What is your vision of a perfect world? Most envision a civilized life where nobody hurts anyone else, where everybody works for the common good, where there is no poverty, crime or injustice. Interestingly, that is the way God made the world to be. He also built free will into that utopian dream, because He didn’t want us to be unloving robots. The only rule at the beginning was that the man and woman were not to eat a certain fruit. Breaking that only rule seemed pretty harmless; the fruit was not even poisonous. The first people who lived in a utopian paradise chose freely to disobey the only “law,” thus creating an unfortunate chain of events that led to the chaos in which we now live.
Many years later, God delivered to the ancient nation of Israel the most perfect set of laws, the Mosaic Law, which included the Ten Commandments. If God’s people followed these laws, they would enjoy a civilization that, while imperfect, could be somewhat utopian. The interesting thing about The Law is that God knew when He gave them, humanity would be incapable of keeping them perfectly; after all, the first couple couldn’t even obey one rule!
When asked what was the greatest of all the commandments, Jesus boiled it all down to love: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:37, 39) Keeping this law of love seems simple enough and will surely make the world a better place.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
“I Am Who I Am”
When God showed Himself to Moses for the first time, this is how He explained Himself to Moses, “I am who I am.” This is a profound declaration of who God is: eternal and never changing, the Great I Am. We humans live in a linear world, with a definite beginning at birth and an assumed end at death. God, on the other hand, has no beginning or end, which may be hard for us to understand, but is essential to creation and eternity.
It is kind of mind-blowing to realize that this God who appeared to Moses in a burning bush, who declared “I am who I am,” who miraculously led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and sustained them in the desert for 40 years, is the very same God who reveals Himself to us through His Word, His people and nature. He wants to miraculously lead us out of our bondage. He wants to sustain us, make us His people and be our God forever.
Since we live in a temporal world, we tend to forget or not believe that God created us to live forever. Although our physical bodies will age and eventually die, our souls will live forever either in God’s presence or separated from Him, depending on the choices we make now. That eternal life has started already! We have been given a few short years on this earth, with a specific purpose from God, which we need to live to the fullest with an eternal perspective.
It is kind of mind-blowing to realize that this God who appeared to Moses in a burning bush, who declared “I am who I am,” who miraculously led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and sustained them in the desert for 40 years, is the very same God who reveals Himself to us through His Word, His people and nature. He wants to miraculously lead us out of our bondage. He wants to sustain us, make us His people and be our God forever.
Since we live in a temporal world, we tend to forget or not believe that God created us to live forever. Although our physical bodies will age and eventually die, our souls will live forever either in God’s presence or separated from Him, depending on the choices we make now. That eternal life has started already! We have been given a few short years on this earth, with a specific purpose from God, which we need to live to the fullest with an eternal perspective.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
“I will bless those who bless you…”
Thousands of years ago, God made a promise to a man named Abram (later to be renamed Abraham) and his descendants: “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you…” (Genesis 12:3a). This was one powerful promise, one that was passed on by Abraham’s son Isaac to his son Jacob. God went on to promise Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” If you read on, you will learn that Abraham and his family were blessed with wealth, children and honor. As God also promised, the world was ultimately blessed by one of Abraham’s descendants, Jesus Christ.
Sometimes we don’t feel like we are very blessed, do we? When times are tough in our lives, we may find ourselves wondering where are those blessings that God promised? We tend to think of blessings as just abundant possessions and wealth; as they might be, but God knows that these trappings may not always be “blessings.” God has promised “never to leave us nor forsake us (Deut 31:8, Heb 13:5).” Is this not an amazing blessing? King David made a very comforting observation in Psalm 37:25: “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.”
If we trust Him completely, we can be assured that God provides exactly what we need, right when we need it. We need to seek Him first, as Matt 6:33 instructs us, and then we can quit worrying about the stock market, the economy and our future because He will take care of us. I love the prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30:8(b) - 9:
This in no way gives anyone permission to be lazy or greedy, because the Word also has plenty to say about that, but if we use the talents God has given us to bless others and trust in His divine providence, we can cruise through hard times counting on the promised blessings from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Sometimes we don’t feel like we are very blessed, do we? When times are tough in our lives, we may find ourselves wondering where are those blessings that God promised? We tend to think of blessings as just abundant possessions and wealth; as they might be, but God knows that these trappings may not always be “blessings.” God has promised “never to leave us nor forsake us (Deut 31:8, Heb 13:5).” Is this not an amazing blessing? King David made a very comforting observation in Psalm 37:25: “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.”
If we trust Him completely, we can be assured that God provides exactly what we need, right when we need it. We need to seek Him first, as Matt 6:33 instructs us, and then we can quit worrying about the stock market, the economy and our future because He will take care of us. I love the prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30:8(b) - 9:
“Give me neither poverty nor riches –
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny you,
And say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.”
This in no way gives anyone permission to be lazy or greedy, because the Word also has plenty to say about that, but if we use the talents God has given us to bless others and trust in His divine providence, we can cruise through hard times counting on the promised blessings from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
“A God Thing”
Have you ever noticed that when good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people, we tend to say with confidence that “It was a ‘God’ thing?” But when good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people or even when tragedies like the Haitian earthquake strike, we are at a loss for words? How can God let this happen? Why do the rich seem to grow richer while the poor become poorer, despite the best intentions of socialist policies, charity and social justice?
Words cannot express the loss that we feel at the death of a loved one or a major setback in life. The most powerful comfort often comes from those who have experienced similar losses in their lives.
The story of Job in the Bible is an amazing testimony of one man’s faithfulness in the midst of ultimate loss. He was a righteous man before God, but he was the unwitting subject of a contest of sorts between God and Satan. Job was a wealthy husband and father with ten grown children. In a very short time, his children were all killed and his wealth and health were taken from him. All he had left were his unsupportive wife and “friends” who came not to comfort him but to try to get him to confess some sin that they assumed was the reason for Job’s misfortune.
Despite his dire circumstances, Job refused to curse God, but rather spoke with amazing clarity his philosophy about God’s sovereignty,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” And again, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 1:21; 2:10b)
When we hear of people who have experienced similar loss, they often express one of two perspectives. Either they mourn that “all is lost; life is over” or that “it was all just stuff and we are thankful to still be alive.” As much as we would like to think that we are in control of our “stuff,” we are truly just one earthquake, fire or flood away from utter devastation. What would you say if that happened to you? If you trust in this sovereign God and remember daily that He has provided everything you have, the answer will be clear.
Words cannot express the loss that we feel at the death of a loved one or a major setback in life. The most powerful comfort often comes from those who have experienced similar losses in their lives.
The story of Job in the Bible is an amazing testimony of one man’s faithfulness in the midst of ultimate loss. He was a righteous man before God, but he was the unwitting subject of a contest of sorts between God and Satan. Job was a wealthy husband and father with ten grown children. In a very short time, his children were all killed and his wealth and health were taken from him. All he had left were his unsupportive wife and “friends” who came not to comfort him but to try to get him to confess some sin that they assumed was the reason for Job’s misfortune.
Despite his dire circumstances, Job refused to curse God, but rather spoke with amazing clarity his philosophy about God’s sovereignty,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” And again, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 1:21; 2:10b)
When we hear of people who have experienced similar loss, they often express one of two perspectives. Either they mourn that “all is lost; life is over” or that “it was all just stuff and we are thankful to still be alive.” As much as we would like to think that we are in control of our “stuff,” we are truly just one earthquake, fire or flood away from utter devastation. What would you say if that happened to you? If you trust in this sovereign God and remember daily that He has provided everything you have, the answer will be clear.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
A Walk in the Garden
As I pointed out in my introductory article, God created us to have a personal relationship with Him. In our fallen state, we are not able to actually see God, even though many of us can feel His presence, hear His voice and are led by His Spirit. In Genesis 3, God came to walk with Adam and Eve in the garden He had made for them. The Bible says that Adam and Eve “heard the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8). What did it sound like to have God walking through the garden to visit with His most precious creations?
Close your eyes and picture yourself walking with God in the most beautiful garden you can imagine. Breathe deeply and picture Jesus (God in human form) walking and talking with you as your best friend. Do this every day. All you need to do is to believe that He is real and start talking to Him as the friend He wants to be. Learn from Him by reading His word (the Bible), talk to Him every day just as you talk with your best friend (pray), learn to listen to Him and open your eyes to His beautiful creation all around you.
Genesis 5:24 says that Enoch, Adam’s great-great-great-great grandson, “walked with God.” They were so close that God took Enoch away so that he did not have to experience death. Genesis 6:9 says that “Noah walked with God.” Because “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen 6:8), God spared him and his family from death in the great flood. Amazing things can happen when we walk with God. It is my goal in this life to walk with God so closely that as I breathe my last breath, I will just take one more step and I will be walking with Him for all eternity. I hope that this will become your goal as well.
Close your eyes and picture yourself walking with God in the most beautiful garden you can imagine. Breathe deeply and picture Jesus (God in human form) walking and talking with you as your best friend. Do this every day. All you need to do is to believe that He is real and start talking to Him as the friend He wants to be. Learn from Him by reading His word (the Bible), talk to Him every day just as you talk with your best friend (pray), learn to listen to Him and open your eyes to His beautiful creation all around you.
Genesis 5:24 says that Enoch, Adam’s great-great-great-great grandson, “walked with God.” They were so close that God took Enoch away so that he did not have to experience death. Genesis 6:9 says that “Noah walked with God.” Because “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen 6:8), God spared him and his family from death in the great flood. Amazing things can happen when we walk with God. It is my goal in this life to walk with God so closely that as I breathe my last breath, I will just take one more step and I will be walking with Him for all eternity. I hope that this will become your goal as well.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
In the Beginning
...God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1, the first verse of the Bible, answers one of the basic questions of human existence, “Where did we come from?” Of course, many people choose not to believe this. They have the right not to believe, which will be explained in the “God is Love” article. The curious thing about believing that God created the universe and every good thing in it is that in this post-Christian era, we who have faith in the loving creator God are sometimes viewed by evolutionists as simple, unintelligent and unenlightened.
What the debate over origin really boils down to is whether one wants to have faith in a gaseous ball of dust that exploded mysteriously billions of years ago, creating a chain of events that eventually led to your existence; or faith in a loving, all-powerful creator God. To avoid an ontological debate over our existence in this and all the articles to come, feel free to substitute “gaseous ball of dust” any time God is mentioned. The truth here is that the origins of the universe cannot be duplicated scientifically, so faith is required to believe in any source of our existence.
I have chosen to believe in an intelligent, loving creator God who spoke the universe into existence. That is one powerful being. What is really cool to consider is that since His words actually create reality, then His promises were also created to take shape at some time in the future. God has made many promises, some which have come to pass throughout the ages and some which have yet to materialize. Because of the creative power of His words, we can trust that what He says in His Word, the Bible, is also true. To start learning about God and His words of promise, I would encourage you to read the Bible in Chronological order. The following site provides a daily Bible reading schedule in chronological order: http://www.christianbeliefs.org/brs/biblereadingsch-01.html. Happy reading!
What the debate over origin really boils down to is whether one wants to have faith in a gaseous ball of dust that exploded mysteriously billions of years ago, creating a chain of events that eventually led to your existence; or faith in a loving, all-powerful creator God. To avoid an ontological debate over our existence in this and all the articles to come, feel free to substitute “gaseous ball of dust” any time God is mentioned. The truth here is that the origins of the universe cannot be duplicated scientifically, so faith is required to believe in any source of our existence.
I have chosen to believe in an intelligent, loving creator God who spoke the universe into existence. That is one powerful being. What is really cool to consider is that since His words actually create reality, then His promises were also created to take shape at some time in the future. God has made many promises, some which have come to pass throughout the ages and some which have yet to materialize. Because of the creative power of His words, we can trust that what He says in His Word, the Bible, is also true. To start learning about God and His words of promise, I would encourage you to read the Bible in Chronological order. The following site provides a daily Bible reading schedule in chronological order: http://www.christianbeliefs.org/brs/biblereadingsch-01.html. Happy reading!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Oh, Grow Up!
“In a Relationship”
Many of the social networking sites like My Space have a “relationship status” option in the personal profile section. If you select “In a Relationship,” you are telling the world that you have “taken yourself off the market.” What does it look like when you are “in a relationship?” Do you make it a point to spend every waking minute with that special person or do you ignore him/her from one week to the next? Do you seek to learn as much about your special person? Do you long to get to know everything about him/her as you can, and share everything about yourself or are you afraid of getting too close? Do your thoughts gravitate towards that person or do you only think of him/her when you are in trouble?
God created us to have a personal relationship with Him. Since He already knows us intimately, it is our job to learn about Him, to know him intimately. Fortunately, He has given us His Word which explains His attributes, His heart, His will and His plan for us in a way which we can relate (with His help). God loves us deeply, but will never force Himself on us. He wants us to open up and get to know Him.
If you would like to get to know God better and deepen your relationship with Him, keep reading these blogs and we will learn of the many attributes (characteristics) of God.
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