The Bible

How Studying the Bible Changes You

6 Comments / March 30, 2021

I was so perplexed and started to grow angry. Was she kidding? No, there was an unpleasant glint in her eye that gave credence to her words.

My daughter had been given permission from the guy at the top of the bridge to have her baby’s car seat in the plane. When we arrived in the plane, the stewardess informed us in no uncertain terms that this would not be possible. She condescendingly told us it was a full flight and she highly doubted there would be room for his seat. But the plane was far from full. So not only was she rude but she lied. We did question why permission was given at the top, which seemed to set her against us. She continued her churlishness with us throughout the flight. This same stewardess was quite rude to the rest of family behind us as they made legitimate requests. It’s hard to believe that someone like that has a job working with people.

A few moments before the flight started, a man came and very kindly explained that, due to Covid, car seats were no longer allowed on the smaller planes. While this didn’t make any sense to us at all, his calm and kind manner as he explained was comforting after the stinging meanness of the stewardess. (They all seemed to be rather confused as to protocol regarding car seats and the rules about them. It was very disorganized. It does seem like we now live in a world where anything and everything can be blamed on Covid. It’s actually very strange.)

As we taxied on the runway and then took off, I could feel myself growing angrier and angrier at this woman. I wanted nothing more than to be rude back to her. But about fifteen or twenty minutes in, as I started to settle down, it dawned on me that she was very likely unsaved and that I had a Christian testimony to keep. While I (to my shame) did not go out of my way to “kill her with kindness”, I did manage to hold my tongue and to mumble a “thank you” a time or two as she brought things by.

I do long for the day that I can overcome my flesh in these situations and actually be extra kind when someone is so incredibly rude to me (or my child.) But Sunday was not that day.

The next morning, I was reading in Matthew and I came across these verses in chapter six–

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

I thought about this lady from the day before and remembered the danger of holding grudges. I thought of how anger and bitterness shatter all relationships–whether it be with a stranger, a customer, a person at church, a friend, or a family member.

Unforgiveness and bitterness destroy everything in their path. It can never be allowed to set up residence in our soul. Even over the small matter of an extra-ordinarily rude stewardess. At that moment, I chose to forgive her. I wished I had been able to do that on the plane so that I could have been a better testimony. I will probably never see her again and that chance is gone.

So, honestly, I am not a big one for flying. Flying with masks is far worse. But the thing that had me the most worried was that all of the women, save one, in our family were on the same plane for four different flights. About two weeks before we had left this hit me and I grew incredibly worried about something happening to all of us at the same time. Enter Matthew, chapter six again. It was from the end of that chapter that I drew much comfort and chose to trust the Lord.

You see, in the Growing4Life Bible Reading Challenge we have been reading Matthew 5-8, which contains the Sermon on the Mount. There have been so many times that what I have been reading and studying over this past month have been practically applied to my daily life. I gave just two examples above but there are so many more. The scriptures have exhorted, reminded, encouraged, and rebuked me. They truly are life-changing.

Any good in me, any right response, is the Holy Spirit working through the Word to transform me and make me look more like Christ. It has nothing whatsoever to do with me or my efforts to be a “better person”.

I wish I could get every single person who claims to love Jesus to actually study the Word. It would change the world because it changes the individual.

If you’d like to study the Bible but aren’t sure where to begin, I’d like to invite you to join this year’s Bible Reading Challenge. It’s a great time to join because we will begin the book of Ruth on April 1st. You can find the details here. I would love to have you join me in studying God’s Word.

But any study of God’s Word is life-changing. The key is to get started. Paul tells us in I Timothy 3:16-17–

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

If we want to be transformed by the Word, it will require study and meditation. Cursorily reading it isn’t a bad thing but it could be compared to a lollipop in its sustenance regarding our spiritual health.

Life happens. Every day we face various trials and challenges. Big ones and small ones. We face rude stewardesses, customer service reps, and clerks. We find out a company scammed us or cheated us or didn’t receive our payment. We learn that our child or spouse or family member did something very disappointing. We find out that someone passed away, is getting divorced, or has been diagnosed with illness.

God has told us how to respond to these things and so much more in His Word. But if we don’t know it, we are missing out on the greatest strength and guidance God has offered us. Let us not ignore this wonderful gift God has given us for this life.

 

 

The Challenges of Being a “People-Pleaser”

8 Comments / March 16, 2021

The other day, my dad shared something he remembered about me as a child that surprised me. But then, as I thought about it further, I realized that it is absolutely true and it is what has caused me so much misery through these past years of blogging. God has been helping me understand this about myself recently and has also given me greater insight in how to deal with it. I am sharing here because I thought this might also be of benefit to other “people-pleasers”.

We were talking about the grandkids (my dad’s great grandkids) and their personalities when he suddenly mentioned how different my brother and I were. I was so sensitive and wanted to please people as opposed to my brother, who never really cared what people thought about him.

I am not sure why but a light bulb went on in my head. Finally.

You see, since I have been blogging and I guess for my whole life, I have had a great desire to adhere to God’s truth and to share it with others. Because the truth is so important to me, I can see often see when there is false doctrine afoot or when someone is twisting scripture. (I don’t do this perfectly, of course.)

However, this desire to share truth is in direct conflict with my innate desire to make people happy. Since people often don’t want to hear the truth, I find myself not always pleasing them. I’ve never thought about myself as a people-pleaser but as I have reflected on my dad’s words, I can see that this is what has caused me so much heartache throughout my life. Especially since I’ve been publicly blogging.

You see, I have often noticed people that I’ve counted as friends and even acquaintances take a step back from me. They start avoiding me. They won’t make eye contact. Or they just act like I’m no longer on the planet. Or blog readers just disappear. A fellow blogger became a friend (I thought) and then poof! Just like that she disappeared. I still have no idea why.

There’s been no conversation or discussion so I often surmise that it must have been something I wrote (or said). Since I am never given the opportunity to actually find out what it exactly is that I’ve said or wrote that offended them, I am at a loss to fix it.

This has caused me incredible turmoil through the years and I will tell you why. It is because I have absolutely no way of knowing if someone is upset with me because of some truth they read (or heard me say) OR if I have done something sinful.

The questions that I repeat over and over again to myself when this happens are: Did I do something wrong? Did I write something that wasn’t biblical? Did I say it in a way that was unloving? Did I make a big deal out of something that shouldn’t have been a big deal? Father, have I sinned against Thee?

These go round and round and round in my head whenever someone so obviously backs away from me. And, contrary to what many people think about me, I don’t enjoy this. I HATE conflict. I HATE making people unhappy. I HATE when people don’t like me.

So why do I keep doing what I do? It’s because I care about pleasing God more than I hate people not liking me. I care more about God’s Word than I do about offending people. And it’s because so many of you have reached out and told me how the Growing4Life posts have encouraged and helped you. It’s because, for whatever reason, God has given me this platform and I want to faithfully accomplish what He has given me to accomplish.

But there is this dreadful uncertainty in the midst of all of this. Do people disappear because I have sinned or do they disappear because they didn’t like a particular truth I mentioned? I have spent hours in agony over this question. I am not exaggerating.

If people don’t like me for speaking truth then so be it. Scripture makes it clear that this is the price we should expect to pay. But if they don’t like me because of something sinful I did, then I must fix something. But what is it? Because it’s just easier to disappear than to have a conversation, I am rarely given the opportunity to know just what is going on.

Sometimes God will reveal something to me and I will apologize to someone. Or I will go back and change a sentence or two in a blog post. But that question still haunts me. Because if I had my choice, everyone would like me.

As I thought about this yet again a few weeks ago and spent a morning in turmoil, I finally, by the grace of God, found peace. For the first time since I started writing publicly, I found peace regarding the disappearing readers and friends.

And this is what I wanted to share with you. I hope it is an encouragement to those of you who have people-pleasing personalities like mine.

A week or two ago, as I once again sat agonizing over this, wondering if I have sinned against someone, it suddenly hit me. I can do nothing if people aren’t willing to share with me why they are offended.

My responsibility is to humbly surrender and change as God reveals things to me. But if someone is offended and they won’t share that with me, then there is really nothing I can do. I am helpless to make them happy or to be at peace with them, because they have found it easier just to walk away.

At that point I am not responsible. As long as I am living out Romans 12:18 (As much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men), there is nothing further I can do. The fact that Paul even wrote that verse shows that it is not always possible to be at peace with all men.

This is all compounded by the fact that, over the past few years, a rather strange new thing has entered our culture: We only like those with whom we agree. This change is extremely sad and causes so much division and heartache.

So I’d like to just go on record to say that I still like you even if we don’t agree about everything. I count you as a friend even if you and I differ on eschatology or how we view a specific Christian teacher. And if you can show me, from scripture, why I should change my view, I’ll change it. I am always open to discussion. I never want to be hard-headed or the kind that needs to prove I’m right. If scripture is clear that I am wrong, I am not too proud to admit it.

And, quite frankly, it is those of you that have kindly shared your disagreements with me who have led me to really dig deeper into the Word to clarify and confirm what I have said I believe. I am thankful for those of you with whom I can have candid and kind discussions. This is how we sharpen one another. This is how the family of God is supposed to work.

And, so, that is just a brief look into the window of my heart. I have made myself rather vulnerable with this post but I do so because I believe we are going to face this dilemma more and more as we stand for the truth of the Bible. It’s growing increasingly unpopular and I believe we are going to please people less and less as we cling tenaciously to God and His Word. We people-pleasers will have to come to grips with this.

So may we stand firm. May we unapologetically proclaim the truth of God’s Word–all of it! The pleasant parts and the not-so-pleasant parts. And may we humbly acknowledge when we have sinned, repent, brush ourselves off, and begin again.

 

When It’s Time to Turn Off a Sermon

2 Comments / March 10, 2021

Do you know we get “preached at” every day? Articles, news, songs, shows, movies, blog posts, and commercials are all telling us what we should believe and how we should live. Some are more subtle than others. Then there are the ones that are really obvious.

A few weeks ago, I decided to try a new fitness program. I was excited about it because it looked to be an excellent workout in only thirty minutes. That’s my kind of workout! ;)

I put on my workout clothing, got my weights, and turned on the TV.

“Our word for today is limitless. You are limitless.”

I think I laughed out loud. Anyone with even half a brain recognizes that all humans have limits. Right? Uh, wrong…

Through the course of the next thirty minutes I was told that I have no limits. That I can do anything. And all kinds of other things that were not only false, but totally nonsensical. I was listening to a sermon of the New Age religion, where we can all be divine and become gods.

I listened that first day but I liked the workout and so I made a choice to just ignore what the instructor was saying. But by about the fourth day, two things were really bothering me.

First, something the instructor had said came to my mind as I was doing something later that day. I actually had to consciously tell myself: No, that’s wrong. So I realized that, without a doubt, I was hearing and remembering what she was saying each morning, even in my efforts to ignore her.

And, second, I felt a check in my spirit. Something wasn’t right. I was convicted that these New Age “sermons” did not belong in the home of a believer. Staying true to God and His Word was far more important than being “fit”. There are ways to be fit that don’t compromise me spiritually.

Please don’t hear me saying any “thou shalt nots” here. We all have to make our choices before God about what we are going to listen to and watch every day. I am not your judge. But this experience reminded me that we are being preached at every day. The majority of what we hear is not neutral. It is either for God and goes along with His Word or it is against God and what His Word says (and, if we are honest, we recognize that it is mostly against Him).

The thing that makes this all rather confusing is that much that is being taught in the New Age religion is labeled “Christian”. The fitness instructor wasn’t pretending to be a Christian. She was right out there with her false religion and she wasn’t using Christian lingo. But there are many preaching the false religion of “self glory” and they are using Christianese to do it. And so we have to pay attention.

There are times to turn off sermons, radios, and tvs. There are times to walk away from churches and movies theaters. Here are some things to look for–

• Self takes center stage and God is relegated to either the background or rather, oftentimes, takes the role of “genie” who will make your dreams come true.

• Self gets the glory.

• Self is defined in glowing terms, rather than as an undeserving sinner in need of God’s grace.

• How self feels and what self experiences is more important than what the Bible teaches.

The thing that makes this extra tricky and tempting is that what the New Age religion is teaching us is extremely appealing to our flesh. It is a very pleasant message to hear. It tells us our dreams and self-fulfillment matter. It tells us that we can accomplish anything. It tells us that we are limitless creatures that are able to create our own destinies. It tells us that we are divine within. It tells us that denying ourselves and picking up our cross daily is an archaic command of an old-fashioned religion.

Who doesn’t want that kind of religion?

Only a true believer who is spending time in the Word can see past how good that sounds to the destruction and havoc it actually wreaks both eternally and here on earth.

How important that we Christians pay attention to the sermons we hear every day. What are we being taught that goes against what God teaches in His Word? It is time we got intentional about what we are ingesting into our minds each and every day. Satan has some very powerful tools and he is using them to reach into the hearts and minds of both Christians and non-Christians to sway and move them towards that one world religion that is coming.

We have a responsibility to keep ourselves pure from false religion. And we should have a desire to keep ourselves pure and wholly devoted to God alone. We can only do this by being very consciously aware of the battle that is going on for our hearts and minds and then actually doing something about it to stand firm, hold fast, and prove our undying loyalty to the true King alone.

 

 

 

PLEASE NOTE:

• Facebook is not my friend. I have a suspicion that the crackdown on biblical content may be affecting me. I have no way to prove this, of course, but I have noticed that, over the past few weeks, the number “reached” has been radically reduced (which can only mean it’s not being put on the news feed by Facebook). This is confirmed by the dearth of responses that most posts are receiving as compared to just a few weeks ago. If you are on Facebook and appreciate any post I share then your liking, commenting, and sharing it will help get the posts on the news feed. I appreciate any help you give. However, with that being said, I want to assure you that I am at peace with all of this. I am not ever going to market myself. This is all in God’s hands and I am completely content to let it there. Or at least my desire is to be content, however this turns out. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it is a bit discouraging…

• As social media cracks down on things, I do wonder how long biblical content will be allowed on any platform. Even the service I use to send out posts to Growing4Life subscribers has changed their policy to open the door for censorship. I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but thought perhaps I should just mention it again, in case anyone missed it: If you appreciate the Growing4Life posts and want to stay in touch with me, should I be censored, please reply to this email (or message me if you are reading this on social media) with your name and email address. I will add your name to a list of contacts, should I need to find a new way to reach you.  If you’ve already contacted me, there is no need to do so again. I thank you and your name and email address are already in a file I am keeping should such a day come.

 

The Antidote to Insanity

6 Comments / February 17, 2021

If someone would have told us last year at this time what would happen in the next year, we may have actually laughed at the ridiculousness of it. But here we are. I don’t think I need to review the insane and irrational things we’ve been hearing and watching. But, just for fun (?), I’ll mention a few. (I am avoiding certain words due to censorship, but I think you’ll be able to figure out what I am trying to say.)

–Parents allowing their children to decide if they will be a boy or a girl (and Christians are accused of denying science? It would be comical if it wasn’t so tragic.)

–Abortion at nine months and, in some cases, a few minutes after birth, because, after all, it’s not really a human being until a few minutes after it’s born. (How sick and disturbing is that??)

–A v___cine  that has a death rate pretty similar to the actual vi__s it is designed to stop? Only they don’t really know if it’s effective, so we still need to wear masks and social distance, even after we get the v__cine. In fact, we might need to get this shot every year. Or even twice a year.

–A “Christian” apologist who spent his lifetime defending God and the Bible who not only proved to be a false teacher over the past few years, but actually did horrible, unmentionable immoral things–with no sign that there was any repentance even until the day he died (none of us can know what happened on his deathbed. We can only hope there was last-minute repentance.)

–Pastors claiming we need to apologize for being white and pay reparations for the sins of our ancestors.

–The unbelievable paradox in response from certain government representatives to the r____ts  from last summer as compared to the r___t   from last month. Last summer they were praising and encouraging those who would destroy the lives of so many–which, let’s not forget, included many of the people they were supposedly fighting for. But the other, they are labeling and destroying the lives of not only the people involved but even people who were not anywhere near the vicinity of the second or took any part in it at all. It’s really beyond absurd.

–And, finally, the censorship, peer pressure, and persecution that is ensuring that there is only one allowed opinion. Freedom of speech has all but disappeared in the last six months. People are removed from publicly traded social media companies without notice. Their lives are destroyed without a care. There is zero tolerance for an opinion that does not go along with the mainstream media’s narrative. And NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING TO STOP IT. (If you don’t find this disturbing, no matter which side you are on, I beg you to consider that you will be next. Censorship such as this is an all-consuming fire.)

____________________________________

And that’s just a drop in the bucket, isn’t it? There are a million more things. I’ve talked about some of them already here on the blog. And you probably have heard stories that I haven’t heard. I think we can all agree that it is beyond belief and can be quite overwhelming.

In the midst of this are arguments among Christians about masks and vaccines and politics. We are called to have grace for one another in areas that are not biblical and, yet, that grace has all but disappeared in the heat of these issues. Satan is not only causing chaos in the world, but he is actively causing it in the church, as well.

2020 was strange. 2021 may end up even stranger. In the midst of all of this it is important that we have something to anchor ourselves to. An antidote, per se, for the insanity around us.

When someone is bitten by a poisonous snake, the poison will seep into the body, slowing down and petrifying the systems of the body. The only thing that will save that person is the antidote–a counteracting agent that works against the poison.

Antidote (according to Merriam-Webster)–

1 : a remedy to counteract the effects of poison

2 : something that relieves, prevents, or counteracts

 

As believers, we have but one antidote in the midst of all of this insanity and that is THE BIBLE. I don’t think we can overstate the importance of this. You see, it is only the Bible we can turn to for absolute truth. It is only the Bible that can provide peace and joy in the midst of the chaos. It is only the Bible that can help us understand what’s going on. It’s only the Bible that actually has prophesied in precise detail about what we are seeing.

Only the Bible can keep us anchored and grounded during these tumultuous times.

It is literally the only thing that can relieve the confusion, anxiety, and fear; it is the only thing that can prevent deception; and it is the only thing that can counteract both the lies and the chaos.

The Bible has brought much comfort and peace over this time. It as also confirmed itself over and over again as we are watching things get set in place for those things prophesied in Revelation. There is a convergence of signs that really should fill us with awe. The Lord told us these things would happen and they are happening!

This antidote will not work, however, if you don’t approach it properly. Just as an antidote for a snakebite won’t work if you don’t administer it correctly, so, too, the Bible must be approached rightly if it is going to have an antidotal effect on us.

First, we actually spend time in the Word. More time than just a cursory reading of a verse or two. We can’t expect to know the Bible and have it affect us in any way if we never actually study and meditate on it.

Second, we humble ourselves and yield our desires and opinions to the Lord as we search the scripture. We even yield our “dislikes” to Him. If we don’t like something we read there, we choose to believe it in faith.

Third, we must approach the Bible with the correct hermeneutic (a big word to describe how we interpret the scriptures). I believe that the literal-grammatical-historical approach is the correct one, as it purports that we read the Bible literally, as it is written, unless the passage demands otherwise and clearly shows itself as allegorical or symbolic. This type of interpretation means that we concern ourselves with authorial intent. What did the author intend to say? It means that we take scripture passages in the context that they are given, reviewing the passages that are before it and after it. There is so much more, but these three specific things have really helped me in my own study. (I will put some more about this after the post for further study if you are interested.)

 

In many ways, I feel like I’ve been a broken record these past few years. The world is getting crazier. We need to cling to the Bible and only the Bible. That pretty much sums up the over-arching purpose of this blog.

There is one antidote to all of the insanity. And that antidote is the Bible. It is not a blogger, a pastor, an eloquent speaker, an author, a family member, or a teacher. All of these people can and will let you down. While these people can be of great encouragement as we strive to grow, may we keep our focus on the Bible and our loyalty reserved for it alone.

As we all live in the midst of all of this and wonder what is ahead, may we cling to the anchor the Lord has so graciously provided for us. For such a time as this.

 

 

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More regarding Hermeneutics:

From an interview with Dr. Abner Chou (find the rest of it here)–

How do we know we are studying the Bible rightly?

Sometimes people talk about a “literal-grammatical-historical” method. This examines a text with a view to authorial intent (literal) through the text’s wording and in light of the facts of history. How can we be sure this is the way God wanted us to view a text? After all, the Bible is a supernatural text. Perhaps a different method is warranted.

Initially, we could make an argument based upon the nature of language and communication. In other situations, we do not think twice about reading something this way. We do this with our contracts, emails, and our bank statements! God used human language in writing the Bible and arguably it operates along the same line. An even better approach is to see how the biblical writers themselves read and write. When they use Scripture, they claim it is “according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:1-5), “as it is written,” or “what the prophets have spoken.” They insist their interpretation is not contradicting the language of Scripture but based upon authorial intent. Upon closer examination, the biblical writers read the Bible contextually and with an eye to detail. They link related passages together (Rom 9:25-29), showing they are aware of how the Bible contextually fits together. They also make a theological point based upon a single word (Heb 3-4) or grammatical observation (Gal 3:16).

This demonstrates that the biblical writers themselves believed the Bible is based upon authorial intent and that, because of inspiration (2 Tim 3:16), it is good down to the finest detail. Moreover, they read the text highlighting pertinent historical background (Mark 7:3-4), being sensitive to chronology (Gal 3:17), and even discussing history outright. They believed history helped to explain what they meant. The biblical writers themselves reveal the way they read and wrote Scripture. This then is the way the Bible works and grounds our reading of the biblical text. We read the Bible with a view to authorial intent through grammar and history because the biblical writers first did so for us.

In sum, the Bible comes with “hermeneutics included” and that gives us assurance that we did not make up our approach. Rather, the Bible invites us to read this way.

 

Finding the “Whys” to our “Whats”

2 Comments / February 4, 2021

In reading the first four chapters of Matthew yesterday, I came across something that I had never really considered before. In those first four chapters alone, there were seven fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament. Seven very specific prophecies. I encourage you to go look at them for yourself.

So you may be thinking “what’s the big deal”?

Well, as I was reading these I realized that if God fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament very specifically in the first coming of Jesus, why wouldn’t He do so again in the second coming? And if He filled the prophecies of the Old Testament so specifically, why wouldn’t He do the same for the New Testament prophecies?

I think it is always good to really consider why we believe what we believe. If we believe Revelation will be fulfilled literally, then why do we believe that? If we don’t believe that, then why don’t we believe that?

If we are honest, most of us our beliefs go back to what we were taught at home, what we were taught in our church denominations, or what we were taught by a favorite celebrity pastor or teacher.

It’s so important that we know not only what we believe but why we believe it. Without the “why”, the “what” will be flimsy, weak, and vulnerable to change and to false doctrine.

(And, actually, I do believe this is one of the major reasons you see much of the younger generation leaving the biblical churches. They were never given a “why” and the “what” without the “why” is like a personal invitation to deception. It’s up to us parents to make sure our children know why we believe what we do. And, actually, many children don’t even know the what. How important that we be discussing the stuff that matters with our kids, grandkids, and anyone else that we come into contact with. It might feel strange at first, but if we intentionally work at this, there will be much fruit. But I digress…!)

As we intentionally start working to find out our “whys” to the “whats” of our biblical beliefs, there are a few very important steps we must take before we get started.

First, we must humble ourselves. Psalm 25:29 explains why:

He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

As does Proverbs 11:2:

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

Pride is the opposite of humility and it is the one great sin of all mankind. We all struggle with it, whether we would admit it or not. In fact, often in our public shows of “humility”, we are most prideful!

Pride is what keeps people from God, plain and simple. They pridefully think they are a “good enough” person that God will accept them. It is only with humility that we can first see ourselves as we really are–a sinner in need of a Savior. But, Christians, we need to keep growing in this area of humility even after we are saved. We need to be examining ourselves and our actions to see if we truly have a humble heart or if we have just fooled ourselves.

God has convicted me over and over again regarding this area of my life. Even a simple argument with my husband shows me just how prideful I really am. Our responses to criticism and praise, our “teachability”, our willingness to admit flaws and failures–these all can show us just how humble we truly are.

Second, we must be willing to embrace what we don’t like or care for. A few years back, a ministry came out with a book that claimed that Calvinism was a heretical doctrine and that people who believed in it weren’t saved. I was quite taken aback by such a claim and re-evaluated why I believe what I believe, in relation to this whole Calvinism/Arminianism debate (and just for the record, I landed exactly where I had been before that book came out, which is staunchly in the area of biblical truth where we learn that we are chosen by God but that it runs parallel with free will in a way we could never possibly understand. I highly recommend the sermon titled Twin Truths: God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility by John MacArthur if you, too, are struggling with this debate that never seems to go away.)But to get to my point: Something that this ministry wrote in their email introducing this book with its unbiblical conclusion really spoke volumes as to why their premise was all wrong. As they explained why they wrote the book, there was a sentence that began like this: “We cannot believe in a God who…”

Whoah. Wait just a minute. We don’t have that right! We don’t get to say what we can or cannot believe about God. We must read and study the Bible with a heart willing to accept even the doctrines we don’t like.

This is not a popular concept these days, is it? Election (Ephesians 1:4-6), eternal hell (Matthew 10:29), salvation without evidence of a changed life isn’t salvation at all (Matthew 7:20) and many other “unpleasant” doctrines are being eliminated because people just don’t like them (I might add that I offer only one verse of many that prove these unpopular doctrines are true.)

And, let’s be honest, no one really likes these doctrines. They are difficult to understand and come with ramifications that make us so very heavy-hearted.

And so, as a result of this, we see so many people doing literary back flips and cartwheels in their efforts to change what the Word really says. In contrast, we need to approach God’s Word with a heart willing to believe and obey even when what we read is abhorrent to us.

Third, we must be outfitted in the complete Christian Armor. The truth has never really been popular, but perhaps that has never been so true than right now. If we choose to humbly and willingly trust, obey, and proclaim all of God’s Word (and not just the parts that are pleasant), we must be ready for the darts and arrows of the enemy. These will come not only from antagonistic, angry people, but they will come from the powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). We cannot fight or even continue to stand on our own strength. No human courage can withstand these deadly attacks. We must put on our full armor so that we are able to stand strong and firm. Find the complete armor we have been given to wear in Ephesians 6:10-20.

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It’s funny, this post ended up being nothing like I planned. At all. But I do hope it was an encouragement and challenge to all of us as we strive to live whole-heartedly for Jesus. May we give great efforts to grow in humility, yield wholly to God, and to be protected by the armor God has given us, all while recognizing that it is the Holy Spirit that works in us for God’s glory and our good.

 

Why I Believe the Book of Revelation Will Be Fulfilled Literally

12 Comments / January 19, 2021

If you are over the age of 50, you can remember a time when the church was very focused on the rapture and the tribulation and what that would look like. Movies like Thief in the Night and A Distant Thunder brought fear and trembling as we considered our standing before God and what the world might look like after the rapture. The interest died down in the 80’s a bit and then was renewed a few years later with the Left Behind book series put out by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye.

And then something drastically changed. Suddenly, most churches became silent on the topic. I remember talking to someone who told me that they didn’t even know what their church teaches on eschatology. They never talk about it.

But many in the intellectual circles started teaching an eschatology that was different than what I had always believed in. Replacement Theology, Amillennialism, Post-millennialism, and Dominionism (or Kingdom Now theology) all grew in the wake of the church’s silence as people searched for answers. Many landed with the intellectuals who were declaring that their eschatology was coming from the early church fathers, such as Augustine (I’d like to add here that it is better to get our eschatology from the Bible as one only has to look back before Augustine to recognize that the early church actually taught pre-millennialism.)

I am not sure if you are aware of this, but probably over half (or more) of believers would not believe in a literal Revelation. To believe in this is to subject yourself to much scorn, particularly in the intellectual circles of Christendom.

And, so, today I want to explain to you my own personal journey and how I landed quite solidly in believing that Revelation will be fulfilled literally. While this was what I was taught as a child, I did not automatically assume this as an adult. God has, step by step, been showing me this truth through a variety of avenues. I have much more to learn and God keeps teaching me, for which I am extremely grateful.

Before I go on, I want to make sure you understand that I firmly believe that those who don’t agree with me on eschatology are still my brothers and sisters in Christ if they believe in faith alone through Christ alone for salvation.

So, on to my own journey of how I ended up where I did.

1. The Miracle of Israel  I believe the first step in this journey was a book I just “happened” upon. It was a secular work of fiction called Exodus by an author named Leon Uri. To be honest, I have no idea how I came across it or what made me pick it up but this book changed forever how I viewed the nation of Israel. As the author told a fictional story that was filled with many facts of the birth of modern day Israel I was astounded and even shocked at the miraculous and supernatural nature of it. It gave me much pause for thought that even a secular author could see this. More research into the actual event confirmed what the author had written.

The modern-day nation of Israel should not exist. But God. His supernatural protection of her has continued to this day. To me, this eliminated Replacement Theology. There was no way God didn’t have a future for Israel. Why, we were seeing it come to fruition right in front of our eyes!

I could expound a bit more but I don’t want this to get too long. So may I encourage you to do your own research to confirm what I am saying here? I truly believe, you, too, will be surprised at what you find.

2. My Personal Study of Romans 9-11 As I was reading through the Bible for the first time ever, I had finally reached the book of Romans. To my shame, I had never read the whole thing through. When I read Romans 9-11, I was shocked at the clarity with which Paul himself talks so clearly about God and His Love for Israel. Here we find that, clearly, God has a future planned for Israel. To come away with any different interpretation is to do interpretive somersaults and back flips. Oh, it may sound intellectual but I wasn’t looking for what sounded intellectual. I was looking for what is right.

3. A Consistent Approach to Hermeneutics (which is: the study of the general principles of biblical interpretation)  I remember having a conversation with a pastor many years ago now and his comment to me was that he just can’t understand how [the Reformed crowd] simply change their hermeneutics when they reach Revelation. This led me to find out exactly what he meant. What exactly were Hermeneutics and why do they matter? I read a whole book on interpreting the Bible correctly and then took an online course on Hermeneutics, in my efforts to understand why it matters how we interpret scripture. What I came away with was exactly what the pastor said. If we apply a literal-grammatical-historical approach consistently to scripture, we always end up with a literal Revelation.

I remember hearing Abner Chou once say something like this: “If the plain sense makes sense, there is no need to look for any other sense.”

There is no need to look for allegories unless what we read makes no sense. And Revelation makes perfect sense. Especially in light of what we are seeing today, which leads me to my next point.

(There is so much more to say here but, again, I encourage you to dig on your own. A great place to start is this essay written by Abner Chou. It is long and hard to read but it is helpful for someone who is truly searching.)

4. Current Events What is happening around us has always been a pretty convincing argument that Revelation was going to be fulfilled literally. It just made sense. But, as I have watched the events of 2020 and now 2021 unfold, I have stood back and watched with awe. If anyone has had any doubts about a literal Revelation, I can’t see how they continue to do so after the past eleven months! We are watching the world get set up for a Revelation 13 scenario in ways we never dreamed we’d see in our lifetimes. It’s honestly incredible. And, yet, still so many just can’t see. I have found the past year to be incredibly confirming of scripture. What was prophesied 2000 years ago is getting set up to take place right before our eyes!

I was going to write a whole post on how the signs of the times are converging so perfectly with what we are told will happen in the book of Revelation but if you can see it, you can see it. If you can’t (or you say you can’t even though you can), then you may be holding too tightly to a wrong eschatology or you might be gripping on to life here on earth and unwilling to see reality.

5. Understanding How Incorrect Eschatology Plays Into Satan’s Plan. If we are willing to take a step back and look back over history, we can see the role that replacement theology (the Church has replaced Israel) has played in anti-semitism. To be sure, I am not implying that most who hold this theology are anti-semitic but many of those who have believed in it have been anti-semitic, including Martin Luther.

As we turn our view to what is happening in our world currently, we can see how wrong eschatology changes how we view what’s happening. Let’s take a look specifically at Kingdom Now Theology (also called Dominionism). To put it very simply, this is the view that Christians will work to make the world better and better, as we prepare it for the Lord Jesus at His return. From the Bible, we see that the antichrist is going to bring a false sense of peace to this world. Think how vulnerable those who believe in Kingdom Now Theology will be to a man who claims to be working for God? Think for a moment, if you will, how they will actually help bring in this false system of light because they have been deceived. They are, in essence, working against God instead of for Him.

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So these are a few ways that God has used to bring me to an understanding of the future as prophesied in the book of Revelation. As I’ve mentioned many times before, I am no Bible Scholar. I am not even asking you to believe as I do. I am more interested that you are willing to actually study the Bible to come to your own conclusion. You see, so often we rely on men to tell us what we should believe instead of studying the topic for ourselves.

Yesterday, I was having a conversation with someone and I pointed out the compromise of a certain (very popular) teacher, using scripture to back up what I was saying. The response was from a heart unwilling to see. When I asked her to back up what she was saying with scripture, she replied that it wasn’t necessary. Basically, she was going to believe what she wanted to believe.

What that person didn’t realize was that she had made herself the authority on what to believe, rather than holding the Bible as her authority.

While this is probably worth a post all on its own, my point is that the starting place to find out what we believe about the end times is a humble heart with an open Bible. No matter what you believe about eschatology, it’s important that we know why we believe it from the Bible.

There is much more depth to the defenses for and debates surrounding these different eschatologies than I am able to delve into here. I know that those who believe a different way have a multitude of reasons that they could proffer for their beliefs.

But I am here to encourage you to think for yourself.

Don’t let an intellectual sway your thinking. Don’t be moved by peer pressure or the scorn of a certain group of people. Be willing to ask God to give you insight and then study His Word. And then bravely stand on what you believe.

No one can make you believe a certain way. You get to choose. Do so wisely. Cast your own preconceived notions and favorite teachers aside. And then search out the truth in God’s Word with a willing heart, no matter what the cost.

 

I Can’t Think of Anything More Important Than This

5 Comments / December 20, 2020

I have told this story often. If you’ve been around Growing4Life for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve heard it before. So I hope you will forgive me for telling it again.

I lived most of my life as a Christian. I loved the Lord and desired to obey Him but my Bible was not a priority. I read books about the Bible. I listened to radio programs on how to be a better Christian. I went to church where the Bible was taught. But the Bible itself seemed too hard for me to understand so I didn’t really dive into it.

Somewhere in my 40s, I was convicted about this through a series of events. As I dove into God’s Word with zeal, what I discovered was incredible! Not only was I able to understand much of it, but I was amazed at the cohesiveness of it all. I was truly astonished how it all ties together and proves itself consistent over and over again. As I grew in my knowledge of God’s Word, this consistency and cohesiveness gave me so much confidence in the Bible that I was able to trust God for the things I cannot understand. Some of those things have been made clearer through deeper study. Others still remain a mystery. I am okay with that because it simply reminds me that God is far more infinite and greater than me. I don’t have to understand everything.

Since that time, I have made it my main mission here at Growing4Life to encourage you, my readers, to do the same. I don’t want you to make the same mistake I have made, wasting so many years reading and studying materials about the Bible but not the Bible itself. While these materials aren’t necessarily wrong (if they are biblical), they are no replacement for reading and studying the Word for yourself.

And so I want to encourage you to get in the Word in 2021. Be intentional. Be dedicated.

I have only seen the need for this grow in its importance, as we face life in the midst of “whatever in the world is going on”. Knowing the Bible has always been and will always be critical for every believer. But I cannot think of a time in my lifetime when we believers have ever literally needed it more.

We need it to build up and encourage us.

We need it to convict us of our self-centered, complaining hearts.

We need it to show us what is going on.

We need it to tell us what is coming and what we can expect.

God has been so kind and gracious to give us His Word. I want to encourage you to be intentional about reading and studying it in 2021. Put away (or at least re-prioritize) those devotionals about the Bible. Some of them are okay, but they are no replacement for reading the actual Bible.

If you think the Bible is too hard to understand, then I challenge especially you to give it a try. It is amazing how God opens our eyes when we will but take some of our precious time and dedicate it to knowing Him more. He is so faithful. I have heard testimonies of this time and time again.

I encourage you to get in the Word however you choose. But if you are not sure what you want to do, then I want to invite you to join me for the 2021 Growing4Life Bible Reading Challenge. Each year, I create a challenge for all of us to keep us accountable to be in the Word. If you have no other plan in place yet, then I’d like to invite you to join me in reading the Bible in 2021.

You can find out all about the challenge at this link. I’d love to have you join me!

 

Escape Is Promised

5 Comments / November 17, 2020

The other day I watched an octopus trying to capture a sea snake. Okay, let me fill you in on why I was watching that before I explain what I learned from watching it.

We were keeping our grandsons for the evening and we were at the point where we were all tired. The baby was sleeping in Grandpa’s arms and the two year old and four year old were sitting with me on the loveseat. For whatever reason (this isn’t something we normally do) we turned to YouTube to watch animal videos. The four year old was very interested in octopusses (octopuses? octopusi?) for some reason so I put “octopus” in the search box to see what came up.

He pointed to a video whose cover showed an octopus and a sea snake. I clicked on it to see if it was worthwhile watching. (There is so much not worthwhile and even downright bad on YouTube. I recommend that no child in your care ever be left on their own to scroll through without you to guard their precious eyes.)

What we saw upon clicking on the video was a scuba diver taking a home video of the ocean floor, where he had just happened to catch an octopus trying to capture a sea snake.

It was most fascinating to watch! The octopus used all eight arms in his battle with the sea snake. He would wrap them around his prey and pull him close to himself but then the sea snake would twist and turn and almost get away. Just when he thought he was free, the octopus would reach yet another arm out to grab him and pull him back. This went on for some minutes until finally the sea snake was able to escape the deadly tentacles and he swam away in glorious freedom. He would live to see another day.

I found this video so interesting on several levels. First–who knew there was so much drama on the ocean floor? Of course, I knew it, I had just never really thought about it before. Oh, how wonderful it will be to live on a new earth that has no predator and prey. Have you ever thought about that?

But I also thought of two spiritual analogies that go along with this video. I was trying to decide which one to write about and I’ve decided to just write about both.

First, I think Satan is a little like that octopus. He will try a multi-pronged attack to render us ineffective for Christ. He may tempt us with the sins of self-pity or lying, which we may wallow in for awhile and then just as we escape that sin we are tempted by another one that keeps us wrapped up and imprisoned for a time. As believers, we never stop fighting our enemy. We keep at it until the day we die, knowing that he has no power over us. We will always escape. Sometimes we may receive a short respite and be able to catch our breath, but it never lasts too long, does it? The war with our enemy and with our flesh requires constant attention. There is always another sin or worldly temptation that distracts from and taints a healthy walk with Christ. The “arms” of Satan are limitless and we can only experience victory by never giving up the fight.

But I’d like to spend a bit more time on the second analogy. As I watched that video, I looked at my husband and said I feel a little like that sea snake as I think about the year of 2020. In the midst of whatever game the powers-that-be are playing right now, we are fighting for our sanity and our peace.

It all started with the Coronavirus, one arm of a movement that would try to wrap itself around and suffocate our hope, our peace, and our joy. This arm tried to squelch us with its message of fear and control. Don’t leave your homes. Wear a mask. Close everything. Cancel everything.

Next came the arm of BLM, bringing with it riots, destruction, cancel culture and, with it, more fear.

And, finally, the arm of the election brought with it confusion, disgust, discouragement, and…even more fear.

Now we hear words like “dark winter” and “increasing lockdowns” and yet another arm of the giant octopus is trying to squelch our peace and joy and make us question our sanity.

But this world’s many-armed approach of breaking the spirit of the people can’t work on believers. Not if they are fervently praying and studying their Bibles. There is amazing (and supernatural) strength to be drawn from the pages of scripture. We are immune to even the biggest octopus (spiritually-speaking) if we are walking with God. He is our strength (Psalm 37:39). He is our fortress (Psalm 18:2). He is our Protector (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Nothing can defeat us, nothing can steal our peace and joy, nothing can remove us from the care of the Good Shepherd and the Father’s love.

Oh, we do have to fight. God has made that clear in His Word (see Ephesians 6:11-13 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5). But we will win. We will escape.

We must keep in mind that this does not mean physically. We may suffer terrible losses in this battle with the giant one-world octopus. We may even have to die. We really don’t know what is ahead. But we will be gloriously victorious in the end. Nothing–not even all the events of the year 2020–has the capability of defeating us, as believers, unless we forfeit by taking our eyes off Jesus and putting them on this world.

I admit it’s been a fight and it can be exhausting (as I’ve shared before). I imagine that sea snake, too, was exhausted, as he fought for his life. As we fight for our peace, joy, and–yes–even our sanity in a world full of bad news, violence, fraud, lies, and propaganda, remember that we will escape with all of these things intact, if we but choose to anchor ourselves in God’s Word.

I just cannot believe how I am watching the pages of scripture come to life right now. It is so confirming of the verity of the Bible. So don’t be discouraged. We saw all this coming. Yes, we are in a dreadful fight against evil but God will make a way of escape. And I honestly believe that may very well be soon now!

So keep on fighting. Don’t give up. I know it feels like we are at a disadvantage. And so we are, from the world’s perspective. But they are discounting the fact that God is all-powerful and that there are no sticky tentacles, or number of arms, or any power on this earth that cast us into a prison of fear and torment when God is on our side.

 

(Here’s the link to the octopus and sea snake video if you want to watch it yourself. It says it is 13 minutes long but we just watched the first four minutes).

 

Loving a Lie

6 Comments / November 5, 2020

Lies are told all the time and everywhere. Children to their parents. Employees to their bosses. Citizens to their tax collectors. Reporters to their readers. Politicians to their hearers.

Lying seems to be very normal and rather frequent in this world. And we should expect this, given that Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44).

But I never really thought too much before about how our lives may be affected if we choose to love the lie we are being told. And then I read this verse yesterday in Revelation 22 (v 15) about who won’t be in heaven–

But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

Now, we know that these people aren’t in heaven because they have never repented of their sin. Jesus’s blood covers all of the sins listed above, so that there will be former murderers, sexually immoral, and all other kinds of wicked sinners walking those streets of gold with us. And, in fact, may we remember that we, too, were part of that group listed above.

But that last phrase caught my eye: Whoever loves a lie.

I am amazed at how Satan inspires vain and humanistic philosophies as well as twists and perverts scripture to confuse and lead people astray when it comes to their eternal destiny. For this is the lie that really matters, is it not? The Gospel, if not presented as the Bible teaches, can be twisted beyond recognition. And it often is.

Think with me, if you will, about some of the more common lies the world believes about salvation and how to get to heaven–

—I believe I just need to be a good person and/or follow a certain set of rules. (Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and just about anyone you meet anywhere in the world.)

—I believe that Jesus and my good works/following a certain set of rules will save me. (Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Legalism)

—I believe that a prayer I said at camp when I was a kid is enough to guarantee my salvation and I can then go on to live my life however I want, fulfilling my own dreams and pursuing what I want. I’m not convicted of sin, because I know God will forgive me for my sleeping with my girlfriend or cheating on my taxes. (Mainstream Christianity).

—I believe that God exists to please and bless me. (Prosperity Gospel).

—I believe Jesus died for everyone and all people are going to heaven. (Universalism)

These are lies that most of the world believes in one form or another. Satan is extremely deceptive and so he offers a smorgasbord of options–some that are far off from the real Gospel and some that are just a teeny tiny bit off from it. He doesn’t care which lie people believe, as long as they believe, love, and practice the lie.

The very sobering fact is that loving a lie about how we get to heaven is damning.

But let’s take it a step further, shall we? Loving a lie is always harmful, even if that lie is about our child or spouse or anyone else. When we refuse to face the truth, that lie has the potential of doing great damage.

God hates lies. I wonder if this is because He knows how much damage it causes in the lives of us humans.

This is why it is incredibly important that, instead of loving lies (at worst) or being careless and apathetic (at best), we passionately search for truth. There is no more important way to do this than through knowing and studying God’s Word. This must be our grid through which we run every single story, personal experience, philosophy, or religious demand we are ever told. We run every blog post, book, sermon, news article, TV show, and every single conversation we have with family, friends, co-workers, and even mentors and church leaders, through this grid.

You see, because the Bible is the inerrant (meaning without error), absolute true Word of God, this is the only protection we have from any lie but, most importantly, it’s the only protection we have from the eternally damning lie of a false Gospel.

So don’t love a lie! Know the Word so that you can compare anything you hear to it. Know the Word so that the lies show themselves to be what they really are. And then pray. Pray that God will reveal the truth to you through his Holy Spirit.

As believers, we desire to LOVE the TRUTH. We desire to love the truth of God’s Word more than we love our families, our friends, our churches, our jobs, our homes. As we grow in our understanding and comprehension of the awesomeness of God and His Word, we will grow in this love for truth.

If you don’t have it yet, don’t despair. Dig into the Word without preconceived notions and, as you do this, you will love it more and more deeply. You will find yourself recognizing the lies and being less and less willing to compromise on biblical issues. You will find the lies less and less appealing and your love for truth deepening as you grow in your knowledge of the Word.

So let’s not be like the rest of the world or even the mainstream church.

Instead, may we love the truth and hate the lies!

 

What Does the Bible Tell Us About God? (and why we need to know)

5 Comments / August 25, 2020

Who is God? What is He like? And why is it important for us to know? This morning, I’d like to dig a little into what the Bible says about God and why this should greatly encourage and comfort us in these times.

We can’t really know God unless we get to know Him through His Word. It is the way God has ordained for us to know Him. It is the only place we can find absolute truth regarding God.

This post will probably be a bit longer than my normal post, but I think understanding and getting to know the God we love and serve is critical. And, if possible, perhaps even more so as we navigate today’s current events. So today, let’s take a rudimentary look at this (since I am obviously limited in both time and space to thoroughly cover such a big subject here). Hopefully, this post will inspire you to do further study of this subject on your own.

Okay, so here we go–

God is AWESOME. 

I am not sure there are even any words to describe how awesome God is. However, let’s take a look at a couple of scripture passages that enlighten us and should fill us with awe–

Isaiah 40:12-14

Who has measured the [g]waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a [h]span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?

Psalm 65:5-8

By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
7 You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening [b]rejoice.

These passages are should fill us with amazement as we read of God measuring the dust and holding the earth’s water in the hollow of His hand. He established the mountains and stills the noise of the seas and the tumult of the peoples. I’d really recommend you read both of these chapters in their entirety for even more insight into just how BIG God is. There’s so much more there and in many other chapters of scripture, as well.

God has done (and continues to do) AMAZING THINGS.

He created the whole world from nothing (Genesis 1).

He saved Noah and his family from his wrath on wicked mankind through a giant ark (Genesis 6-9).

He divided the people, scattered them across the world, and gave them unique languages as a response to them trying to exalt themselves and become like God (Genesis 11).

He raised Joseph to second in command in Egypt (Genesis 41:37-45).

He saved His people and took them to the Promised Land. During this time, He performed countless miracles–including parting the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and providing all they needed during their wandering in the wilderness (Exodus 16 & 17). Even their clothing did not wear out! (Deuteronomy 8:4).

He made Jericho’s wall crumble as a result of marching around it (Joshua 6).

He saved four men from sure death. Three were spared in a fiery furnace (Daniel 3) and one was spared in a Lion’s Den (Daniel 6).

He arranged for a prophet to be swallowed by a whale and actually live to tell about the experience (Jonah 1-2).

This is just a sampling of Old Testament stories that are true, actual things that have happened. These are not concocted, sensationalized stories but are, in fact, real examples of God’s awesome power used for His own glory and for the good of those who are His.

There are numerous examples from the New Testament, as well. When we read church history and missionary biographies, we realize that God is still doing awesome and amazing things. When we consider our own lives and God’s faithfulness to us through many mercies, both large and small, we can only conclude that, while it isn’t of the same magnitude as in the Bible, God is still working and showing His power in this current day.

The extent of God’s KNOWLEDGE.

Stop and consider for just a moment all that God knows. He knows when a sparrow falls (Matthew 10:29). He knows the exact amount of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30). He knew everything we would say and do before we were even formed in our mother’s womb! (Psalm 139:16) He knows the names of the stars–every single one of them (Isaiah 26:40).

Let’s consider that last point for a moment. According to an article on space.com—

Kornreich used a very rough estimate of 10 trillion galaxies in the universe. Multiplying that by the Milky Way’s estimated 100 billion stars results in a large number indeed: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars, or a “1” with 24 zeros after it (1 septillion in the American numbering system; 1 quadrillion in the European system). Kornreich emphasized that number is likely a gross underestimation, as more detailed looks at the universe will show even more galaxies.

And God knows the name of EACH one of those 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 STARS! Try to wrap your brain around that for a moment.

God knows EVERYTHING. He knows the exact time a squirrel runs through your yard. And when a bird chirps from a tree in the forest. He knows when an ant dies. He knows the full name of every single person that is living now and that has ever lived. He knows our thoughts–every single one of them. He knows the reasons why we make choices. He knows every secret. Every hidden sin.

He knows EVERYTHING.

That’s hard to comprehend, isn’t it?

God is SOVEREIGN.

Everything that happens is part of God’s plan. Let’s take a look at some scripture that reminds us of this–

Psalm 115:3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.

Psalm 135:6  Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.

Proverbs 21:1  The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

Daniel 4:35  All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?”

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

These is just a sampling of scriptures that remind us that God’s Sovereignty never rests. He is in complete control, working things out according to His plan and for His purposes– even when the world seems to be spiraling out of control.

 

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About this point, you may be realizing (as I did) that your concept of God has never been quite big enough.

The current trend to make God our “buddy” or to treat Him as a “genie” put here to grant our earthly wishes is to do Him great injustice. God is not our buddy or our wish-granter. He is GOD.

 

But there is one more thing we must realize about God. After finding out all of the awesome, mind-boggling, incredible things about God, there is one final one that may be the most amazing of all.

God cares about US.

When we realize how big God is and how small we are, this is really hard to comprehend. Not only did He send His Son to die for our sins so that we could be reconciled to Him and have eternal life, but it doesn’t end there. He cares about every detail of our lives. And we have His Word to prove it–

We are never alone or forsaken (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5)

We’ve been given the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide us (John 14:16-17)

He cares about our burdens and trials and will help us to bear them (I Peter 5:7; Matthew 11:28-30)

He will give us what we need (Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:19)

He is our rock and our refuge in the storms of life (Psalm 46:1; Psalm 31:3; Psalm 61:2; Psalm 62:7-8; Psalm 91:2)

He promises to work all things out for the good of those that love Him (Romans 8:28).

He promises us His unfailing love! (Psalm 36:7; Romans 8:38-39; I John 4:10)

Again, this is just a small sampling of God’s promises that are for the redeemed. We find them throughout all of scripture. It is an encouraging and wonderful study–especially when done in light of all that we have learned about God and how great He is!

 

As we face uncertain days ahead, we will find much comfort and strength in understanding just who God is and how much He cares for us. As we study and reflect on this, we should be filled with a proper fear of and love for God that should lessen ungodly fear and anxiety.

Of course it’s a journey and nothing happens instantly. But this seems to be a step in the right direction.

If you would like to do a more in-depth on this particular topic, take some time to delve into scripture and find out more about God’s attributes and mighty works. Do a search for His many promises to His children. There is much treasure to find in God’s Word!

You will be so encouraged. That I can promise you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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