Tag Archives: God

In The Beginning God…

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Genesis 1:1

Happy New Year, 2025. Praying that God will be glorified in you, and that you will know the joy that comes from an honest relationship with your Savior. What a privilege we have to know our Creator as our friend.

This year, instead of reading the Bible through, I’ve chosen to do a topical series of studies written by Warren Wiersbe known as the “BE Series.” I’m starting with “Be Basic,” a study on Genesis 1-11. Not sure what this will look like, or how often I’ll post my thoughts. But my plan is to read the study along with God’s Word every day, journal my thoughts, and meditate on the beauty of Scripture as led by Rev. Wiersbe.

Today I was challenged to considered the first four words of the Bible: “In the beginning God…”

What does it mean to me that God is eternal? I can’t wrap my mind around “always existed.” I think I can imagine eternity future, never ending. But eternity past? How long did God exist before He created anything? What did He do all that time?

And there’s my answer. Words like “always,” or “future,” “ending,” “past,” “before,” and “time” are words bound by time. God exists outside of time. He exists in a perpetual “now.”

It’s not that He was or will be. It’s that He is. He just is. He even identified Himself as such when He told Moses, “I AM.” The disconnect comes with me, with my finite mind, limited understanding.

It’s like standing inches away from the Mona Lisa, gazing at it through a paper straw. If I tried to describe what I saw, or tried to imagine the whole, I would fail miserably. I would only be seeing the painting in part, I would not be able to understand the beauty of it. I would be limited by the lens through which I was looking.

Right now we can only know God in part. Our lens is like that of a paper straw. I love what I see through that straw, in nature and in His written Word. But if what I see of Him is limited by time and space, the whole of Him must be spectacular!

Even in my limited view of God, I see Him as all-powerful, all-knowing, kind, compassionate, faithful, true, righteous, and holy, singularly worthy of my worship. I can face the New Year with confidence, not because of who I am or what I’ve accomplished, or how determined I am to become a better person. I can face 2025 with confidence because of WHO GOD IS!

I can stand on the truth of, “In the beginning God…” because it’s THAT God I depend on.

Stay On The Ship

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Acts 27

I was talking to my pastor yesterday about how easy it can be to believe a lie. If you take time to listen to people who reject God, you being to understand their point of view. That can be a good thing, and I hope we are all investing ourselves in people we love and who are rejecting God. But when our understanding of their viewpoint becomes acceptance, we have a problem.

Paul was heading to Rome to be tried for bogus crimes the Jews made up to get rid of him. The ship he was sailing on got caught in a hurricane-force storm that pummeled them for weeks. The soldiers did everything they knew what to do to save the ship from being torn to pieces. They naturally feared for their lives, so Paul encouraged them with a word from God:

But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost, only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, “Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar, and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.” So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. (Acts 27:22-25)

In other words, stay in the ship and God has promised me you will be saved. Some of the sailors panicked, however. In their minds, and from what they believed about ships and storms, they determined the better option was to escape to land by lifeboats. They began to lower the lifeboats with the intention of abandoning the ship, in opposition to the Word of God.

When Paul saw what they were doing, he said to the centurion guarding him:

Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved. (Acts 27:31b)

So the ropes were cut, the lifeboats dropped empty into the raging sea. And although the ship was lost, not one of those men lost his life.

I think the moral of the story is the Word of God. Do you believe it or not?

We must sift everything we hear through the words God spoke. We must shape our world-view, our morality, our stand on what is right and what is wrong, our definition of sin and its punishment, our understanding of grace and mercy and love, through the lens of Scripture.

We all hear things from time to time that sound reasonable, maybe even scriptural. And maybe we think: “Ok. I can see their point. Maybe they have something there.”

BUT WAIT!

Before you go any further with that thought you better ask yourself: what does Scripture say? Not just a random verse taken out of context. What does God really say, how did it play out in the lives of the Old Testament Jews, how did Jesus embody the words spoken by the prophets?

Dear ones, there is one Truth. Anything that veers from that Truth is merely opinion and is nothing to stand on. Anything that is not Truth is a lie.

There is one salvation. There is one ship. To attempt to save yourself any other way is death.

I can confidently say that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one goes to the Father without going through Jesus. I can say you must be born again. I can say that faith comes through hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I can tell you that Scripture is God-breathed and it is the first and final authority.

I can say those things unapologetically, having built my life on the truth of it, because those words are in the Bible and the truth of them is demonstrated in those precious pages, and in my life.

Again I ask you concerning to the Word of God: do you believe it or not? Your life depends on your answer.

Don’t Judge?

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Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37-42

This whole “do not judge” thing is out of control these days, and entirely contrary to what Jesus actually said. He certainly wasn’t saying we shouldn’t call sin sin, or turn a blind eye to sin in ourselves or others. Scripture is pretty clear about that, if you take time to read it.

Jesus wasn’t implying that everyone is entitled to their own truth. Remember, He’s the same One who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one goes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Jesus is THE Truth. Not just one of many truths.

If you read these chapters Jesus is telling us to confront and restore a fellow believer who is sinning. Just don’t be a hypocrite about it. Recognize and confess your own sin before trying to address someone else’s sin.

Jesus didn’t say, “Because you’ve sinned, you have no right to point out someone else’s sin.” In fact, He’s saying that BECAUSE we are sinners saved by grace, we have a responsibility to address the plank in another’s eye.

Pointing out sins according to Scripture isn’t trying to judge them. Their actions judge them. You aren’t the judge. But you are the Judge’s voice, His arms and legs, when you have the ability to be used by Him to restore a sinning brother.

Satan’s interpretation of these verses has made Christians weak and stupid. We should be less concerned about being accused of “judging” and more concerned about being accountable to the Judge. Because one day, we all will face Him. I pray that when we do, we’ll be able to look Him in the eye and say, “I did what you told me.”

Your Faith

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Isaiah 7

Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm. (7:9b, NLT)

What are your thoughts? God said this to King Ahaz when the kingdom of Judah was in serious trouble from Syria and Israel. Those two nations were primed and ready to attack the Jews in Judah, and they had the manpower to do some damage.

Ahaz was understandably nervous about the situation. Maybe nervous isn’t a strong enough word. Terrified might be more accurate. The king and the people “trembled with fear like trees shaking in a storm.” (vs2b)

God saw the fear, but He also had a plan that was much bigger than the fear the people were experiencing. So He sent Isaiah to Ahaz to encourage him.

Don’t worry, Ahaz. God’s got this. You don’t need to “fear the fierce anger of those two burned-out embers.” Sure, they are plotting an attack, but it will never happen.”

Now you’d think those words from God Himself would alleviate any uncertainty Ahaz was having. He had been looking at his enemies as formidable foes, but God saw them as has-been, ineffective weaklings. Ahaz had been looking at his enemies, thinking he needed to face them in his own power. God told him they had no power!

God said this about the threatening kings:

Syria is no stronger than its capital, Damascus, and Damascus is no stronger than its king, Rezin. (vs 8)

Israel is not stronger than its capital, Samaria, and Samaria is no stronger than its king, Pekah son of Remaliah. (vs 9)

But then he said the words I quoted at the beginning of this post. The King James version says it like this:

If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.

Ahaz had a choice. He could trust God to come through like He’d promised. Or he could face his enemy in his own strength, and take his chances. On the surface it seems like a no-brainer. But I’m not so sure it was.

In our present culture we celebrate self-reliance, don’t we? We admire people who have worked hard, who’ve overcome obstacles by sheer will, and who are self-made men. Yet I think that’s been true since the garden when Adam thought he didn’t need God, that he could make up his own set of rules and do just fine.

I read a post from a fellow-blogger, Darryl Dash (DashHouse.com), entitled “In Whom Do You Trust?). He said something that has me thinking:

“Whatever we trust in place of God will eventually turn on us and destroy us.”

Money? Popularity? Relationships? Power? Self? What is it you trust for your happiness and well-being? What is it you trust for your eternity?

Pastor Dash says, “Self-reliance is deadly.” I think Adam would agree.

If you read on in this chapter of Isaiah you’ll hear God say, instead of looking toward armies to protect you, look toward a child. A virgin will be with child…

There’s the crux of the matter. If you are trusting anyone or anything other than Jesus, you’re putting your faith in burnt embers and has-been kings. If you are trusting anyone or anything other than Jesus, God cannot and will not make you strong.

But, my friend. If you let go of self and shut out all the other voices out there, if you put your faith in God alone, there is no battle you need to face alone. There is no enemy too strong for God to defeat. There need be no fear, because God’s got this.

I hope you’ll take a serious look at your faith today. You might say you have faith in God. In fact, I hope you do. But do you really have faith in God? Or do you have faith in God, plus something else. You know, just in case God doesn’t come through.

Can you have equal parts of faith in God and in yourself? What could be wrong with that?

Simply put, that’s not faith in God.

And unless your faith is firm, God cannot make you stand firm.

(Ezekiel 24-28) It Isn’t Me

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The thing about Scripture, I believe, is the amazing way there is always a spiritual interpretation relevant to 2021, even as there is a material interpretation relevant for the people living at the time it was written.

Is God, in chapter 28, referring to a human king of Tyre, or to Satan, or to prideful disobedient people in the 21st century? The answer is yes to all three!

I believe that is the awesome beauty of Scripture. These verses tell us that God didn’t spare a prideful angel from the irrevocable consequences of sin, nor did He spare a prideful king from the same. And God won’t spare me, either, if pride doesn’t stay in check, if I allow pride to come between me and God.

Satan wanted to be God. But He wasn’t even close – and God condemned him to hell. The king of Tyre considered himself a god. But he wasn’t even close, either. And God condemned him to hell.

What does that tell me about pride in my life? Yes, the word of the day is that I am powerful, deserving, smart, capable, that I can determine my own truth that supersedes your truth. I am my own god, so I’m told to believe.

But I’m not even close. And if I allow myself to think I am, God will condemn me to hell.

There is one God. It isn’t Satan. It wasn’t the King of Tyre. And it certainly isn’t me.

(Isaiah 60) Everlasting Light

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I long for heaven. I long to be where God’s splendor outshines the sun and moon. I long to be where there is no war, no threats of harm, no illness, no hate, a place where peace reigns and righteousness describes our conduct. I long to be caressed by God like a mother holding her nursing child.

Violence will never again be heard of in your land; devastation and destruction will be gone from your borders. You will call your walls Salvation and your city gates Praise. The sun will no longer by your light by day, and the brightest of the moon will not shine on you. The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor. (vs 18-19)

I long for heaven. And I know that one day I will be there, because I have repented of my sin and accepted Jesus’ work on the cross, the penalty I deserved for my sin. I am as sure of my future life in heaven as I am of my life today on earth.

I pray you can say the same. This amazingly peaceful, safe, pure, holy, place filled with love, and void of sorrow is real. It’s reserved for those who know God according to the words He inspired men to write, to those who come to Him through Jesus.

I hope to see you there, where God Himself is our everlasting light.

18 Reasons To Praise God, from Psalm 103

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  1. He forgives my sin
  2. He heals my diseases
  3. He redeems my life
  4. He crowns me with love and compassion
  5. He satisfies my desires with good things
  6. He renews my strength
  7. He is right and just all the time
  8. He is compassionate and gracious toward me
  9. He is slow to get angry with me
  10. He overflows with love for me
  11. He doesn’t stay angry forever
  12. He doesn’t give me what my sins deserve
  13. He loves. (He is love)
  14. He removes my sin completely, forever.
  15. He is a compassionate Father
  16. He knows how I was made, understanding my humanity
  17. He sits on His throne in heaven and rules my life
  18. He loves and blesses all who fear Him

Praise the Lord!

I AM and Me (Exodus 6)

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This year I am reading my mother’s Bible. After she went to live with Jesus in 1996, I took her Bible home with me, and it’s sat on my shelf all these years. So this year, I decided to read through God’s Word and see the things Mom marked, the verses she underlined. Today I read the first of her underlined verses.

Mom underlined the things in chapter 6 that God said about Himself: “I am the Lord,” “I’ve heard your groanings,” “I remember my promises to you,” “I will free you,” “I will take you as my own,” “I am the Lord your God.”

I wish I knew what those verses meant to Mom, what was happening in her life when she underlined them. I wish I could talk to her. I can’t. So I asked God to speak to me about what He wants me to know about these verses that were special to my mother.

God is.

People have tried to deny that fact, but the truth is  – God exists. He is exactly who He says He is. Fighting against that truth is as futile as arguing that the sun doesn’t produce light and warmth, that trees that lose their leaves in fall, don’t bud again every spring. You simply can’t argue against what is.

God is.

He tells us His name is I AM. He is what He is. Period.

When Mom read this passage in Exodus, she seems to have been touched by the personal involvement the Great I AM has with His children, the fact that He is our Lord who hears, who delivers, who calls us His own. He is not a god. He is The God. And He wants to be involved in my life, like a Father, or a Shepherd, or a Friend, and a Savior.

I am humbled at the very thought that the God of the Universe, the Creator God, the eternal, powerful, majestic, and holy God wants a relationship with me. I think I know my mom enough to believe she was blown away by the same thing.

Please take a minute to bask in the precious truth. God, who IS, was, and is to come, loves you, wants to fellowship with you, loves you more than you can imagine, and died so that a relationship can happen. The Great I AM loves me.

And loves you, too.

September 15; Ups and Downs

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Esther 9:18-10:3; Ezra 4:6-23; Psalm 105

The history of the Jews is a picture of life, isn’t it? In the book of Esther we see a great celebration lasting days. They had enjoyed a great victory over evil, and they were on top of the world.

But when they got busy rebuilding Jerusalem, they were stopped in their tracks. Scripture tells us the Persians “compelled them by force to stop.” (Ezra 4:23)

I find it the same in my life. I may have victory over a sin, or am able to successfully navigate a difficult situation. I may get a raise at work, or get a “thumbs up” medical report. Things in my life may be working out. I feel blessed!

Then I run into a roadblock, a temptation, a hardship, and I don’t feel blessed at all.

It’s interesting that the organizer of the chronological Bible I am using places Psalm 105 after Ezra’s account of the work-stoppage.

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him… (vs 4)

It just reminds me that life has its ups and downs. Good times and bad. Successes and failures. There is only one constant.

God.

And I am reminded God is good all the time. God deserves praise all the time. And I can rest assured that He does all things well, all the time. May I, may we, sing His praises from hearts that are overwhelmed with WHO He is, circumstances aside. Because life will be hard some time. Life will be great sometimes, too. We will have victories, and we will blow it.

But God is the same yesterday, today, and forever! Praise Him.

September 6; It Is Good To Praise The Lord

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Ezra 3:1-13; Psalms 92 and 126; Daniel 10:1-11:35

It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night… For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands…The righteous will flourish like a palm tree… proclaiming “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him. (Psalm 92)

It is good to praise God, and we on the coast of Georgia have a lot to praise Him for. We escaped Dorian when that hurricane stayed out at sea as it passed us by. We were spared, while others weren’t. We had no damage, while others lost everything – including the lives of loved ones.

Are we wrong to praise God for the outcome we experienced in light of the devastation in other parts of the world? We would be wrong NOT to praise Him.

So I will unashamedly praise God that I can drive across the causeway and go to my home, pick up a few twigs, and resume life as usual. I will praise God that my friends are safe, and their homes are just as they left them, God was merciful to us, and I want to make that known. We didn’t deserve His kindness, and that is a humbling realization.

Yet as I praise God, I will also pray that He will be merciful to those who are facing unspeakable loss from this storm. Dorian is not through with its fury. Others are battling the wind and rain right this minute. I pray that God’s hand will be evident to all who are involved even now.

I am reminded that God is worthy of praise, period. He is worthy of praise no matter what circumstances we face. His worth is not based on how easy my life is, and He isn’t less worthy of praise if my life is difficult.

Praise God. He shows His love in the morning, and His faithfulness at night. He is my joy, my strength, my peace, my everything. I’m praising God for who He is. He’s worth it.