Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Exodus, Chapters 39-40 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Exodus 39: 32; 42-43 … : … [Doing God’s Kingdom Work] … 32 So all the work on the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses. >>>
42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.
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EXODUS 40: 1-2; 16-17; … : … [God Says It! – Moses Does it!] … 1 Then the LORD said to Moses: 2 “Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. >>>
16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him. 17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.
My Journal for Today: I just read through Chapters 39-40 of Exodus; and one thing, documented by the few verses above which I’ve copied/pasted into this journal entry for your study, just jumped out at me; and that point is reflected by the title above: God’s Into The Details!
If you’re reading along with me, let me quote another verse – this one from the NT – which reflects my title point today and this inexorable biblical truth. Jesus said it; and we need to internalize it (from Matt. 10: 29-30): … Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Yes, the God Who saved me is into the details of my life.
He cared enough for His wandering children, the Israelites, that He gave – through Moses – extremely detailed and elaborate instructions on exactly how to build a Tabernacle for Him where He could be with His children, … protect them, guide them, and love on them. And at least here – in this place and in this time – God’s chosen people listened to their God – through their Pastor, Moses - and they did things exactly as God instructed them to do.
Okay, I think this point need not be drawn out and exacted with any more of my wordiness. God shows us the way; and, of course, we do it?
Got it? … GOT IT? … GOT IT?!!
No, … I’m afraid I don’t got it!! … Yes, I do try; but so, so often … I know God’s way and His will; … even having His Word to shine a light on my path; and what do I do? I go off and do it my way rather than following His instructions to the “Nth” detail. I’m just going to leave it here for today; because if I were a betting man, I would wager that any of you readers following along with me have some “fessin-up” to do with regard to being totally and utterly obedient to God’s will for your life – maybe even something you need to own up to right here and now.
But let’s take heart from the truth of 1st John 1: 9, which I hope you have memorized. If not, please go look it up, … be encouraged, and do your “fess-up” to the Lord … right here and now.
My Prayer Today: … Lord, again I pray as I do so often – shine Your light on my path - way brightly - so that I can’ t help but see Your way through the wilderness of life. Amen
Showing posts with label omnipotence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label omnipotence. Show all posts
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
January 26, 2012 … God Is In Control
Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Genesis, Chapters 41-42 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Genesis 41: 14-16: … [God’s Providence and Design] ... 14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
My Journal for Today: Have you ever had a set of circumstances in your life which you can look back on and see clearly that God was in total control in your life and all the happenings were being outlandishly engineered by God for you to live out HIS purposes for YOUR life? Well, I have; and the circumstances of Joseph’s life, as illustrated by the reading today in Chapters 41-42 of Genesis, is illustrative of the principle that GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL of what is going on in our lives. And isn’t it wonderful and mysterious that the LORD uses our free will and human choices to weave His tapestry of eternal design!
Today, I was led to read of Joseph, after being two years in prison unjustly, … then being brought – by a wild set of human interactions – before Pharaoh because of a perplexing dream with the king had, a dream which none of his court magicians could adequately interpret. Gee, I wonder Who planted that dream in the Pharaoh’s mind? And gee, I wonder how the court cup-bearer just happened to remember an event when his was unjustly in prison earlier where this young Hebrew had interpreted a dream of the prison guard which just happened to unfold exactly as this boy (who was Joseph, of course) had interpreted? … … DUH! … Enter Joseph into the life of Pharaoh – just by coincidence of course [… NOT!!!]. And if you’ve read ahead in Genesis we see how these circumstances, which so “mysteriously” transpired, allowed Joseph to become Pharaoh’s governor and second in command; and they also – so wonderfully - allowed Joseph to be in control in Egypt when his long-lost father, Jacob (“Israel”), sent Joseph’s ten brothers to Egypt to obtain grain during a providential famine in the land at that time. And just who – coincidently - did the ten brothers, who just happened to have sold their brother, Joseph, into slavery in Egypt years before, encounter? Well, as Paul Harvey used to say, “You know the rest of the story!”
I think back on the wild, wacky, and wonderful set of circumstances, which, on April 13th, 1983, led me to recognize my spiritual brokenness and allowed me to be able to see that only by surrendering to Christ’s control in my life would I be able to find the spiritual strength which I had so unsuccessfully been trying to find in those days in other religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, or New-Ageism. I’ll not go into all those details of my testimony; but save it to say, on that fateful date in my life, I saw that only an omnipotent God could have engineered the circumstance in which I found myself and only God could be THE One to set me on a course which could reset my course in life in a direction of spiritual strength and not the weakness which I was experiencing. ONLY GOD!!!
But in today’s focus passage, when Joseph was brought by the Pharaoh to the court to interpret the king’s dream, Joseph knew exactly WHO was in control. And in Verse 16 of Genesis 41 above we read of Joseph witnessing to Pharaoh that ONLY GOD could interpret the dreams for the king. And this showed, later when the dreams were correctly interpreted, that Joseph, by surrendering to the one, true God, had power that could only come from a powerful God, … Whom we know of as THE ONE AND ONLY GOD!!! And our God, of course, is THE GOD … Who is control of all things and all circumstances in the lives of believers on His Name; and as it says in Romans 8: 28, all of those circumstances in life – as they did for Joseph – work together for the good of ALL those who believe in the Lord and are THE CALLED according to His purposes.
That was true for Joseph. It is true for Bill Berry; and if you believe in the same God Joseph and I follow, it is true for you too! Oh, how I hope we all believe and recognize that God’s control in our lives … as did the young boy, Joseph.
My Prayer Today: … My LORD, God, … I truly know and believe that You have worked it all out in my life … by Your design … and for Your purposes. And to that all I can in praise is HALLELUJAH!!! Amen
Genesis 41: 14-16: … [God’s Providence and Design] ... 14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. 15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16 “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”
My Journal for Today: Have you ever had a set of circumstances in your life which you can look back on and see clearly that God was in total control in your life and all the happenings were being outlandishly engineered by God for you to live out HIS purposes for YOUR life? Well, I have; and the circumstances of Joseph’s life, as illustrated by the reading today in Chapters 41-42 of Genesis, is illustrative of the principle that GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL of what is going on in our lives. And isn’t it wonderful and mysterious that the LORD uses our free will and human choices to weave His tapestry of eternal design!
Today, I was led to read of Joseph, after being two years in prison unjustly, … then being brought – by a wild set of human interactions – before Pharaoh because of a perplexing dream with the king had, a dream which none of his court magicians could adequately interpret. Gee, I wonder Who planted that dream in the Pharaoh’s mind? And gee, I wonder how the court cup-bearer just happened to remember an event when his was unjustly in prison earlier where this young Hebrew had interpreted a dream of the prison guard which just happened to unfold exactly as this boy (who was Joseph, of course) had interpreted? … … DUH! … Enter Joseph into the life of Pharaoh – just by coincidence of course [… NOT!!!]. And if you’ve read ahead in Genesis we see how these circumstances, which so “mysteriously” transpired, allowed Joseph to become Pharaoh’s governor and second in command; and they also – so wonderfully - allowed Joseph to be in control in Egypt when his long-lost father, Jacob (“Israel”), sent Joseph’s ten brothers to Egypt to obtain grain during a providential famine in the land at that time. And just who – coincidently - did the ten brothers, who just happened to have sold their brother, Joseph, into slavery in Egypt years before, encounter? Well, as Paul Harvey used to say, “You know the rest of the story!”
I think back on the wild, wacky, and wonderful set of circumstances, which, on April 13th, 1983, led me to recognize my spiritual brokenness and allowed me to be able to see that only by surrendering to Christ’s control in my life would I be able to find the spiritual strength which I had so unsuccessfully been trying to find in those days in other religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, or New-Ageism. I’ll not go into all those details of my testimony; but save it to say, on that fateful date in my life, I saw that only an omnipotent God could have engineered the circumstance in which I found myself and only God could be THE One to set me on a course which could reset my course in life in a direction of spiritual strength and not the weakness which I was experiencing. ONLY GOD!!!
But in today’s focus passage, when Joseph was brought by the Pharaoh to the court to interpret the king’s dream, Joseph knew exactly WHO was in control. And in Verse 16 of Genesis 41 above we read of Joseph witnessing to Pharaoh that ONLY GOD could interpret the dreams for the king. And this showed, later when the dreams were correctly interpreted, that Joseph, by surrendering to the one, true God, had power that could only come from a powerful God, … Whom we know of as THE ONE AND ONLY GOD!!! And our God, of course, is THE GOD … Who is control of all things and all circumstances in the lives of believers on His Name; and as it says in Romans 8: 28, all of those circumstances in life – as they did for Joseph – work together for the good of ALL those who believe in the Lord and are THE CALLED according to His purposes.
That was true for Joseph. It is true for Bill Berry; and if you believe in the same God Joseph and I follow, it is true for you too! Oh, how I hope we all believe and recognize that God’s control in our lives … as did the young boy, Joseph.
My Prayer Today: … My LORD, God, … I truly know and believe that You have worked it all out in my life … by Your design … and for Your purposes. And to that all I can in praise is HALLELUJAH!!! Amen
Saturday, January 14, 2012
January 14, 2012 … When God Speaks – Time To Listen!
Passage of the Day: Chapter/Verse Reference: Job, Chapters 38-39 … To study these chapters, go to this link -
Job 38: … [When God Speaks]
1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
===
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Job 39: … [God Speaks … Time To Listen]
1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
======
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”
My Journal for Today: Okay, now, as Job continues to contemplate his horrible set of circumstances; and his so-called “friends” have given Job their two-cents worth (and that’s about how much their advice was worth), now it’s God’s turn to speak. And when one gets to these two chapters in Job’s book, I can’t help but think of the old E.F. Hutton commercials on TV.
Do you recall these commercials back in the late 70s? If you’re too young or don’t remember them, here’s a link to one of them on You Tube - where, “… when EF Hutton talks, people listen.” And that’s where Job was when God decided to straighten our hero out. And my friend, WHEN GOD TALKS, IT’S TIME TO LISTEN!!!
And in our reading today, when God did intervene with Job, I couldn’t help but note a couple of important elements of God’s intervention. And the first of these was God’s decision to speak to Job out of a storm (see Job 38: 1). I can just imagine Job, sitting on a hill of garbage, picking away at the sores on his body, thinking of all of his personal loss and contemplating all the jerk-water complaints from his friends; and all of a sudden it begins to rain on him … in torrents.
Have you ever been in a bad set of circumstances; and all of a sudden “a storm” of more bad stuff befalls you? Well that’s where Job was when God decides to give him some insights into how things really work. And that’s why, when we’re in the midst of a storm, we need to be looking for the messages God has for us out of the storm.
Do you remember the New Testament account of how the disciples were in the midst of a terrible storm (see Matt. 14, Mark 6, or John 6); and Jesus came to them, walking on the water; and they had trouble hearing what Jesus was calling to them. In fact they didn’t recognize that it was Jesus because of their fears of the storm. Well, this story, as well as the one about Job, illustrate that God wants to communicate to us through the storms of life and teach us that He’s in control … that He’s always there for us, … and that we can trust Him in the midst of even the worst storms of life. And so it was for Job.
But Job was having trouble understanding all of those things, given the storms God had allowed Satan to visit upon him. So, in Chapters 38-39 of Job, we get God’s in depth lesson in cosmic astronomy and biological creation. God levels question after question, which Job hadn’t a clue as to the answers, illustrating to Job – as to us – that there is so much of life that we cannot or will not be able to explain. It often gets down to the first sentence in our Bible: “In the beginning, God!” And as I’ve referred to already in my journaling this month, we need to remember the lesson God taught to the Prophet Isaiah [see below] …
Isaiah 55: 8 – 9: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
And that’s the lesson which God so often wants to impart through the storms of life. And I need to remember, to seek out my God when I find my mind/heart overwhelmed by life’s circumstances. I need to be in a listening mode when life’s storms come, doing all I can to hear God speaking.
My Prayer Today: … I hear You, LORD! … Amen
Job 38: … [When God Speaks]
1 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.
===
34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Job 39: … [God Speaks … Time To Listen]
1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?
======
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”
My Journal for Today: Okay, now, as Job continues to contemplate his horrible set of circumstances; and his so-called “friends” have given Job their two-cents worth (and that’s about how much their advice was worth), now it’s God’s turn to speak. And when one gets to these two chapters in Job’s book, I can’t help but think of the old E.F. Hutton commercials on TV.
Do you recall these commercials back in the late 70s? If you’re too young or don’t remember them, here’s a link to one of them on You Tube - where, “… when EF Hutton talks, people listen.” And that’s where Job was when God decided to straighten our hero out. And my friend, WHEN GOD TALKS, IT’S TIME TO LISTEN!!!
And in our reading today, when God did intervene with Job, I couldn’t help but note a couple of important elements of God’s intervention. And the first of these was God’s decision to speak to Job out of a storm (see Job 38: 1). I can just imagine Job, sitting on a hill of garbage, picking away at the sores on his body, thinking of all of his personal loss and contemplating all the jerk-water complaints from his friends; and all of a sudden it begins to rain on him … in torrents.
Have you ever been in a bad set of circumstances; and all of a sudden “a storm” of more bad stuff befalls you? Well that’s where Job was when God decides to give him some insights into how things really work. And that’s why, when we’re in the midst of a storm, we need to be looking for the messages God has for us out of the storm.
Do you remember the New Testament account of how the disciples were in the midst of a terrible storm (see Matt. 14, Mark 6, or John 6); and Jesus came to them, walking on the water; and they had trouble hearing what Jesus was calling to them. In fact they didn’t recognize that it was Jesus because of their fears of the storm. Well, this story, as well as the one about Job, illustrate that God wants to communicate to us through the storms of life and teach us that He’s in control … that He’s always there for us, … and that we can trust Him in the midst of even the worst storms of life. And so it was for Job.
But Job was having trouble understanding all of those things, given the storms God had allowed Satan to visit upon him. So, in Chapters 38-39 of Job, we get God’s in depth lesson in cosmic astronomy and biological creation. God levels question after question, which Job hadn’t a clue as to the answers, illustrating to Job – as to us – that there is so much of life that we cannot or will not be able to explain. It often gets down to the first sentence in our Bible: “In the beginning, God!” And as I’ve referred to already in my journaling this month, we need to remember the lesson God taught to the Prophet Isaiah [see below] …
Isaiah 55: 8 – 9: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
And that’s the lesson which God so often wants to impart through the storms of life. And I need to remember, to seek out my God when I find my mind/heart overwhelmed by life’s circumstances. I need to be in a listening mode when life’s storms come, doing all I can to hear God speaking.
My Prayer Today: … I hear You, LORD! … Amen
Sunday, February 13, 2011
February 13, 2011 … Evidence of God’s Power
Passage of the Day: Ephesians 1: 18 – 19 … 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and His incomparably great power for us who believe.
My Journal for Today: How does one grasp the awesome power of God? In an abstract way, my mind will never be able to fully comprehend God’s omnipotence. However, in a personal way I can build an appreciation for God’s power into my faith.
First there is creation. I just look around and will always marvel at what God spoke into reality with no effort … merely a word (see Psalm 33: 6) …
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 33: 6 … By the Word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.
Further, I think of how God, the Son, has preserved all that He created; and all He created is for the glory of His Father. [Hebrews 1: 3] …
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 1: 3 … The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.
Then my appreciation for God’s wondrous power gets very personal as I contemplate the Cross, where all mankind, including yours truly, were redeemed for eternity, … where sin/death were defeated, and where the Gospel becomes the power of God to salvation for all who believe in Christ’s omnipotent power to save. (see Romans 1: 16 – look this one up for yourself and meditate on it … and, if convicted, memorize it!)
This is God’s power, which I have experienced personally; so, I know it’s real … the power to bring me from my old bondage in sin to a new life when His power allows me to walk more and more in His likeness.
Not too long ago, in an online blog, I was challenged by a rather cynical atheist to prove there was a "god" by giving him evidence. I related to him that the only evidence I needed to KNOW that there was a very personal God was my own life and the change which God has wrought in my life. So, I gave him my testimony. ... I didn’t really think my witness was going to convince this hardened non-believer; and it didn’t. But the important thing – for me – was that I am convinced. I pray that you are too.
Read and meditate on 2nd Cor. 5: 17 and Phil. 1: 6; and you should know that God’s power is awesome … and that He can take one such as I was (before my conversion) and bring me to the place where I am as I write this.
SCRIPTURE: 2nd Cor. 5: 17 … Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
SCRIPTURE: Phil. 1: 6 … being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The very power that God used to speak the universe into existence, … the very power He used to sustain it all for His glory, … the very power that God’s Son loosed in love to save mankind on the cross, … the very power that raised our Lord from His grave, … is the power which, when applied to my life, has brought about a total transformation of my soul and henceforth, my choices, habits, and living. So, with that realized and said, I declare that I have no trouble believing in and worshipping the awesome, omnipotent power of my God. And to think … all that power I have in my relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ.
My Prayer Today: All power is mine in You, Lord. Amen
My Journal for Today: How does one grasp the awesome power of God? In an abstract way, my mind will never be able to fully comprehend God’s omnipotence. However, in a personal way I can build an appreciation for God’s power into my faith.
First there is creation. I just look around and will always marvel at what God spoke into reality with no effort … merely a word (see Psalm 33: 6) …
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 33: 6 … By the Word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.
Further, I think of how God, the Son, has preserved all that He created; and all He created is for the glory of His Father. [Hebrews 1: 3] …
SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 1: 3 … The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.
Then my appreciation for God’s wondrous power gets very personal as I contemplate the Cross, where all mankind, including yours truly, were redeemed for eternity, … where sin/death were defeated, and where the Gospel becomes the power of God to salvation for all who believe in Christ’s omnipotent power to save. (see Romans 1: 16 – look this one up for yourself and meditate on it … and, if convicted, memorize it!)
This is God’s power, which I have experienced personally; so, I know it’s real … the power to bring me from my old bondage in sin to a new life when His power allows me to walk more and more in His likeness.
Not too long ago, in an online blog, I was challenged by a rather cynical atheist to prove there was a "god" by giving him evidence. I related to him that the only evidence I needed to KNOW that there was a very personal God was my own life and the change which God has wrought in my life. So, I gave him my testimony. ... I didn’t really think my witness was going to convince this hardened non-believer; and it didn’t. But the important thing – for me – was that I am convinced. I pray that you are too.
Read and meditate on 2nd Cor. 5: 17 and Phil. 1: 6; and you should know that God’s power is awesome … and that He can take one such as I was (before my conversion) and bring me to the place where I am as I write this.
SCRIPTURE: 2nd Cor. 5: 17 … Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
SCRIPTURE: Phil. 1: 6 … being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The very power that God used to speak the universe into existence, … the very power He used to sustain it all for His glory, … the very power that God’s Son loosed in love to save mankind on the cross, … the very power that raised our Lord from His grave, … is the power which, when applied to my life, has brought about a total transformation of my soul and henceforth, my choices, habits, and living. So, with that realized and said, I declare that I have no trouble believing in and worshipping the awesome, omnipotent power of my God. And to think … all that power I have in my relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ.
My Prayer Today: All power is mine in You, Lord. Amen
Saturday, February 12, 2011
February 12, 2011 … God Has Unlimited Power
Passage of the Day: 1st Chronicles 29: 11 … [David’s prayer] … Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.
My Journal for Today: Have you ever heard anyone ask, “Why would God do that?” Well, I’ve thought it, even if I can’t remember saying it to someone; and I have certainly heard it said. Today, King David, in a prayer psalm, makes a declaration that we must honor as truth; … or we declare ourselves to be non-believers.
Why? Because David’s prayer is true! God is OMNIPOTENT; and David’s declaration is in God’s word; and His word is truth. all of it; not just some of it. Therefore, If we can’t believe the truth of 2nd Tim. 3: 16a, then we can’t believe any of the assertions of the Bible; and our faith crumbles.
SCRIPTURE: 2nd Tim. 3: 16a … All Scripture [i.e., Old and New Testaments] is inspired by God … [NASB]
The God to whom David is praying is “El Shaddai,” which, from the Hebrew, is translated “God Almighty!” And our God is either almighty [i.e., omnipotent and all powerful and in total control]; or He is not. Therefore, anyone who asks, “Why God [?],” when circumstances make God’s actions incredulous, is basically saying that God doesn’t have the right to be in control; … or he’s saying that God’s control is not just or loving. Or, finally, he could be saying, “God is not in control.”
What about you? What is your opinion about God’s control?
Ps. 115: 3 says, “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.” And we must accept that El Shaddai would never allow anything to happen or do anything that was not totally in accord with all of His attributes as well as His own will.; and omnipotence is one of those attributes.
Therefore, when Paul writes (in Rom. 8: 28), “… all things work together for the good for those who love God ...;” we must accept, by faith, that bad circumstances don’t mean that God is out of control or has lost His edge of power or that He’s quit loving us. We either believe Ps. 145: 17 or we do not, which says, “The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.” The Apostle Paul again, as he did in Rom. 8: 28, challenges believers to get on board with their faith. Read Rom. 9: 20 – 21 where Paul quotes questions by quoting from Isaiah …
SCRIPTURE: Rom. 9: 20-21 ... 20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' "[IS. 29: 16; 45: 9] 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
Yes, when we see over 150,000 people die in a horrible tsunami; and we see the city of New Orleans engulfed and almost destroyed by a hurricane, we are tempted to say, “Why, God?!” But we must not! Rather, we must be asking god, “What must we do to understand You, Lord?” It’s time for all of us, who call ourselves Christian, to recognize that God is in control. We need to put up (our faith) AND shut up (our doubts). We need to do what Christ has commanded us to do in Luke 9: 23 … to deny self, to take up [His] cross daily and to follow [Him].
My Prayer Today: You are in control, Lord; and I’m am blessed by Your power in my life. Amen
My Journal for Today: Have you ever heard anyone ask, “Why would God do that?” Well, I’ve thought it, even if I can’t remember saying it to someone; and I have certainly heard it said. Today, King David, in a prayer psalm, makes a declaration that we must honor as truth; … or we declare ourselves to be non-believers.
Why? Because David’s prayer is true! God is OMNIPOTENT; and David’s declaration is in God’s word; and His word is truth. all of it; not just some of it. Therefore, If we can’t believe the truth of 2nd Tim. 3: 16a, then we can’t believe any of the assertions of the Bible; and our faith crumbles.
SCRIPTURE: 2nd Tim. 3: 16a … All Scripture [i.e., Old and New Testaments] is inspired by God … [NASB]
The God to whom David is praying is “El Shaddai,” which, from the Hebrew, is translated “God Almighty!” And our God is either almighty [i.e., omnipotent and all powerful and in total control]; or He is not. Therefore, anyone who asks, “Why God [?],” when circumstances make God’s actions incredulous, is basically saying that God doesn’t have the right to be in control; … or he’s saying that God’s control is not just or loving. Or, finally, he could be saying, “God is not in control.”
What about you? What is your opinion about God’s control?
Ps. 115: 3 says, “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.” And we must accept that El Shaddai would never allow anything to happen or do anything that was not totally in accord with all of His attributes as well as His own will.; and omnipotence is one of those attributes.
Therefore, when Paul writes (in Rom. 8: 28), “… all things work together for the good for those who love God ...;” we must accept, by faith, that bad circumstances don’t mean that God is out of control or has lost His edge of power or that He’s quit loving us. We either believe Ps. 145: 17 or we do not, which says, “The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.” The Apostle Paul again, as he did in Rom. 8: 28, challenges believers to get on board with their faith. Read Rom. 9: 20 – 21 where Paul quotes questions by quoting from Isaiah …
SCRIPTURE: Rom. 9: 20-21 ... 20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' "[IS. 29: 16; 45: 9] 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
Yes, when we see over 150,000 people die in a horrible tsunami; and we see the city of New Orleans engulfed and almost destroyed by a hurricane, we are tempted to say, “Why, God?!” But we must not! Rather, we must be asking god, “What must we do to understand You, Lord?” It’s time for all of us, who call ourselves Christian, to recognize that God is in control. We need to put up (our faith) AND shut up (our doubts). We need to do what Christ has commanded us to do in Luke 9: 23 … to deny self, to take up [His] cross daily and to follow [Him].
My Prayer Today: You are in control, Lord; and I’m am blessed by Your power in my life. Amen
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