How We Position Ourselves

                This morning, I sat down and said, "I have no idea what I am going to write about today." That was perfect, because as I was finishing the sentence, God reminded me that I am in the perfect position for glory. It is not about what I know how to do or what I can do, but about giving Him glory. When I am not in control, but I am participating, that is the perfect position to give God all of the glory.

                I love telling this story. A few months ago while I was at college, I was running and working all day from six or seven in the morning until eleven at night. Just as I was climbing into bed, God told me to stop and go visit a specific friend (we will refer to the friend as "X"). So, I pulled myself out of my room, slipped on my shoes, and walked to X's room in my pajamas. When I knocked on the door, X was surprised to see me because X had just gotten back a few seconds before I knocked. We started to talk about what had happened that day and crazy experiences. The whole time, God was whispering in my ear "demon." I was tired and wanted to go to bed and deal with it later, but God was calling me and my friend was important. Eventually, I asked X, "How do you feel when I say the word 'demon?'" X told me that there was a neck and leg pain that came out of no where at the word. I had to trust God because I was too tired to think.

                As soon as we started to pray, I felt it come at me. I was speaking for three seconds, at the most, and then the Holy Spirit stepped in and started to speak through my vocal cords. It cast out a powerful demon and even brought images to X's minds of things to dispose of. Soon after talking about it, X's roommate came in and the Holy Spirit told me that we should praise. X's roommate could not get into it, so we prayed together and X's roommate felt a whirlwind drop down and take away all of the negativity. As soon as we finished praising God for that movement, the Holy Spirit caused me to say "since we are already in the Spirit, let's pray for something to happen." My two friends agreed and we began to pray. Half way through the prayer, X yelled out "Stop!" in a deep voice, then God, using X's voice, told us that the very person that we were praying for will be saved!"

                To summarize, when I was willing to do what God wanted but was letting Him work, we cast out a powerful demon, healed negative emotions, and prophesied. See what happens when we let God get all of the glory? Whenever we step down and let God stand up in our lives, things are radically changed. That is why the perfect position for us would be seated, willing to do whatever God asks us to do and allowing God to get the full glory. If He says go to the lunch room at your school, go with a Bible in hand and a smile on your face. If God says go talk to that person, pray over them as you are walking to them and listen to them as you talk to them. Let God move! We must get out of His way and be willing to do whatever He asks of us. That is how we glorify God! It is not about our glory. We are imperfect. If anyone deserves glory, it is perfection, and only God is perfect last I checked.

                How we position ourselves is critical. If we position ourselves to do all of the work, we are going to reap what we sow. We operate in the flesh and trust in ourselves, we will get imperfection because we are using perfection. If we step aside and let God take the lead, we will be allowed to walk in His perfect plan, because perfection is reaping and sowing on our behalf, so we are allowed to taste the fruits of perfection when we step down. How we position ourselves dictates what seeds we sow, and that dictates what our harvest looks like


                                                                                                                                         -D

Yesterday

                I have been talking to a few Christians, and I have realized something: although we are in today, the things of yesterday can still get to us. I have been looking forward, but people from my past and situations from my past always try to reach from yesterday to ruin my today. I decided a while ago that the past is staying in the past and I will have no part in it. I will not turn to old sins, I will not turn to old people, and I will not turn to old drama. I trust in God today to fix what I could not fix yesterday.

                As great as that may sound, it is not always that easy. Sometimes, we hold onto bitterness and anger, or we do not forgive and we allow these things to stay in our lives, effecting us daily. As easy as it is to say, "forgive and forget," it is not always so easy to do. Often times, we cannot take the advice that we give others, or we cannot find the strength to forgive. But, here is the key: when you let go of the past, it cannot effect your future. Forgiving someone will not change the past experience, but it will change your future. That is why Christ tells us to forgive. If we do not forgive yesterday, we cannot fully do what Christ asks of us today.

                Sometimes, we feel that it is too hard to forgive. How do you forgive your best friend for stealing your husband? How do you forgive your brother from breaking up your relationship? How do you forgive someone who has sent your precious child to the hospital? How do you forgive someone who has spoken ill will over your mother? How do you forgive someone who has raped you and left you with a baby? Forgiveness isn't always about little things like who took your last soda. We have to forgive about the big things too, like who stole all of the money from your checking account. I am not saying, if you get robbed, do not do anything about it. Let justice be served, but do not let bitterness stick around. At some point in time, you need to forgive; and the sooner you forgive, the sooner Christ can heal your heart and use you for a glorious plan.

                Isaiah 43:18-19 says, "forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." It will not be easy to move forward, but when bitterness and anger are allowed to sit in your life, they drag death and sin into your life as well. There may be a sin that you cannot overcome no matter how often you pray. Why could you not stop doing it? Maybe because you are not forgiving someone of something. When you forgive, you close the door to bitterness and anger and everything that they could drag in.

                This could be your call to forgive. Maybe you need to forgive a family member. Maybe you need to forgive an old friend. Maybe you need to forgive a co-worker. Maybe you even need to forgive yourself. Yes, sometimes we sin so badly that we do not try to forgive ourselves. There may be a sin that you don't want anyone to know about. If that is the case, you must forgive yourself of it just as Christ forgives you of it or you will always be weighed down by it. It wants you to feel guilty and stuck in your sin, but you must know that you are forgiven and loved. God knows the sin that you have committed because He was there with you when you did it. He wants to make you clean and let you experience His love. If God has started making you clean and new, He can finish it. "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." Trust that He will fulfill His word and make you a new creation in Christ.

                Sometimes we need to look back at our lives, and sometimes we need to look at where we are at. "Why can't I get that job?" "Why can't I get that position?" "Why can't I pastor yet?" "Why can't I overcome this sin?" "Why am I doing everything that I said I would never do?" "Why am I doing the same thing that that person did to me?" In the end, it all comes down to this question to God. "Why am I still struggling?"

                Sometimes we look at our age and say, "this isn't where I was supposed to be by now." Sometimes we look at our positions and locations and say, "this isn't where I am supposed to be right now?" Why are we not where we expected? It would be one thing if we were advancing in places that we never dreamed of, because that would be God moving in your life; but maybe you have been in the same job, same house, same situation for years and you do not understand why things are not getting better. There could be bitterness and anger from yesterday that is holding you back.

                We all need to take a moment to pray and ask God, "who do I need to forgive and why?" He will answer that one if you ask Him for real. He wants us to forgive so we can be fully forgiven. Sometimes, we don't know that we are holding onto anger and grudges; but other times, we know and do not want to acknowledge it. "I don't want to forgive him for what he did to her," or "I don't want to forgive them for what they did to us," or "I don't want to forgive her for what she did to me." We have to forgive and forget.

                My favorite comeback to that one is, "Well, I'm just not ready to forgive." Does it matter? What if Christ had that excuse? A man in his jail cell, crying out to God for forgiveness and God replies, "I'm not ready to forgive you yet. Stay humble. I'll get back to you." Forgiveness is not emotionally based. It is a choice. Bitterness tries to make you say you can wait it out, but there comes a point when you need to just forgive. There comes a point when the anger and bitterness have to go and love and mercy need to step in. We must put aside our desires and our emotional wants for God's. In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, "whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." That means that we must deny our desire to hold grudges and carry the cross of forgiveness that Jesus Christ did. We must let go of our own selfish emotions and embrace love and forgiveness. If we call ourselves the disciples of Christ, He tells us what we need to do. We must let go our our fleshly desires and take up the cross. We must let go of the past and pick up a new future.


                                                                                                                                         -D

The Word Must be Truth

                "For the word that God speaks is alive and full of power; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible is the Word of God, and according to the book of John it is God, we must take God seriously and not look at the Bible as a man made tool; because "every scripture is God-breathed, given by His inspiration, and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness." (2Timothy 3:16). The Bible is the Word of God, literally. It is not just some old book that has survived the ages and kept it's spot on the "#1 Most Sold" list.

                Why do we have to take the word seriously? This is why. John 1:1 says, "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Word was God. How? Because the Word is Jesus Christ. How do we know that? John 1:14 says, "the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." Over in Revelations 19:13, it describes Jesus. "He is dressed in a robe dyed by dipping in blood, and the title by which He is called is The Word of God." Jesus is the Word of God in flesh. They are not separate, they are they same.

                So we have clarified that the Bible is the Word, and the Word is Jesus Christ. They are the same. Now, this is not the only reason why we must take the word seriously. In John 1:14, he said that the Word came from the Father, "full of grace and truth." The word must be full of truth. It must be fully true. In John 14:6 Jesus says that He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the truth, not a truth or some truth, but the truth. If Jesus is truth, that means that the Bible must be truth. If any part of Jesus was not truth, He could not honestly say that He is the truth. If we believe that we have everlasting life in Jesus Christ, we must believe that He is total truth and that the Bible, because it is the Word, is total truth as well. 2 Peter 1:16 says, "we did not follower cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty." We must believe that Jesus Christ is total truth, and that the Word is total truth as well. The Bible is Jesus Christ and is truth.

                Lately, I have been seeing people make things on the internet saying things like, "well that verse was from hundreds of years ago, there is no way it still stands today," or "well we have modern technology so it's fine to not follow that book. They had no idea what they were talking about. We are more advanced now." or even, "Well I don't believe in the Old Testament, but I believe in the New one." We must believe in the Bible as a whole! We cannot do a lunch line special saying, "I'll have a little Genesis, none of the Exodus of Leviticus. I'll have a bunch of Matthew and John. Give me a corner piece of Acts and hold the Revelations." We must accept the Bible as a whole truth or a partial truth. The Bible is truth as a whole. Not believing in all of it would be like having a long, correct, math equation and only copying down parts of it. It is all or nothing!

                If we  believe that any one part of the Bible is false, we are believing that Jesus is not fully true, and that disqualifies everything because if Jesus claims to be the truth, either He is or He is not. If we can say, "well a guy and a girl can sleep together before getting married now because we have the pill and it's normal now," then we are saying that Jesus is not truth and we have disqualified our Salvation. How can we do that? Well, Jesus claimed to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If any one part of Him is false, the statement is false, and we are following imperfection, and only perfection meets the standards to wash all of our sins away forever. So, by believing that ever one chapter in the Bible is false, you are saying that Jesus Christ is false and not truly God, and if He is not truly God, then He is imperfect and could not have died for our sins and we are hopeless sinners who will all go to Hell.

                It is imperative that we take the Bible seriously. It is the Word of God. It is not just some old book. It is living, active, and fully true. To believe that Jonah and the great fish did not happen is to believe that God is not capable of creating a big enough fish or working a miracle. To believe that the Old Testament is false is to discredit Jesus when He referred to Job as a living historical person or that God did not have the power to create everything in His own way. To believe only some laws of the Bible and ignore the rest is to say that God is not all powerful or worthy to be respected because His laws are optional and He is not important enough to give full respect to.

                The Word of God is powerful, it is living, and it is truth. To believe anything less is to say that Jesus was a liar, and that is saying that God is imperfect, and if God is imperfect, why are we worshiping Him?


                                                                                                                                         -D

We Cannot Stop at Pain

                We are going to go through some hurt. We are going to go through some pain. We are going to shed some tears. We are going to cry out like we have never done before. We are human, and we will get hurt. That is a fact. Some pains are small. It can feel like a slap in the face or a pinch and we can move on within minutes. Other pains are worse. They can feel like you have literally been stabbed in the heart, or a pain so bad that you cannot describe it and all you can do is sit and feel it. Pain is a part of life.

                Many times, people get stuck on the pain though. They do not move forward. They sit and feel the pain and wait for it to leave, expecting God to just waltz in and heal you. Now, nothing is wrong with trusting in God, but there is one key element missing: faith without action is dead (James 2:26) If you hurt, let Him know! If you are crying, let Him hear it! If you cannot take the pain, give it to Him! We cannot be adults to God, getting hurt and shrugging it off when we need attention. When a child falls, they cry to show the pain that they are in. They make it known! They know that if they cry long enough and loud enough, someone will come to take the pain away.

                We must stop being so timid with God. We must be bold before His throne! Did we forget that we are His children? If we have a request, make it known to Him so that He may answer you! Does the knife in your back hurt? Ask Him what to do about it. Does the thorn in your side bother you? Ask Him if it must stay. Does your broken heart need fixing? Ask Him if this is the time to heal it. We must be bold with our prayers.

                Sometimes we need to just put everything aside and get on our knees. We need to have a moment where the phone and the laptop and every other distraction that we use to keep us from feeling is put away and we go before God's throne and ask Him, "Father, why does this hurt so bad! Why am I going through this? Yes, this is my time; and yes, I am not excused from pain, but this hurts! Father, why am I going through this? Did I hurt someone? Do I need to fix this? Do I need to be patient? Is this a growing pain or a punishment? You said that you will not cause pain without something new to be born. Well, whatever I am giving birth to hurts, and I am willing to do your will. Tell me when to push, because this new thing needs to come out of me so I can praise you for it!" We must not wallow in our pain. We must stand up, be bold, and ask God, "what can I do? Something new is going to be born out of my pain? Tell me when to push." We need to get up and be active, even in our pain. I have found that the pain is the best time to praise God because you can remember every other time you were crying and in pain and you can remember just how God got you through it. You don't have to wait for the miracle in order to praise God. Prasie Him in advance! Praise Him in the storm! Praise Him in the hurt, the pain, and the tears because it is a growing pain and He is worthy to be praise. Yes, even the pain is a gift that is making you stronger, so praise God for growth! Praise Him when you are hurting, "for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

                1 Peter 4:12-19 says, "beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffere as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the Gospel of God? and 'if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will becomes the ungodly and the sinner?' therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good."

                If we are suffering for the name of Jesus Christ, continue to do what you are doing because it just means that the Devil is mad. Let the world hate you, because you will be glorified in Christ and only blessings will come out of the pain. But, what about the suffering that isn't from spreading the name of God?

                Know the the pain is growing pains. God will not allow this pain to exist without something good being born from it. If you are loosing a friend, God is making room for growth. If your future is looking dimmer and dimmer, and every door seems to be shutting in your face, turn around and see what door God is opening for you. If you are loosing loved ones or getting sick, know that God has His hand over the situation and is making everything work together for the best. Even when we cannot see the end in sight, know that God sees it and knows how to get you there. All we can do is trust in Him to fulfill His promises.

                We have God on our side to get us to the end of this suffering. It might be painful now, but the pain only shows the beauty of the glory that will show up at the end of it. Trust God, praise God, and do not stop just because pain came into your life. God will get you through it.

Exodus 1:12

                Now, there were twelve sons of Israel, Israel being Jacob, brother of Esau, and the twelve sons being the one from the story of Joseph and the colorful jacket. When the twelve sons were fruitful and multiplied after the death of their father, we find ourselves in the book of Exodus. We discover the twelve sons, the heads of the twelve tribes, have died and a new pharaoh of Egypt stepped into power. The Pharaoh saw the Israelites and says that they must be dealt with.

                Now, why did the Pharaoh want to attack them? The Israelites did not attack him first. The truth was, he was afraid that they would continue to grow in size and, if war broke out, would join his enemy. Instead of showing love and friendship or cutting covenant, the Pharaoh allowed his fear to take control and took the Israelites as slaves, all on the chance of an "if."

                Exodus 1:11-13 tells us what Pharaoh did to the Israelites. "So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dear the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly."

                Let us look at the situation from Pharaoh's point of view. You have just taken power in a land that you know little of. (You do not even know of Jacob or Joseph.) When you get into power, you know that anyone would want to kill you in order to take your place. Your life is never totally safe. Then, you hear of a people called the Israelites. They are growing in numbers, and quickly. You could have tried to make peace with them, but they are a threat, so you enslave them. As you try to work them out of reproducing and into fear of your name, they do not stop growing. In fact, the more work that you put on them, the more they seem to grow in numbers. Now, you either continue to force more labor on them and hope they stop multiplying, or you take away your slave masters and hope that the Israelites do not grow bitter against you.

                Not a fun position to be in, is it? Well, that is the position that the Devil is in with Christians. The Devil is in power over the Earth and the people of God are multiplying. Whenever he puts pressure on a Christian, God blesses His child. Whenever he stays away from the Christian, the Christian has time to grow with God. What does the Devil have left to do? All he is doing now is trying to put so much pressure on us that we break; but just like the Israelites, we will be fruitful and blessed under pressure.

                You must realize that you are a child of God, just like the Israelites. Exodus 1:12 says, "but the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread..." When we come under pressure from the enemy, we must remember that we will be blessed by God to handle the pressure; so do not be afraid of life's storms. Instead, take them as chances to be blessed and grow. When we look at storms from life as opportunities, the Devil will come to dread us, just as "the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites."


                                                                                                                                         -D

Our Identity in Christ

                I have talked to many people, Christians and non-Christians, and discovered that many people, not just our youths, are going through an identity crisis. People are not forgetting who they are, but they never even knew to begin with. For those in the world, it is hard to find an identity because the world says you must be the richest, best looking, strongest, and most powerful; but that can never happen because there is always someone better looking to someone's standards, or someone stronger, or someone who is richer, or someone who is naturally better at something than you. It is an endless struggle to find a worldly identity. As Christians, we have an identity that is simple yet so powerful. We are the sons and daughters of God. It is so simple to say, but it has so much meaning.

                When a security guard at a work place or an airport asks to see your ID, they want to know who and what you associate with. They want to know who you are. Like I said yesterday, we have abandoned the old man for the new man; so we associate with new things. This means that we get a new ID in Christ. Now, many people would say, "it's impossible to be just like Christ," and they are right. It is impossible. So, how do we overcome this struggle of being a Christian? Well, it's not about what we do and how we do things, it's not about being perfect; it's all about who we are, and we determine that by our relationship with God. We are not supposed to strive to be perfect. We are to strive to get to know God better.

                When we become a Christian, Christ is supposed to come into every area of our lives. There is not one area that is supposed to be left untouched. We naturally sin and we will continue to do so, if Christ does not step into our lives. I am not saying that we will stop sinning all together, but the love of God is the only thing strong enough to change us dramatically. He is pulling us out of death and into life, out of sin and into Christ. Again, like I said yesterday, the old man is gone and the new man is here. The old man is sinful and tries to become perfect through laws or rules, even the laws and rules of the illegal life (for example, do whatever it takes to win, show no mercy, don't snitch, etc.) When you pick up the new you, the Holy Spirit can step in and help you do the things that the old man could not do, such as follow the laws of God and express His true love to everyone, including yourself.

                We must realize that our relationship with God is not based on what we do, our sins, or how other's think of us. Our titles mean nothing to God. Our heart is what matters. We must stop allowing the old man to take control and give the wheel to the new man; because no matter how hard we try, the old man is not the real you. The real you is the new man, and you will not find yourself in any other identity. You will not find the real you in the laws or the Ten Commandments. You will find the real you in who God says you are. He formed you out of the dust of the Earth. He knows you better than you do.

                In the end, it is not about what laws you have followed or what sins you have committed, it is about you knowing that God loves you unconditionally and has the best waiting for you. He cares more about your relationship than your titles. We will not find ourselves in the law, but only in Christ Jesus and what God has said about us.

                This is what God says about You when you look into His word. You are not rejected, unloved, dirty or shameful because in Christ you are completely accepted. You are not guilty, unprotected, alone or abandoned because in Christ, you are totally secure. You are not worthless, inadequate, helpless or hopeless because in Christ you are deeply significant. Romans 15:7 says, "accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." You are accepted, and not only by other true Christians, but by Jesus Christ Himself.

                Child of God, stop condemning yourself. If you do not know who you are, read God's word and He will tell you in His timing. You cannot find your identity in anything but Christ. God is the one who has made you and has been there with you through everything. He knows the numbers of hairs on your heads and every thought that has ever been in your mind (Luke 12:7, Matthew 10:30). Stop trying to be perfect, stop trying to be a "Christian" and stop trying to take matters into your own hand. Once you humble yourself and say, "God,  You tell me because no one else knows me better than you," He will begin to show you what to do.

                For those of you who wish to start figuring out who you are this moment, begin by reading Ephesians 1. The chapter will tell you about who you truly are. Remember, you are loved by God and no matter where you are in your walk with Him, all He wants is a relationship with you.


                                                                                                                                         -D

To Whom Does the Glory Belong?

                In life, glory is a big deal. People want to be recognized; and most of the time, fame is a big part of life goals. This does not always mean television stars. It can also mean being adored by our friends, or being considered a saint among sinners. In the end, no matter what our goals are or what our friends and family says, we have to ask ourselves: to whom does the glory belong? To me, or to someone else?

                When stars receive an award, they usually thank their mother's and fans. Why? They recognize that without their mother's, they would not be where they were in the moment. It was their mother who deserved recognition for pushing them and feeding them and believing in them. That is why the mother get's glory, so why the fans? Well, even the fans did work. If it was not for the fans lifting up said recipient higher, they would not be getting an award.

                Let's add God into this. He is the one who formed you out of the dust of the Earth, knitted you in your mother's womb, opened the right path for you, gave you options to succeed, and never left you. As much as I love my mother, I have to admit that God did more for the both of us than either of us did for each other. Also, God is the one who allows you to gain friends and popularity and fame; and often times, He is the one lifting you higher if you allow Him to. He is better than any fan because no matter what mistake you make, He won't abandon you or turn on you.

                If we are giving glory to anyone, should it be ourselves or others? Certainly not ourselves when we see what God has done for us. Even when we feel like no one was with us, there was still God. Even when we felt like we were making things happen on our own, it was still God. Even when we do something good for God, we must remember that it was God, the Holy Spirit, who moved and enabled us to do it.

                We cannot give ourselves the glory for what we did not do on our own. God made us on His own. He deserves the glory. God is the one who sits on the great white throne, alone. He deserved the glory.  God is the one who sent His son to die on the cross for our sins alone. He undeniably deserves the glory.

                So, where do we fit in? To be honest, not only should we not fit in, but we could not fit in on our own. We are flawed and mess up. Who would praise a flawed figure? God must be perfect, so why should we get any of the glory in comparison? Some may say that it is stingy of God, but I say who else deserves all of the glory and all of the honor and praise? Who else made the universe and who else has all of the power? Who else is perfect? We are not glorifying Him because we can. He deserves the glory, and we should give Him the glory that He deserves. (1 Chronicles 16:29)

                Even the angels in His throne room cry out "holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almight" (Isaiah 6:3) so why shouldn't we join in? We should give glory to God! Look at Psalms 115:1. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your name give glory, for your mercy and loving kindness and for the sake of Your truth and faithfulness!" We have plenty of reasons to give Him the honor and the glory. He deserves them.

                Who cares if we get the glory here? The Earth will fade, and all that will remain will be those who devoted their lives to Jesus and God Himself. Everything else will be wiped away and made new. Our glory does not matter, His does. Just think of everything that He has saved you from, everything that you have been forgiven of, everything that you have been set free from, and everything that He carried you over. Why would we not give God the recognition that He deserves after He was everything to us that no one else could be? He deserves all of the honor and all of the glory, both now and forever more!


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New Creation

                Yesterday, I was telling my disciple about how, in Christ, we have been made new. As I told him, the old man is the sinful fleshly way and the new man is the holy forgiven man. The old man knows the way of the world, and the new man strives for the way of God. Just like a butterfly, we must first go through a cocoon where we take time away from everything in order to transform into something new. How long that cocooning process is for each person varies, but there is a moment where a sinful man transforms into a beautifully redeemed new creature in Christ. As 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

                When the butterfly comes out of the cocoon, it does not come out with a caterpillar. The caterpillar has transformed into something new, something different. It does not split into two. It is either a caterpillar or a butterfly. Hence, "the old has gone, the new has come!" The old form, the caterpillar, is gone; and the new form, the butterfly, has come. Just like us. The old form, the sinner, is gone; and the new form, the redeemed believer, has come. We are no longer what we used to be, just as the butterfly is no longer what it used to be.

                It does not matter if a caterpillar tries to pollinate or attempts to fly, it is not a butterfly. No matter how much it knows about butterflies, or how smart it is, it is just not a butterfly. Galatians 6:15 says, "neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation." No matter if we follow the laws or do the "proper Christian thing," it all means nothing. Attempting the speak in the spirit without God is just Jesus jargon, or church chit-chat. Many people know what to say in church. Something along the lines of, "praise Jesus, hallelujah, I'm blessed and highly favored. I'm on top and not beneath, I'm on the mountain and not in the valley, I'm the head not the tail, amen, God is good." That all means nothing without Christ. It is just a mask. Those words are worthless without heart. Without God, church is just a building. Similar, the caterpillar can try to fly all day, but it will fail because the action is not what matters, but the transformation. We must put aside the old ways and pick up the new. That is what truly matters.

                Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we are able to let go of the past and be forgiven for all of our regrets and mistakes. It is because of the love that Christ gives us that we can say, "I messed up more than anyone can understand, but Christ loved me so much that he accepted me even after He knew what I did. He won't judge me for it. He won't punish me for it. In fact, He is making a place just for me in Heaven. That is how much He loves me!" Just as the caterpillar gains the ability to fly when it becomes a butterfly, we have the ability to go to Heaven, because John 3:3 says, "in reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again.'" As a new creation in Christ, we qualify to go to the Kingdom of God.

                When we become new creations in Christ, we are told the most beautiful and loving thing that any sinner could ever hear. Isaiah 43:18, "forget the former things, do not dwell on the past." That is total forgiveness, that is total love. God says to the butterfly, "forget what you ate through and do not dwell on the plants of my garden that you have destroyed while you bulked up to transform. I love you, and all is forgiven." We are forgiven in Christ Jesus and made alive in Him. We are no creations in Christ, loved and forgiven, and all that it took we a humble prayer, asking Him to become our Lord and Savior. No cocoons. No bulking. Just, "Jesus, I know that I did wrong. Please forgive me and come into my life."


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The Call

                When God calls us, what are we to do? Why does He call us? He calls us to do one thing: worship. That is our purpose, to truly worship. We can worship Him through our praise, through our testimony, through learning about Him, through spreading His word, and anything that involves putting Him at the center of your daily life; but all of this starts with a call. Before we can lift up the cross, we must be called to do so.

                "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father's household to the land that I will show you.'" (Genesis 12:1) When God called Abraham, He was calling to a man who lived in a sinful place, in a sinful household, and in a sinful family. His father worshiped other god's and Abraham was well in age. He was not young when he was called by God to start a new life. In fact, he was 75 when he entered Canaan. That is old enough to be thinking of retirement plans over starting a new life. But, God called Abraham and Abraham responded. He did not think of his age, or how secure he was at home, or what his father would think, or what the city would say about him. He heard God speak, and he left.

                Some of you may say, "well, yeah, that was Abraham. Of course he went when God called him," but look carefully at the first like in Genesis 12:1. He was still Abram. This was before he was the great godly leader that we all think of now. This was the old Abraham who would probably be better known for his mistakes as opposed to the miracles he did with God. He was just like any of us. He made the choice to run to God and not use any excuse in the book. God called him to drop everything, and he trusted in God.

                Look at Jesus and when He called His disciples. Matthew 4:18-22 says, "As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will send you out to fish for people.' At once they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed Him." Look at these men. They did not know who Jesus was or that He was God. They only knew that He was calling them for something great and they responded.

                Because Jesus is God, He called them with the authority of God. They could have either responded or ignored Him. Ignoring Him would be blatant sin, but since they listened, they could feel the authority and followed after God. Remember, they did not know what they would be doing or if they would ever return to their lives, but they abandoned everything the moment that God called them. They left their nets, their boats, and their families at once. Their nets were their only way of making a living, and their families were their homes. They left every sense of worldly security in order to follow God, just as Abraham did. They were not the twelve apostles yet, they were fishermen. They were ordinary people who followed the voice of God.

                Abraham, Peter, Andrew, James, and John were as normal as we are. What made them famous was responding to God's voice. They did not question God or ask, "how long shall we be gone?" or "what will You have me do?" They followed without question. They had faith that God would not let them die or starve or thirst. They had faith that God would fulfill their every need, and He did. The question is, will we have that same faith when God calls us? And if not, what is keeping us from trusting God fully?


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Our Testimony

                A Testimony is a solemn attestation (to provide or serve as clear evidence of/ to declare that something exists or is the case) as to the truth of a matter. To give a testimony is to testify. Both words "testimony" and "testify" come from the root Latin word, "testis," which means "witness." When we give our testimony, in law or in Christ, it is supposed to be well thought out and truthful. It is our duty as Christians to be willing to give our testimonies. Why? Because it has power.

                In Mark 5:19, Jesus told a man to "go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you." In 1 John 5:10, it says, "whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe in God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son." We all have a testimony if we have been saved. Some people have long elaborate testimonies while others have short simple testimonies. We must remember that it does not matter how long or deep our testimony is, but that it is the truth and that God has victory.

                I have heard many times of people wanting to have a more exciting testimony after hearing one about a recovered alcoholic and drug addict or a testimony involving miracles. We must not think this way, because both sides have their ups and downs. Those who have the "exciting" testimonies had to go through pain and torture and a life without Christ. They get to appreciate Him as their savior, but remember the pain they had to go through. As for those with "calmer" testimonies, they have not been the better Christian just because they have been a Christian longer or because they got it faster. All testimonies are equal in God's eyes. He does not love you less because it took you longer to come to Him or because your testimony did not make people fall out of their chairs. The testimony is truth, and that is what God cares about.

                Look at Psalms 107:1-2. "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble." Let us give our testimonies out of thanksgiving to God. Let our testimonies be worship and sweet to God's ears. Let us not be ashamed of our testimonies, for God was not ashamed of us. Our testimonies have power! Revelation 12:11 says, "and they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death." It is our testimonies that have power.

                I am not saying go out and shout your testimony, though I am not against you if that is what the Holy Spirit has put on your heart to do. What I am saying is that we must be ready to share our story at any time. It is our testimony that brings God to light for those who live in darkness. We must be willing to share and back up our testimony by our new life style. Let the love of Christ be the proof that we have been changed.


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The Family Under Attack

                God designed the family as a unit that works together. The Father is the spiritual head of the household, the mother is the one that he needs to support him and help him with whatever he cannot do, and the children are the seeds that the parents plant into the future. The family is a gift from God, but it is under attack. Psalms 127:3-5 says, "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accuser at the city gates." Children are a huge blessing from God. Is it any surprise to us that the Devil is trying to steal them away?

                I deal with children on basically a daily basis while I am at home for summer. These children open up to me fast and I hear all about their lives. I knew that the devil was trying to destroy families and that divorce rates were high, but it was shocking to actually see the numbers. To see a playground full of kinds and have nine out of ten tell me that they have to drive from daddy's house to mommy's house, or that they have step parents and half siblings. This alone did not shock me. What truly struck my heart was the tears when the children were sharing storing of how the devil got into their families. I have heard almost everything from abuse and negligence, to children feeling no love or trust from their parents. I have heard of fights, moving outs, tears, arguments, and so much more from people who were no where near old enough to drive, much less move out.

                I am not saying that this is the parent's fault alone. The children usually have something to do with it as well. I am not trying to point blame at any specific family member. What I am saying is that we must restore the family to it's original glory. Look at Proverbs 12:7. "The wicked die and disappear, but the family of the godly stand firm." When we stand unified and firm on the word of God, we will be blessed. In Proverbs 11:29, it says, "whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise." We must not allow the Christian body to become nothing. We must stand firm!

                 To the husbands: When you take your bride, make your vows count. Do not say "for better or for worse" unless you mean it. If you are seriously in love with her, show her by staying even when you feel like it is getting too hard. If you honor your word, and your wife, God will honor you, and that will look like Psalms 128:3. "Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table."

                To the wives: I have never been a woman and I never will be, but I can say this much. Support your man. The Bible does not say that you are any less important than your husband. You have a different role. Your children will need your love more than ever. No one can love like a mother, and no one can love like a wife. Continue to be patient and kind and you will be blessed. Proverbs 1:8 says, "Listen, my son, to your father's instructions and do not forsake your mother's teachings." You are not less. Your family needs you.

                To the children: You must know your place. Do not talk back to your parents and do not dishonor them. Your God commanded you thousands of years ago to honor your father and your mother. You must respect your parents in order to respect God. Sometimes, it may seem like they do not understand; but they have been your age and are older. They know what is best. If you love them, trust them to know better, even when what they are saying looks wrong or irrelevant. Listen to them. This is your season to learn. Do not try to be wise in your own eyes. God gave you your parents for a reason. Look at Proverbs 15:20, "A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother." Look at your relationship with your parents. Are they happy with you or constantly upset? If they are happy, continue to do what you are doing. If they are upset, remember that you are not their equal. Submit to them and make them proud, because that is how you will make God proud.

                To the family in whole: put God first and your family second. Support one another, surround yourself with the word, and do not be ashamed to speak of God in the house. No family is perfect, so let's not pretend like we are. Learn to listen and respect one another. Step into the positions that God has placed for you and allow Him to work. Mark 3:23-25 says, "Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. 'How can Satan cast out Satan?' He asked. 'A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.'" Let us not divide the kingdom in our home. Let us become a healthy part of the body of Christ. It all starts at the home.


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God Speaks in Many Ways

                Many times, especially this summer, I have heard people say something along the lines of, "I want God to talk to me." What Christian wouldn't want God to talk to them? I've been learning about God and more about why so many Christians have this desire to want God to talk to them that is never fulfilled. If God loves us, wouldn't He be talking to us?

                I have learned two things when it comes down to this. The first thing is that God is always speaking to us. He is talking, we are just missing it. That leads me to the second part. While God is talking, we often ignore Him while trying to seek Him. It is such a strange situation. We ignore God talking to us because it is not in the form that we want or we are unsure. We hear a whisper but do not know if it was Him or us.

                Looking over in Exodus 19, we see a picture of Moses interacting with God the way that we are expecting Him to talk to us. We see smoke and clouds and fire and thunder and lightning and the voice of God coming down to Moses crystal clear. Why is God not doing this for us? Well, the talking all happened in verses 16-24. Looking at 10-15, the people had to do a few things first. They had to set limits on where they were allowed to go. They had to consecrate themselves. They had to become humble enough to hear God. You get the voice after you humble yourself.

                God is  not one to be played with. You cannot just tell Him to speak without humbling yourself. He is holy. Seeing His face will kill us. He does not look upon sin. The reason we do not hear Him is because of us. So many times we will get into a situation and then want God to speak to us when He already gave us the Word. The Bible is His word! It is one way that He speaks to us. If we do not look in His word while we are in the midst of sinning, how will we truly gain His help and repent? Yes, there is prayer and that is an important key; but we cannot expect God to accommodation us. He has already done so much for us: sacrificing His son, creating us, giving us food and water to survive, clothes on our back, etc. We cannot sit back and do nothing. We must seek Him in order to hear Him.

                If we are not seeking Him, we will not hear Him. He talks in many ways: through His word, the Bible, through opportunities opening and closing, through experiences, through the Holy Spirit, and even with His own voice. Here is the key though. If we are not seeking Him, how do we expect to hear Him? He has already extended His hand. It is our turn to take it or leave it. He is speaking, but we are not listening.

                When Jesus was walking the Earth, there were no amps, no microphones, no megaphones. He had to speak to crowds with His own voice. When Jesus spoke, it was the people's responsibility to get where they needed to be in order to hear. The same applies for now. God is speaking. It is our duty to get into position to hear Him. If we want to hear Him, we must seek Him and try to hear Him.

                There are only two ways to learn to hear God. You must read the Bible and pray. Christian books at book stores will only repeat what the Bible says. It is not bad to buy a book, but the Word of God should be first. You want to hear Him, not an author. You must pray to God humbly. Asking a mature Christian to help you will only enhance your prayer life. In the end, the only way to hear God is to seek Him through prayer and meditation on His word. Are you willing to hear what God has to say?


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God's Sovereignty

                To God alone belongs all things. God is sovereign over all. This means that He is in control over all. Yes, He is even in control over us. There is nothing that happens without His knowing and permission of. We cannot even think to come to Him without His permission, nor can we run away without His permission. He is sovereign over all.

                To begin with, God is sovereign over all because He is omnipotent, omniscient, and free to do whatever He desires. Because He is omnipotent, nothing is to great or to powerful for Him. He is the supreme power, everything flowing from His hand. Any power that He does not control is power that He is not sovereign over, which would mean that He was not sovereign over all. He must be omnipotent in order to be sovereign over all. No force can contend with Him. He is omniscient, meaning that He knows all. If He is ruling over all He must know all. If there is anything that He did not know, even the smallest bit of information, He would not be sovereign God. He must know all in order to be sovereign over all. He must be free to do whatever He desires. He must be self-sufficient in order to not be limited or dependent on anything. He must not rely on anything or depend on anything. Anything that He depends on limits His infinitude and eternal being. He must be free to do whatever He wants, also, in the sense that nothing is off limits to Him. He must be able to go where He wants, do what He wants, and control what He wants. Any place that He is not able to go limits Him and makes Him less than the almighty sovereign God.

                Wait... if everything has to happen by His permission, how did we get sin? Did God allow sin? Doesn't that make Him the father of sin? Yes, and no. He did allow sin, but He did not create sin. He gave us free will to do as we please, and it pleased us to sin. He gave us the ability to make our own moral choices, and we fell. It is not against His will that sin exists because He had made the choice to sin.

                Wait... does that mean that we are all controlled by God? Do we have an option in life? This goes to the pre-destination argument, which I just discovered less than a year ago, which says that God either controls every aspect of our life in the face that we are saved or not, or God does not control us and we have free will to do as we please. I like the way that A. W. Tozer put it in The Knowledge of the Holy. He said, "God sovereignly decreed that man should be free to exercise moral choice, and man from the beginning has fulfilled that decree by making his choice between good and evil. When he chooses to do evil, he does not thereby countervail the sovereign will of God but fulfills it, inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not which choice the man should make but that he should be free to make it." We have permission to choose our path. God is sovereign over us, regardless of what we believe; and, in the end, it does not matter by what law we were allowed to sin; what matters is that we were given the ability to sin and we did it and we need Jesus.

                It is only by God's sovereignty that we can be redeemed because God willed it. Look at John 14:6. "Jesus answered, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus clearly states the authority of God. No one goes to God except on His conditions and His rules. We are still under His sovereign rule, even if we think we have freedom. Even in our limited freedom, God is in control. We must never forget that He is sovereign over all.


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God's Holiness

                God is holy, meaning that He is set apart, different, unlike anything else. It also means that He is pure, untouched, and spotless. He is God alone, the only Holy creator. Why is God holy? Well, God is holy because He is unlike anything else in existence. Nothing is like Him, not even us. Does that mean that we are holy to God? No, because we are like the rest of the world. We can be compared to everything else. We compare ourselves to monkeys and angels, and even more. We are not holy from God because the definition of holy is not based on personal view points. It is based on the totality of existence. In all of existence, everything is similar in some way except for God.

                Humans, trees, bugs, and everything else in existence runs out of energy and needs more, even angels. God is the only self-sufficient omnipotent force ever to exist. Humans learn, God cannot learn because He is omniscient and always has been. Nature goes through seasons of changes, and so do humans; even angels had a time when some changed forces from angels of Heaven to servants of the Devil. Only God stays the same no matter what happens. He is unlike anything else in existence.

                This is the one attribute that is the hardest for us to comprehend because we know of it but nothing will ever make our limited human minds understand and fully comprehend the holiness of God. He discloses bits and pieces of His holiness as we seek after Him, but we will never be able to fully comprehend until we are standing face to face with the creator.

                In relation, His holiness makes everything about Him holy; just as His justice makes everything about Him just, or His eternity makes everything about Him eternal. His love is holy because no one can truly love like Him, so mercifully and unconditionally. His omnipotence is holy because it is unlike anything that our limited body can control. His faithfulness is holy because no one can be as faithful to an enemy as He always is. He is holy, and unlike us in every way. Yes, we were made in the image of God, but we are still not like Him. His holiness may never be grasped, but it is something worth praising. What little we know about it is radical and brings truth and life to the gospel. We can begin to understand small amounts of how holy He truly is by seeking Him with all of our hearts.

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God's love

                1 John 4:8 says, "whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." That phrase, "God is love" had become so popular that it had been used in poems and other Christian works almost as much as John 3:16, "for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." We know that God is love, but one aspect must be clarified. God is so much more than love.

                God's attributes are not parts working together. They are specific ways of God that we are able to identify and understand. Love is not a part of God, but it is not God either; because if God was truly love, than love would be God and we would be putting one attribute of God above God which is disrespect of God. We must realize that words are tools to express ideas, not to create them. We cannot say that "God is love" and leave it at that because He is so much more than just one attribute, and no one attribute is greater than another, because that would imply parts and that God is designed.

                God's love is powerful and cannot be overcome. God is eternal, and so is His love because of that. God is limitless, and so is His love. God is truth, and so is His love. He is not limited to love, but love flows out of Him. When we say, "God is love," we should not be saying that God is exactly like love and that we need to find love to find God. Instead, we should be saying that true love flows out of God.

                We cannot put God's love above Him. I am not saying that His love is not important, because it is; but it cannot become a replacement for God. A little over a month ago, I made a post talking about the power of love, and I see that some things should be clarified out of respect for God. The main comment that I am speaking of is, "Only love could motivate Christ to die on the cross for us..." Now, the sentence expressed my thought, that love is the attribute of God that was clearly on display when He got up on the cross for us; but I want to make this clear. It is not some force known as love that moved God to act. True love comes from God, and it was His giving of love that we saw on the cross. No outside force can make God do anything. If there was such a force, it would be God. Love was the attribute on display.

                We must praise God for being loving, because His love is true and personal; but we must not get carried away and make this attribute a god of its own. Let our words express our thoughts, not create them. God is love because He is the perfect example of true love. Why? Because He has perfect love. His love is not distant, either. It is close, personal, and waiting to be accepted by all.


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God's Mercy and Grace

                Grace and Mercy are two of the most important attributes of God for humanity to see and recognize in order to receive true salvation. To God, grace and mercy are one; but humanity sees them are two separate things, similar but still different. Mercy is when you are spared from the bad things that you deserve. Grace is when you get the good things that you don't deserve. We must realize that God is generous with both. We could not gain salvation without Grace and Mercy. We need them both so much more than we could ever understand.

                Why do we need grace and mercy? Imagine this. You are walking into Heaven and you are welcomed by thousands of beautiful angels playing the most wonderful symphonic music that you have ever heard. Everything is so much more beautiful than your human mind could have ever imagined. The colors are brighter, and there are even some that were not on Earth. Heaven is beautiful, and so captivating that you cannot even speak. You see Jesus Christ approach you. Instantly, you fall to your knees, ready to worship Him. He is your king, and you feel the presence of His authority and power. Before you can open your mouth, He says, "I am going to question you. Stand up and make these things known to me. Are you not the one who was a child of chaos and destruction? Are you not the one who broke my law time and time again? Are you not the one who was born in sin and shaped in inequity? Are you not the one who sided with the Devil and brought darkness upon the Earth? Are you not the one who tried to dethrone my Father? Are you not the one who was with the rebellion against the Kingdom of God? Are you not the one who allowed his sinful passions to take control? Are you not the one who submitted to his flesh instead of my law? I have questioned you. Make these things known to me, for you are not written in the Lamb's book of life. Depart from me."

                Imagine if that was your welcoming by Christ. Where was the love and the forgiveness? Well, one way that we interpret His love and forgiveness is by His grace and mercy. It is by His mercy that we are forgiven and allowed to enter into the kingdom, no longer making us a part of the rebellion that was against God. It is by his grace that we are given crowns and welcomed into the kingdom, helping us to change from children of chaos to children of God. We need His grace and mercy because it is an attribute needed by sinful creatures. If we were all perfect, we would never know of God's grace and mercy. It would still exist, but we would never sing it praises because we would never need it or know of it; just as there may be attributes that the angels in Heaven praise God for but we may not know because they are irrelevant to us and were not made known to our created understanding.

                It is by mercy that we are picked up from the Kingdom of Darkness and brought over to the Kingdom of Light. It is by mercy that we no longer have to fear Hell, because the mercy that we were shown at the cross to redeem us never runs dry. It is mercy that says that we will not receive the punishment that we deserve. It is by God's mercy that we are saved, because His mercy will never run dry or diminish. We must remember that His mercy will always be there for us. If we choose to reject His mercy, casting Him away, we will be forced to face His justice without protection. We need His mercy in order to be redeemed.

                It is by grace that we have more than enough to become new. It is by grace that we have all of the proper tools to change sides, from darkness to light. It is by grace that we are given the proper tools to change our nature from sinful to righteous in God. It is by God's grace that we are able to be made holy by God. It is by God's grace that Jesus Christ died on the cross for us and paid for our sins. It is by God's grace that everything we do is able to be forgiven and cleansed.

                Romans 5:20 says, "...But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." No matter how far our sins go, God's grace and mercy overcome it. Our sins are horrible in the eyes of God and the wadges of sin equal death (Romans 6:23) but the grace and mercy of God far exceed it. No matter how much we sin and how badly we mess up, God's grace and mercy are infinite. Our sin can be like a mountain: taller than we can see, wider than we can reach around, and heavier than we could ever lift; but even our sin is finite in comparison to God. No matter how big the mountain of sin is, God's grace and mercy abound much more. His love goes beyond our sin because His love cannot be stopped, blocked, or limited by anything that we do. No matter what we say, what we hear, or how we feel, God's grace and mercy are infinite and cannot be overcome.


                                                                                                                                         -D

God's Justice

                God's justice is something that humanity seems to fear, yet at the same time crave. Every human wants to see justice. When you hear about two police officers being shot in the face by someone, you want justice. Or, when you hear about cases like the one in Florida about the boy being shot while carrying skittles and the police officer being under speculation, you want justice. It does not matter which end you pick, you want justice for someone. This true uncensored and pure justice is what God gives us; so why do we fear it?

                We fear it because we know that it is aimed towards us as well as everyone else in the world. Judgment by God is pure and true justice, and if scripture is right and everyone has sinned, then we have sinned and God's justice would have to act on that. He would not make exceptions just because we can say, "well at least I didn't kill anybody or something." We fear that justice of God because we do not want it on us. In fact, we want it to be on everyone but us. Often times, we want to be the one delivering the justice according to what we see, but never wanting to be judged. It is arrogance to say that we want justice but want to get out of it ourselves.

                God's justice is often twisted as well. I have seen many images and heard many opinions that are not Biblically true. "God lights people on fire and sends them to Hell for looking at Him wrong," or "God is happily sending people to Hell." These statements and many others have no Biblical ground and are inventions of man out of fear. Many fear Hell and fear being sent there. Who wouldn't? But, just because we fear it does not mean we have to twist the image of God.

                God is not sitting on His throne looking for excuses to cast us into Hell. He is not working with the Devil to get us to slip up and burn for all eternity. Imagine this. You have been convicted of the crime of murder. You are walking into the court room and you are seated at the front. When you look up, you see your grandparents sitting in the judge's seat. Instantly, you feel excited. Your grandparents would never be harsh on you. You feel like you are off the hook. You know that they love you and would never send you to jail. After the prosecutor presents his evidence and his case, your grandparents take a moment to talk. Your grandparents find you guilty. How could they do that? They loved you, right? Well, let's be honest. They would only send you to jail if there was no denying what you had done. They would only find you guilty if you were truly guilty. God is the same way. He loves us dearly and does not want to find us all guilty or send us to be punished, but He is just and will find you guilty if you are truly guilty. His love and His justice do not conflict. In fact, it is His love for us that makes His justice pure and unprejudiced. He will not judge you without hearing your case or sentence you to punishment because of your looks. He knows you inside and out and will judge you according to His law and His love.

                There is a way out of Hell, of course. Jesus Christ. He satisfied God's law by taking on our sins. The law was satisfied so now mercy and grace can be implemented. It is because God is not the cruel judgmental person in the sky that we have hope. It is because God's love and justice are one that we can escape Hell and go to Heaven. It is because God's love and justice do not contradict one another that Jesus was able to come to Earth and take our sins away. All we have to do is humble ourselves enough to accept that we have sinned and that we need Jesus to help us.


                                                                                                                                         -D

God's Goodness

                Now, I will begin to describe the characteristics that we can better comprehend and show the differences between God and us in these arenas. God's goodness is something that we can understand over time, and must believe or else the Bible seems distant. Without understanding and agreeing that God is good, His actions seem useless to us.

                God's goodness is unlike our goodness because, just like Him, it is infinite and never changing. Imagine the best person in the work on their best day. They constantly do good things, give to the poor, food the homeless, offer their home and items to strangers, give out hugs, pray for others, etc. and never ask for anything in return. God is like that, but greater, and His goodness never fails.

                His kindness is relevant to us because of how good He is. We are saved only because His goodness caused Him to love us and make the sacrifice. His goodness is not to be confused with His holiness or love. His goodness is His driving ability to do right at all times, even when we do not deserve it. His goodness works hand in hand with His love and ability to judge.

                Because He is good, He showed His love by forming us out of the dust of the Earth, giving us life, and saving us when we messed up. Because He is good, He blesses us for doing right and lifts us up when we are in the spirit. Because He is good, He has never broken a promise. No, He is not obligated to listen to our prayers because we have prayers; He listens to our prayers because He is good.

                Everything that He does involving us flows out of His goodness. We can comprehend goodness and recognize goodness, but we must remember that God is good all of the time and His goodness never changes or diminishes. He is good always and will always stay the perfect model of good. His goodness is beyond what we can be because His goodness is perfect and ours is imperfect; yet, through Christ, we strive to be as close to good as we can get to show glory to God's goodness. We can relate because we have the ability to imitate this attribute; but it is just that, an imitation. Unlike us, everything that God does for us flows from His perfect goodness.


                                                                                                                                         -D

God's Omnipresence

                God is omnipresent. Omnipresent means to be at all places at once. Try to imagine this. God is right next to you, under you, above you, around you, and inside of you all at once. Some would imagine Him as a cloud that penetration and covers everything. Others may imagine Him as a large intangible person. Everyone has their own way of trying to comprehend Him ability to be everywhere at once. Let us imagine Him as a cloud of invisible mist, covering everything and going through everything.

                Now, imagine God in every crack of every place all over Earth. He is everywhere. Deeper than the Grand Canyon, higher than Mt. Everest, and everywhere in between at the same time. Now, imagine He fills the universe. Even deeper than we can see, even farther than we can imagine. He fills everything. Now, This is a good way to imagine Him being everywhere; but this is only a part of omnipresence. Now, imagine that gas cloud that fills everything filling everything throughout time. The gas cloud is there in the beginning and there at the end, but not effected by time. It is equally throughout time all at once.

                This is what we can understand about God's omnipresence. He is everywhere in space and time all at once. He is in Heaven and Earth, in the beginning and end, in the now and in the later, in our room and across the globe, with our parents and with our children all at once. He transcends time so He is not limited to it. He has no limits. He is in all places and times at once.

                We cannot limit God. He is far beyond our comprehension. He is not bound to limitations like us. He is beyond it. There is one large benefit from His omnipresence that we all can find comfort in. His omnipresence works with His faithfulness.

                He is everywhere that you go when you go and everywhere that you do not see. He knows everything and He sees everything as it happens. He is in our future as well as our present, so there is no way that something can hurt us. He is in our past as well as our present, so He knows how to comfort us.

                Lately, I have been speaking of the attributes of the true God. This quote from A. W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy may help clarify What I have been saying for the past week. "In studying any attribute, the essential oneness of all the attributes soon becomes apparent. We see, for instance, that if God is self-existent He must be also self-sufficient; and if He has power He, being infinite, must have all power. If He possesses knowledge, His infinitude assures us that He possesses all knowledge. Similarly, His immutability presupposes His faithfulness. If He is unchanging, if follows that He could not be unfaithful, since that would require Him to change. Any failure within the divine character would argue imperfection and , since God is perfect, it could not occur. Thus the attributes explain each other and prove that they are but glimpses the mind enjoys of the absolute perfect Godhead."

                                                                                                                                          -D