Month: February 2018

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What is God like?

 

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made . . . “ – Romans 1:2

If you want to know about someone, look at what they make: The chef’s desserts, the craftsman’s furniture, or the artist’s paintings. Their creations reveal their personalities and their message.

The same is true of God. We’re told in the Bible that the  natural world we see around us reveals us something about who he is.

The sheer size of creation – stars and galaxies, mountains, land, seas – shows God’s infinity, power, majesty, imagination.

The intricacy of nature – small flowers, insects, minute variations in temperature and winds that effect climate, the DNA that makes each person individual – uncovers God’s amazing attention to detail.

The constant provision of food for birds, animals, and humans by giving seed, rain, sun, photosynthesis, and reproduction reflects God’s involvement in our daily lives.

The variety of people the world – color, hair, face, shape, capabilities, personalities, desires – shows God’s love of the human form and person, implying his intimate involvement in who we are and who we become.

What can we conclude about God as we see and study the created world?

  • He is the God of the grandest of scales and tiniest of details.
  • He is the God of the past and the future, and the now.
  • He is personally involved in what he has made – including us.
  • He wants to be acknowledged as Creator and Lord.

When we see God in the created world, let’s turn our wonder into worship!

“Worship is giving God his true worth; it is acknowledging Him to be the Lord of all things, and the Lord of everything in our lives. He is, indeed, the Most High God!” – Sinclair B. Ferguson

 

#SeeingGod

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The GodSense Journey: Exploring Sacred Pathways – for free!

FREE digital download: February 23-26 only!

If you enjoy these blog posts, you may want to go deeper in your walk with God. I have a book for that! And, for the next few days, you can download it at no cost to you. In The GodSense Journey, we explore 52 topics, devoting one week to each. You will be invited to read some teaching, to meditate on Scripture, to pray, to interact with the Bible, and to apply what you are learning. It truly is a unique devotional experience.

To access this special offer, click on the Buy on Amazon tab below or go to the Free Preview where you can peruse the Table of Contents for topics covered, then go to the Buy tab (though you will not be charged if you click between Friday and Monday this week). Enjoy the journey on your Kindle or on the free Kindle app that can be downloaded to your computer.

Share this opportunity with your friends and enjoy The GodSense Journey together. This is a day-by-day devotional divided into 52 weeks. No need to begin on January 1! You can start to know God better and relate to Him more personally today.

And if you enjoy your journey, please write an Amazon review so others will know and can energize their relationship with God, too.

 

 

#spiritualjourney

#thegodsensejourney

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It’s personal!

“You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. – Psalm 139:5

If I were in Jesus’ sandals in the 1st Century, I might have been a bit more organized. For example, I would’ve had all the demon-possessed move to one side of the beach and all the sick and disabled on the other. Then I would’ve cast out all the demons with just one prayer, turning my attention to the sick with an instant healing for all. Jesus could have left this earth with every disease in Israel healed. But he didn’t.

He had his own way: Choosing to heal, forgive, and free from bondage – person-by-person. Even the bleeding woman who touched Jesus secretly was called out so he could look her in the eye, commend her faith, and tell her to go in peace. He actually permitted an argument from the Syro-Phoenician woman and engaged in conversations about requests for others with Jairus and the Roman Centurion.

Then there was the paralytic let down through the roof, blind Bartimaeus, the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda – these were all relational, eye-to-eye encounters. Jesus was doing more than healing: He was fixing the brokenness that didn’t show on the outside.

You and I have some of those kinds of needs, too – the ones inside that we  hide, don’t really want to deal with, or maybe just don’t realize we have. Jesus knows all of it and hears our prayers. But he responds in ways that give us what we really need – sometimes what we ask for, often something even better. With Jesus it’s always personal.

“I need to show Jesus my brokenness – show Him my wounds – and let Him touch them. Let Him cradle my heart in His hands and say, ‘I do will it. Be made clean.’.”*

 

*from  https://beautybeyondbones.com/2018/02/12/an-ashy-valentines-day/

#miracles #prayer

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Ready for change?

 

“. . . wash me and I will be whiter than snow.” – Psalm 51:7b

I remember beginning my prayer time that day with praise. Then I began confessing sins, naming ways in which I felt I was failing God: areas of self-control, worry, lack of compassion, not sharing his message with others. I was about to go on when he stopped me with something like this:

“You have one underlying problem: Not loving me with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Forget the list. Focus instead on knowing and loving me. All else will flow from that. Over time, the list of sins won’t be as important to you, but I will become most important. That’s what I want and what you need – for me to be your everything.”

We all have sins that need to be forgiven. The Bible does tell us to confess our sins. But on that day, God wanted me to take my eyes off my own failings and look at him instead. The ultimate goal, after all, is to become like Jesus. If we keep looking at ourselves, we’ll miss what he wants us to become. Over time, as I continue gazing at him, I begin to realize I am becoming calmer. I feel more concern for others. I am more self-controlled, and more likely to tell someone else about him and what he means to me.

It’s not that we don’t have to change – but God’s way of changing us is more effective than ours. And he does it by loving us, dirt and all, and inviting us into relationship with him. It seems our first step toward change is doing our best to love him with everything we’ve got!

“Communion with God is the one need of the soul beyond all other needs.” – George MacDonald