“For whoso findeth me (wisdom) findeth life, and shall obtain favor from the Lord.”
All of us like to think that we live in wisdom, but we need to make sure that we are. I can only speak for myself, but looking back I can remember things that didn’t come of wisdom – come on you know what I mean. If we want to "obtain favor from the Lord," we need to seek His wisdom. This is why I am asking you to do yourself a favor and live the best life possible. Following are my thoughts on the subject: Do yourself a favor, if you have not already done so, confess your sins, receive God's forgiveness, and invite Jesus Christ into your life. Following this decision: Do yourself a favor and make sure that what you do in your life is serving God’s purposes. The problem that a lot of people have is that there is no great purpose in their lives, and there are others that their purpose is destructive to themselves and to others. I am glad that God called me to preach, because this gave me a great purpose in life from the start. But I have to admit that even in that great purpose I have found myself drifting from His real purposes. These are not happy times in my life, and I’m sure that they are not in your life either. I don’t mean to leave the impression that you have to be a preacher to serve God’s purpose in your life. God brings great purpose into every life that He touches - yes, even your life! Do yourself a favor and make it a purpose of your life to pursue those things that will make your life better. I can think of no better place to go than Philippians 4:8 to find that which will make your life better: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report: if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” There is no better advice anywhere to make your life better than than this verse. Do yourself a favor and purge those things from your life that you know are keeping you from being as close to God as you can. I can’t tell you what you need to purge from your life, because that is a personal decision, but I can promise you that the Lord will hear your prayers and will help you get rid of those things that you need to purge. Paul gave advice on this point in 1 Corinthians 5:7: “Purge out therefore the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened…” The leaven referred to here is anything that you know is holding back your Christian growth. Do yourself a favor and do the things that you need to do grow in Christ. The four points above should give you a good start. Bro. Joe
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“Call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
The prophet, Jeremiah, lived and wrote at a critical time in Jewish history. During his lifetime, the Jews were taken captive into Babylon, and Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed. In fact, after he wrote the words in our text, he foretold the people of the bad things that were about to happen, then in verses 6-7 he gave a promise of better days to come: “Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and reveal unto you the abundance of peace and truth. 7. And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will rebuild them, as at the first.” In this context I want us to see this verse as a personal promise to us. Keep in mind that in the context of the verse all was not good for God’s people, but they were reminded that God would do a work in their lives in the future. Everything will not go our way either, but we can know that God is present with us, leading us through all of the good and the bad things that happen in our lives. First, we have a promise that if we call on Him, God will answer us. Sometimes people think that God has not answered their prayers, when He really has. They just did not recognize the answer when it came. God answers our prayers in His time and in His will. But we can be assured that when we call upon God, He will answer us. Some people have given up on prayer because they think that it has not really done any good in their lives. These people see prayer as an escape valve from the problems of life and when they encounter problems, they think that God has forgotten them. This is not possible, for God never forgets us, and He answers our prayers according to what is best for us. Believe the promise of this text, that if we call upon God, He will answer. Second, we have a promise that He will show us “great and mighty things.” Keep in mind that anything that God does for us is great and mighty. Perhaps we think that if we do not have a “Red Sea experience,” God has not done a great and mighty thing in our lives. Keep this in mind: Anything that God does in our lives is great and mighty. We do not get to define what great and mighty thing God might do in our lives. Just the fact that God hears and answers our prayers is a great and mighty thing. It might be that He has healed you and restored you to health after a time of sickness. That is a great and mighty thing. It might be that He helped you resolve a problem with a person at work that was robbing you of joy. That is a great and mighty work. It might be that he simply helped you through a personal problem that you were dealing with, and restored you to joyful living. That is a great and mighty work. Everything that God does in our lives, from the simplest thing to the greatest thing, is a great and mighty work. One of my main prayers for people that I pray for daily is that God will do a work in their lives that will lift them up and give them victory. Third, God has promised to show us “great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Keep in mind that God is always aware of what is going on in our lives, down to the minutest detail. It is also true that He is always working in our lives whether we are aware of it or not. Isn’t it exciting to think that He is going to do things in our lives that have never been done before – things that we do not know? God is full of surprises, and He will act in our lives sometimes in ways that will leave our minds spinning. In fact, God wants to do new things in your life today. You might think that your life is humdrum, but if you are serving God this is not true. As you call upon God, remember that He is going to do things in your life that you do not know and did not expect. Call upon Him and find out! Bro. Joe “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.”
I don’t know what else the scribes and Pharisees needed to see from Jesus. If we take a look back at some of the things that Jesus did before they asked for a sign, we will see why their request was needless. Jesus had healed people, and had even raised a young girl from the dead. (To get a good picture of what I mean, read chapters 8-10 of Matthew.) They weren’t satisfied with what Jesus had done; they wanted to see something else. In the ensuing verses in Matthew 12 Jesus told them that the only sign he would give them was the “sign of the prophet Jonah.” This was a reference to the three days that Jonah spent in the belly of the “great fish,” which was a reference to Jesus’ resurrection. I think that we are as guilty today as the Scribes and Pharisees were then. God has already given us His magnificent creation. Psalm 19:1-3 deals with this: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament (sky, space, stars, etc.) shows forth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” We can look around us and see the handiwork of God both day and night. I know that there are people who look at what God has created and all they see is a “natural world.” People see what they want to see, but as I look at the order of the universe and the beauty of the earth, I see what God has done and rejoice in it. God has already given us His Word – the Bible. Let’s return to Psalm 19 and see what it tells us about this. In verse 7 the psalmist wrote: “The law (which was the part of the Bible that he had) of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” All the way from Genesis to Revelation, God is revealing Himself through His word. I know that a lot of people read the Bible and cannot see the word of God in it. They give many reasons why they take this view, but we who believe have this dynamic record of God’s work through creation and redemption as solace for our souls. I know that I am glad that I have God’s word to study each day. God has already given us His Son. Hebrews 1:1-3 speaks eloquently to this: “God, who at sundry times and in diverse manner spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; 3. Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven.” I’m not saying that God no longer acts in this world, of course He does, I’m just saying that He doesn’t need to give us something else to help us believe, because He has done enough already by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Understand that God does not have to do anything else to prove Himself to you. Yes, He can, and will, do marvelous things in your life, but that is to bless you, not to prove Himself to you. If what God has already done doesn’t suffice to help you believe, I doubt that “something else” will suffice either. Bro. Joe “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness: according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.”
Reading the Bible is like a literary feast. For example, every time you read a passage, you can find a new meaning in it. From my standpoint, I believe that God reveals new meanings to believers. That was the case yesterday when I read this verse from the fifty-first psalm, that I must have read hundreds of times. I want to share with you what I found in this familiar verse. What I saw in the verse this time are three of the greatest blessings that God offers us. First, I saw the greatest appeal that we can make to God, i.e., the appeal to His mercy. David prayed, “Have mercy upon me, O God.” He added to that “according unto the multitude of your tender mercies.” This is the beginning of David’s prayer for forgiveness for his sin with Bathsheba, and against her husband Uriah, after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. David knew that he had sinned greatly, and that he was not demanding for God to forgive Him but to have mercy on Him. Any of us who come to God for forgiveness but realize that we are appealing to His mercy and His grace. God doesn’t owe it to us to forgive us, but it is according to “the multitude of (His) tender mercies.” (I added the parentheses.) Before God, David was not the great warrior, but a sinner in need of forgiveness. Whatever our station in life, when we disobey God, we must appeal to His mercy not our right to be forgiven. Remember this in your prayer life. Second, I saw the greatest love that we can claim. David not only appealed for God’s mercy, but he made the appeal knowing that God loved him. The greatest claim that God has over us is His love. The Bible reveals all kinds of things about the vengeance of God on sin, but despite that, we know that He loves us. David did not come away free from this sinful episode in his life, but even in the negative things, David knew that God loved him and was teaching him a lesson. He knew that the nature of God is “loving kindness.” This is still true. You can always make a claim on the love of God, and if you are truly repentant and mean what you pray, the love of God will pervade your life. All of we who are believers, know that this is true. Know that according to God’s abundant mercy, shown to us through Jesus Christ, He loves you and is ready to forgive you. If He forgave David’s adultery and murder, what have you done that in His love and mercy, God will not forgive. Third, I saw the greatest transaction that can take place between God and people, i.e., that David asked God to blot out his transgressions. “Transgression” is defined as “going out of bounds.” David knew that he had gone out of bounds, and he wanted that blotted out in heaven’s record. I know this, that if you come to God through His mercy and love, in real repentance, He will blot out your transgressions as well. The New Testament claim of this is found in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This was what David asked for in this verse and what we can ask as well. Well, go to it. These three things can happen in your life. Bro. Joe ,“And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods. 6. But who is able to build him a house, seeing the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a house, save only to burn sacrifice to Him.”
Our text is in the middle of a conversation with Hiram, king of Tyre, concerning the temple that David wanted to build. Solomon revealed his theology that he learned from his father, David. What I want to share with you here is not the historical, or textual, context, but the theology in the text that can give us a clear picture of the power and the nature of God. Solomon did not feel worthy to build a house for God, except for the fact that his father, David, felt the leadership of God to build a place for sacrifices and for the presence of God among His people. The first thing I see here is the uniqueness of God/Jesus. Solomon refers to Him as being above all gods. He was referring to Baal and other gods, seemingly preferred by the people. Let’s get personal: What is greater, and more unique in your life than God/Jesus? Later in life, Solomon didn’t seem to remember this, but this didn’t make it untrue. Have you forgotten about the uniqueness of God, and have you put something or someone else ahead of Him in your life? Does Jesus hold the unique place in of first place in your life? If you put Him first you will be a better husband or wife – or whatever. Putting Him first does not take away from anything else in your life. In fact it will make your life better. Paul wrote about this uniqueness in Colossians 1:16-17: “For by (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him. 17. And He is before all things, by Him all things consist.” “Consist” means that He holds all things together – including our lives. The second thing I see is the greatness of God. We see the greatness of God in verse 6a: “But who can build Him a house, seeing the heavens and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him?” I don’t know what Solomon knew about the universe, but when he looked into the sky he saw the creation of God, and realized that God was greater than everything that he saw in the sky. This is a reference to God’s being present everywhere in the world. We just need to grasp this greatness in all of the situations of our lives. What is the greatest need that you have right now? God is greater than that need. What is your greatest fear right now? God is greater than that fear. What is your greatest problem with people that you work with, or just people in general in your life? God is greater than that problem. God will be present in all of these situations and other situations that you might encounter in your life. Jesus told us to: “Come unto me all you that are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Lean into the greatness of God for your own life. Coming to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, He is able to make your life better. The third thing I see is that God, building our houses, which today are our hearts and lives, has a purpose. It almost looks like the house was unimportant except to make sacrifices. But all of those sacrifices had a purpose - or purposes. From the standpoint of the New Testament the sacrifice that we make is ourselves. Romans 12:1: “I beseech your therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present yourself a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” I want to ask you to join me thinking about the uniqueness of God, the greatness of God and the purpose of God for your life. Bro. Joe (If you are long time reader of couchpotatoredux, you might remember this article. Enjoy it again.)
“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” KJV “At daybreak, Lord you hear my voice; at daybreak I plead my case to You and watch expectantly.” HCSB There is a story that I have told many times over the years about a cotton mill in Georgia. There was a sign on the wall of that mill that read, “When your thread gets tangled, call the foreman.” There was a twenty-something young lady working in the mill. One day her thread got tangled and she proceeded to try to untangle it herself. The more she tried to untangle the thread, the worse the tangle got. That foreman watched her for a little while, then walked over to her and said, “I see that your thread is tangled.” The young lady replied, “Yes, but I’m doing the best I can to untangle it.” The foreman answered her: “Look at the sign. It says that if your thread gets tangled you are supposed to call the foreman. Young lady the best thing that you can do when your thread gets tangled is to call me, and I will untangle it for you.” I think that you already see the point that this story makes. We get all tangled up in our lives and we try to untangle the mess on our own, but to no avail. I think that God would say to us that when our lives get tangled, we should call on Him. He knows more about the situation than we do, and He knows the solution. We just need to trust Him. I think that the text printed above tells us that David understood this truth. Nobody’s life ever got more tangled than David’s. David is an important biblical figure, but, like us, he could really make a mess of things. I think that David came out of it being called “a man after God’s own heart,” because of what he wrote in Psalm 5:3. He had decided that he would start each day with prayer. The HCSB translation says that David prayed at daybreak. It is a good idea to start each day with prayer. Instead of saying, “Good lord, its morning,” we should say, “Good morning Lord.” It is very important to start each day with prayer. I learned this many years ago. When I was om my first pastorate, and a crisis came up. I had never been driven remember to pray like this, but I was at that time. The problem was probably not as dire as I thought it was at the time, but it drove me to my knees. The Lord helped me to see in that experience that I needed to spend more time in prayer in order to meet the crises of life. That is when I started praying each morning when I got up. It became a necessity to go to my “prayer closet” and pray and read my Bible every morning. Whenever I have gotten away from the schedule, if that’s the right word, I could tell a difference in my life. I guess that I’m saying that we need to pray before the “thread gets tangled.” But there will be times when even at that we will get entangled in some mess in life. That is when we need to learn to go to the Lord immediately and give the mess to Him. The more we try to untangle life’s messes on our own, the more tangled the messes will get. Jesus wants to be invited into our messes. He pleads with us to come to Him and avoid needless anxiety and suffering. It is my prayer that this article will help you to see the importance of prayer in your life. If you have already discovered it, you still need to be reminded occasionally about how important it is to pray. Whatever you are dealing with in your life right now, you do not have to handle it by yourself. Don’t be like the people who say, “When all else fails - pray.” Be the person who says, “Before all else fails, I will pray.” That’s not just my advice to you, but it is the Bible’s advice. Heed it! Bro. Joe “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed: came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. 34. And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35. And the next day when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him and whatsoever you spend more, when I come again, I will repay you.”
It’s possible that you know the content of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. You remember that a man was beaten by thieves and left half dead on the side of the road. A priest and Levite passed by the man on the other side of the road, but the Samaritan stopped and helped the man. The priest and Levite when they saw the suffering man might have said: “Who cares?” Along came the Samaritan and said: “I care.” The question for us is which of these people would we be as we encounter suffering humanity. Would we say “Who cares?” or “I care?” The Good Samaritan has some lessons to teach us – let’s learn them. It is written that the Good Samaritan had compassion on the man. This is what the priest and Levite did not have. It is possible that the priest and Levite had important religious business to attend to in Jericho, and did not want to waste the time to stop and help the man. This reminds us of the Pharisees who were ready to kill Jesus because He healed people on the Sabbath. To put religious activity ahead of compassion for lost humanity is not good. It is not our duty to be “religious;” it is our duty to be Christian. To have compassion on someone is to empathize with them – to feel their pain. Perhaps the Good Samaritan thought, “If this was me, I would want someone to stop and help me, or if this was one of my children, I would want someone to stop and help them." It is possible that the priest and Levite felt sorry for the injured man, but feeling sorry for someone is not the same as feeling with someone. We need to ask ourselves if we have compassion in our hearts for hurting and lost humanity? The Good Samaritan took the time to help the injured man. He used what “first aid” resources he had available at the time. He bound up the man’s wounds and poured in oil and wine. Remember that he did not have bandages and other things that we might have in a first aid kit. He used what he had to help the man. He did what he could to do good to the injured man. We read stories all of the time of where people see people suffering in some way and “pass by on the other side.” It is not unheard of that people have watched people beaten, or raped, and just kept on going. I think that in a case like that a cell phone would be like “binding wounds and pouring in oil and wine.” If one didn’t have a cell phone, there is certainly something that they could do. Like the priest and Levite, people today just don’t want to get involved. Could it be said of us that we do not want to get involved in other people’s suffering. The Good Samaritan was willing to pay to be compassionate. He took the man to an inn and found lodging for him until he could get well. Furthermore, he told the innkeeper: “Take care of him; and whatever you spend more, when I come again, I will repay you.” The Good Samaritan followed through on his commitment to help the man get well. He didn’t just drop him off at an inn and say: “There, I’ve done my part." It does sometimes cost to act compassionately, but it pays off in our Christian witness. Who cares? Do you care? It is a good question. Caring is not just about helping suffering people on the side of the road. It is about being a good neighbor to others, and showing compassion in all areas of life. Bro. Joe “Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, We are not careful to answer you in this matter. 17. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.”
The third chapter of Daniel reveals a trying time for God’s exiled people. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, declared that all people would worship an image of gold. Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego refused to bow to this golden image, were placed into the furnace, and eventually were delivered from the furnace. They dared to stand for God instead of bending to idolatry – which would break the first two of the Ten Commandments. We can learn from faith and courage, and why they were true to God. Their courage was due to their devotion to God. Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego were men of God, and were devoted to God alone. They absolutely could not bow to the golden image. The favor of God meant more to them than even the favor of the great king Nebuchadnezzar. Are you devoted to Jesus alone, or do you bow to the “false gods” of our age? Do you bow to greed or popularity instead of standing for the Lord? Do you seek the smile of God or the smile of the world? I pray that my devotion to God will be of this kind. Their courage was due to their obedience to God. The three great Hebrew men obeyed God rather than people. They obeyed the truth of God that they knew in their hearts instead of the falsehood that the world tried to foist on them. They took a step of faith instead of a step of fear. Do you obey God or people? Do you obey what the Bible teaches or what the world tells you is truth? The time in which we live sometimes demands that we disobey God. But God has not changed, for He wants our obedience today as He did in the Hebrew children’s day. We need to learn what the apostles knew in Acts 5:29: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Their courage was due to their consistent faith in God. In other words, they were not “fair-weather friends” of God. They were consistent in their stand. There were no circumstances that would make them bow down to a false image. They had the faith and courage to say “no” to that with which they could not agree. They had the courage to say, “We will not serve your gods.” We need to be consistent as well. We shouldn’t let anything turn us from following Jesus. I have seen some people capitulate even when there was no fear of death. We will see a great difference in our lives, our homes and our churches when we stand for the Lord in the courage of consistency. For example, we will say “no” to the devil when he tries to get us bow down to hurt feelings, or when he tries to get us to bow to hurt feelings, some disagreement with fellow Christians. We will say “no” to those who tell us the tolerance of sin is the supreme Christian virtue in the face of all sorts of ungodliness. We will say “no” to greed, pride and lust when they try to steer us off course. We will have the courage to be consistent when the world demands inconsistency of us. When Paul feared that Timothy might waver in his faith and courage, he reminded him: (For) God did not give you a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (NIV) Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego practiced this spirit in this text. The day in which we live calls for us to have the faith and courage to stand for the Lord. Bro. Joe “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
These have been hard days on our religious freedoms. It is as though there is no first amendment, and as though there are not two sides to every story. It as if there is really no separation of church and state anymore. What is left is what the state says that you have to believe. Boy, it appears that I’ve given up hope doesn’t it? Well I might be saddened by the turn of events, but I am certainly not without hope, nor should you be. Here is why I believe that there is hope: First, there is still hope because God is not dead. I wrote an article some time ago that was entitled, “God is not in Trouble.” If I read my Bible correctly, it reveals a God who is all-powerful, all-knowing and present everywhere at all times. The Bible also reveals that God is sovereign, which means that there is no authority over Him, and that He has ultimate authority over all things. He began it and He will end it. The Bible never depicts a perfect world where all of God’s people were loved and admired by the populace. What it does show is that even when God’s people were in trouble, He was working in their lives and carrying out His purpose. We live in a fallen world and it will be fallen until the Lord brings it all to an end. The God that I read about in the Bible, that I have given my life to, and that I have been privileged to preach His gospel for fifty six years, knows what is going on and is working out His purpose. We need to remember that God’s way is often hard to understand, but in faith we continue to believe in Him and serve Him. He is still alive. Second, there is still hope because the risen Christ’s church is not dead. It sure seems like it sometimes. But we have to remember that Jesus told Peter that the gates of hell could not prevail against His church. There is hope because of Christ’s church that is here to remind people of the presence of Christ. Someone reading this may be scoffing right now because he, or she, is basing his, or her, opinion on the example that we in the church set sometimes. Dear friends, let’s remember that the church of Jesus Christ was born in trouble. Those early Christians had no first amendment, nor did they really have any rights. When that early church was told that they must stop preaching in the name of Jesus they responded, not with a plea to a constitution, but to Jesus Himself. Here is what they said in Acts 5:29: “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God instead of men." That is what we must still do. The unbelievers are not defeating the real church of the Living Christ. Third, there is still hope because the Holy Spirit is still at work in the world. All of the political shenanigans cannot put out the fire of the Holy Spirit. If some have lost the fire of the Holy Spirit, they did not kill Him. The Spirit of God is still alive in the scripture. He gave us the scripture that we preach, and His power is still in it. The Spirit of God is still in godly lay people in all walks of life who live their faith daily in the market place. The Spirit of God is still alive in the preaching of the word. Every time I preach, I believe that the Spirit of God is at work in people’s lives. I did not say that the altars are filled every time I preach, but because of the Holy Spirit lives, are touched whether I ever know about it or not. I just believe that His “word will not return to Him void.” I’m not bragging on my preaching. I’m bragging on the Holy Spirit. Fourth, there is still hope because Jesus is coming again. He promised that He would come again in several places in scripture and it is going to happen when we least expect it. It is one of the most solid promises in the Bible. Only God knows when it will happen, but it will happen. Yes, there is still hope because of all I’ve written about here, and I trust for many other reasons that I have not written. I am not unconcerned about the political situation. I just wanted to share with you while there is hope, no matter the political situation. Believe and have hope. Amen Bro. Joe “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen”
1 Timothy 1:17 is a benediction after Paul had written about God’s mercy on him, before he changes the subject to give a charge to Timothy. Paul did not write this benediction as an afterthought and as a nice prayer. The verse is literally filled with descriptions of the God who had mercy on him through Jesus Christ. Here are my thoughts on this benediction: The first description of God is that He is “eternal” and "immortal." The truth is that God has always existed. People want to know where God came from. He has existed from everlasting to everlasting. There is no beginning and end for Him. He has always been - period. In the same vein God is described as immortal. Let me just say that we need to remember that God ain’t like us. He is above and beyond anything that we can know and understand in our finite minds. As used as an adjective, immortal means: “living forever, never dying or decaying.” A second description of God is that He is invisible. This is the reason that a lot of people give for not believing in Him. God has warned that if we ever saw Him in all of His glory, we would die. Jesus addressed this in His reply to doubting Thomas: “Jesus said unto him, Thomas because you have seen me, you have believed: Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) Peter wrote about it in 1 Peter 1:8: “Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable.” Suffice it to say, we are in good company when we believe in the invisible Lord. A third description of God is of His wisdom: “the only wise God.” (In some translations, the Greek word for “wise” is omitted. It is not omitted in the KJV.) If God thinks it, it is so. If God says it, it is true. If you read about it in the Bible, it is true. If He speaks to our hearts, it is true. God is all-knowing. If there was something that God could not know it would not be worth knowing. You know that is impossible for this to happen. In Matthew 10:30, Jesus said, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” This is how well God knows us. Whatever other theological or philosophical arguments that we might consider here, the most important thing to us is that Jesus knows everything about us, but He loves us anyway. Because of all that God is, we owe Him “honor and glory.” We are to give God honor and glory “forever and ever.” The truth is that we our praise of God’s honor and glory will not just for this life but in heaven. There is a scene in Revelation 4 where all of those around the throne of God give “glory and honor and thanks to Him.” Our eternal, immortal, invisible God, the “only wise God” will be honored by His people in heaven. Stop now and praise and thank God for who He is and what He is to you. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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