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Intention
To know the greatness of God

Scripture

“O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.”
—Psalm 8:1

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
—Genesis 1:1-3

Reflection
I’m a creator. We all are. And when I paint a picture with paint on canvas, while those who know me well can see the ‘Gerardine-ness’ in the painting, it is, nonetheless, only paint and canvas — not flesh and blood. It is not me on that canvas. I had to be outside of the painting to create it. I am infinitely more complicated, powerful and creative than the picture itself, and I am made of different stuff.

This is what God is like. He is outside His creation, infinitely greater than His creation and made of different stuff. But we do glimpse His majesty, through His ‘painting’. The first ten words of the Bible are very insightful:

“In the beginning [the creation of time] God created the heavens [the creation of space] and the earth [the creation of matter].”

As my painting is limited by paint and canvas but the painter is not, so creation is limited by time, space and matter, but the Creator is not. His majesty is difficult for us to grasp, yet we have impressions of it through His workmanship. While we appreciate creation — the artistry of sunsets; the allure of mountains and wilderness; the asset of our water cycle and seasons; the aid of herbs, fruit trees and sheltering trees; the intricacies of snowflakes; the engineering of the human ear; the elaborateness of reproduction and the mechanism of a human mind — could we glimpse the vastness, power, might and magnitude of God? Could we imagine His majesty? Could we be fascinated and find Him out in depth and detail?

As Eugene Petersen puts it in The Message,

“God’s glory is on tour in the skies, His handiwork is exhibited from horizon to horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning and Professor Night lectures each evening.”
(Psalm 19:1-2)

Couldn’t I study under Madame Day and Professor Night to learn of the majesty of God? Couldn’t I sit in the science class of creation to learn about the greatness of God? Studying science is nothing more than an uncovering of Who God is. If I want to know the true nature of God, all I need to do is study, contemplate, and appreciate what He has made.

Prayer
Lord, thank You for revealing Yourself through Your handiwork. We repent on behalf of our universities and education departments. Lies are being taught and retold. We pray for a miraculous turnaround in education and truth. Lord, we pray for truth for every young child learning for the first time about the world. And we pray for every lost person who doesn’t know the authenticity of creation and consequently knows neither You nor himself and his purpose. Prepare their hearts and prepare our words as we go out in May. God, You sent Jesus out through time and space to speak to us and to die for us. He lived a three-dimensional life and He died a flesh-and-blood death on our behalf. Yet He never belonged here — He has no beginning and no end. Open our eyes to the wonder, greatness, power and might of the One outside of time, space and matter. May we know Him and His majesty in depth and detail. Amen.

Prayer Points for May 2021
1. Pray for Revival and Transformation for Australia
2. Pray for 1 Billion people worldwide to hear the Gospel
3. Share the Good News of Jesus with 5 people

Gerardine was born and bred in Melbourne. She and Geoff were married 30 years ago and have been involved in Christian homeschooling communities with their four children. Now she is mainly concerned about and active with the political direction of Australia.

We invite you to join the daily 1-hour Zoom video National Prayer Call every night:
DATES: 1st–31st May 2021
TIME: 8pm-9pm AEST
ZOOM URL LINK: https://zoom.us/j/776881184
ZOOM MEETING ID: 776881184
See Zoom tutorial here.

Daily devotions brought to you by the Canberra Declaration.