Psalm 67.

It was a real pleasure to see you guys again this past weekend.
God has blessed me so much through your love,  encouragement and prayers.
  
Well,  back to the devotionals.  Daily sharings will be difficult,  but
periodic sharings I hope will continue to benefit...

God's glory and heavenly domain pre-existed all of creation.  Before
creation,  God was.  He is.  Only God is absolute.  
There is nothing more preeminent.  
Therefore,  He is entitled to glory,  the glory of the world,  entirely. 


Missions is often misconstrued as an appendage or a secondary agenda to
God's plans throughout history.  But missions preceded all else.  The
fulfillment of missions,  that is God's glory over all of creation, 
preceded even the Fall and our need for salvation.

In other words,  missions was from the very beginning.  Matt. 28:18-20 is
a NT reiteration,  moreover an authoritative commission from the Lord, 
of what was always central upon the heart of God.
Jesus Himself came down as our Chief Missionary,  the singer of Psalm 67.

Since missions [or what I would like to call eschatology - God's heavenly
domain and age] came before redemption,  I can never underestimate its
importance.
Everything in a sense is meant to move upward,  toward heaven,  as the
gravity of our sins are vanquished and this present cursed world overcome
. 
[I just caught a glimpse of Kobe Bryant flying.  You see,  he knows where
he is meant to go!  
Mr. Bryant will prove to be the next NBA superstar because he is without
a doubt endowed with more of God's common grace than the whole Stanford
team put together.  Ooops.  I mean... no forget it.  That's what I meant.
 Kobe is just too bad.
I am exceedingly happy right now just watching him.  Thank God for not
leaving me in NBA withdrawal for too long.]

Psalm 67 expresses heavenward movement.  
God blesses so blessings might flow,  and flow toward the rightful
acknowledgement of God's glory.  Horizontal flow from man to man
[humanitarian works,  social welfare] is missing the more breathtaking
goal.

It's not enough that Israel would know God.  Other nations must come and
join in the joy and praises of Him.  God never intended to bless Israel
just for Israel.  Never.
>From Genesis to Rev.,  all the peoples,  all the nations are to enjoy
their Maker in heaven.

Do you really think that God has placed you in a fine school,  with
luxuries and resources that the world can hardly imagine,  only for
individual blessings?

Or is education,  $25,0000/ year,  and the riches of collegiate
experiential growth,  merely a means?  A MEANS to what? 
That somehow,  your blessings can be turned toward the -
blessing of other nations,  other peoples to the joy of knowing God in
heaven.

There is a global focus to God's blessings in Psalm 67. 
God is moving history,  every nation,  every person toward a restoration
of God's glory over all.

God is really too big for me to try and limit.  I cannot dare to ask, 
"where does God fit into my life?"  Instead,  all I can ask is,  "where
in the world can I fit into God's plans?"
He explodes my small-minded ambitions and dreams.

Pray for our upcoming Missions Rally at KCPC.

Pray for our FICS retreat this weekend.   See you soon!

If any of you are still deciding whether to go,  here is my humble advice
-
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!   GOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Hey remember those soccer-fanatic commentators on Mexican television?
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!  
 Well,  yeah,  go!  
Go and be blessed to be a blessing.

						harold


 

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