Pastor Don McCullough of Solana Beach, CA, shares this true story about the greatness of God.
Thomas Aquinas, a medieval theologian, created one of the greatest achievements of Western civilization in his Summa Theologica. It is a massive work: thirty-eight treatises, three thousand articles, ten thousand objections. Aquinas tried to gather into one coherent whole all of truth. What an undertaking: anthropology, science, ethics, psychology, political theory, and theology, all under God.
On December 6, 1273, Aquinas abruptly stopped his work. While celebrating Mass in the chapel of St. Thomas, he caught a glimpse of eternity, and suddenly he knew that all his efforts to describe God fell so far short that he decided never to write again.
When his secretary, Reginald, tried to encourage him to do more writing, Aquinas replied, “Reginald, I can do no more. Such things have been revealed to me that all I have written seems as so much straw.”
Even the greatest human minds cannot fathom the greatness of God.
Throughout Scripture we are invited and instructed to worship the Lord. From Genesis to Revelation worship is modeled and commanded. In heaven right now, all the celestial beings are giving Him unbroken praise. All of creation is declaring His majesty (Psalm 19). Jesus declared that the Father is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4). We can be the answer to His search. May we have hearts that are filled to overflowing with worship and praise and adoration.
The Book of Psalms overflows with praise on every page and climaxes with the glorious instruction of Psalm 150, the final chapter. Though only six verses long, the psalmist gives us thirteen commands to praise the Lord – in every location, in every circumstance, and by every means. He finally declares, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Then he punctuates the chapter in the last verse with the same command he used to begin it in the first verse, “Praise the Lord” – the literal translation of the Hebrew phrase, “Hallelu Yah”. Hallel is a Hebrew word for “praise” and Yah is the shortened form of “Yahweh”. For the Christian, all of life is about giving praise and glory to the King of kings and Lord of lords!
Praise and worship is not just something that we give to the Lord on Sunday morning. It is to permeate and saturate every part of our lives. Yes, it is imperative that we have hearts prepared to enter His presence when we gather each week and there is something special that happens when we do so together. Be sure to join us in worship this Sunday; please don’t miss it if you possibly can. We need one another, and praise grows as we join together in unity.
But we need to have hearts overflowing with worship and praise all through the week – every day, all through the day. When you wake up in the morning, give Him all the praise. At every meal, give Him all the praise. When you are in the car, give Him all the praise. When you are out shopping or at home cleaning, give Him all the praise. When you are at work or at school or wherever you are, give Him all the praise. Remember, there are only two times to praise the Lord: when you feel like it, and when you don’t. That covers every moment of every day.
This Sunday, September 10, we will conclude our teaching series, “Summer in the Psalms”, with the magnificent words and truth of Psalm 150, “Praise the Lord!” The Lord is worthy of all glory and adoration and honor. Are you ready to enter His presence and give Him all the praise? Please invite someone to join you at 10:35am either in the building or online for the Live broadcast on Facebook (facebook.com/HonoluluAG) or our YouTube channel (youtube.com/channel/UC972z4D3i9N6pn0qeNYVpwA/videos). We Livestream every Sunday at 10:35am to both locations.
A Big Mahalo to everyone who made last Sunday’s Potluck Lunch such a great success. Thank you to all who brought so much “ono-licious” food, and to all who set it up before the meal and cleaned up after.
Aloha ke Akua!