God in Psalm 90:2, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” God is eternal, without beginning and without end. And note that the Holy Spirit of God “was moving over the surface of the water,” for the Holy Spirit is God eternal.
O eternal God, my Creator and Redeemer, grant that I honor and revere You for who You are, the almighty God who was and is and ever shall be. Amen.
