How Big Is God?
How big is God? The short answer is that He is very big. Consider the words of Isaiah 66, “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye ...
Aug 10
31
How Big Is God?
How big is God? The short answer is that He is very big. Consider the words of Isaiah 66, “Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
Our big God is One of greatness. It is victorious to realize that the greatest problems and trials that this world thrusts into the paths of our life are minimized at the feet of God. “The earth is my footstool.” The magnitude of God dwarfs the arguments of His objectors and His critics. The enemies of His cross and the gospel are of little consequence compared to His greatness. I’m glad I serve a great big God!
Our big God is One of grandeur. The adjective “awesome” falls short to describe Him. But occasionally we get a real glimpse of how majestic He really is. “For all those things hath mine hand made.” We can see the mind of Isaiah fixed on the splendor of the Temple or the city of Jerusalem. How grandiose they were in the day. But God was not referring to the structures made with hands, but to the heavens and the earth in its entirety when He claimed His rightful place of Creator. For all known existence displays the grandeur of our big God!
Our big God is One of grace. Here is the man that God will cast His kingly aid, “even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” The princes of the world’s elite confer only with their inner circle of prestigious men. But our gracious God is One that looks for the lowly to cast His care upon. How undeserving we are to such favor and supply. Clearly we see from these verses that we don’t own any particular measure of praise or property that would command His fancy. Nothing but His graciousness compels Him to consider our lowly state. Rarely will we consider the ants below in how they toil. Yet the great and grand God of this universe looks personally and individually upon us of meager estate. The good gifts from heaven that we enjoy daily demonstrate the grace of our big God!
May God help us to see our problems, circumstances, trials, and failures in light of a great, grandiose, and gracious Master.
Posted in God's Character Isaiah by .
Aug 10
24
Help … NOW!
Have you ever found yourself in circumstances in which you needed help immediately? For those of us drowning in the troubles of life, we can learn from those that have been there before us. So the Psalmist writes, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear…” (Psalm 46:1-2a). Let’s understand how his advice can strengthen us for today.
Notice the people that God sustains. This is the “who” in God’s help. He writes that, “God is our refuge….” Note that the “our” is not the whole world. He speaks of God’s people, in context, the children of Israel. He promised to be their God. By application we know that God still has a people, the saved, that He pours Himself out to aid and assist. It is to God’s people, those whose sins have been forgiven by the blood of Calvary, that are promised never to be separated, “from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).
See as well the peace that God supplies. This is the “what” of God’s help. “Therefore will not we fear,” he foretells. Remember, dear Christian, that God never promised to remove you from your troubles, but to carry you through them. So James was able to write, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2).
And what confidence we draw from the promise that God speaks. This is the “how” of God’s help. In our present troubles, this help will come by way of a “refuge” and “strength” in God Himself. A refuge is a place of shelter. Strength conveys a stronghold, or fortress. Notice He doesn’t suggest that we will become our own refuge and strength. But in our hour of need, the same God of our salvation will again be our great fortress of shelter hiding us in His existence. Our writer was experienced with God’s provision. In another Psalm we read, “For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock” (Psalm 27:5).
Of Psalm 46 Martin Luther wrote, “We sing this Psalm to the praise of God, because God is with us, and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends his church and his word, against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable hatred of the devil, and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh and sin.” I trust that God will be your present help today … NOW!
Posted in Depression Psalm by .
Aug 10
17
A New Zeal for the Old Paths
There seems to be a cultural wind blowing through the church where God’s people are expecting not only truth that is relevant for their life, but truths that are new, fanciful, and as of yet, undiscovered. Our lack of spiritual ferver seems to be producing a new religion of gnosticism – a cultish Christianity that strives for a knowledge of mystic truths and formulas hidden in scripture. Paul warned of such dangers in Hebrews 13. How do we protect ourselves from being swept up in this cultural undertow?
The living Christ is the ultimate key to spiritual truth. In verse 8, Paul reminds us of, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Jesus Christ is the everlasting constant. Our spirituality would be more substantial if we sought fellowship with Christ rather than His principles for living. My primary object in marriage is my wife, not her meals or housekeeping. Yet many are desirous of Christian peace or prosperity with little interest in this Jesus.
Once Christ becomes the object of our living, we discover lasting truths that have been established in His Word. “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace” (verse 9). Paul seemed to repeat himself in Ephesians 4:14 when he wrote, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to decieve.” It seems that there is much scriptural warning to trust the age-long truths of His Word and to shun the “new discoveries” of human intellect.
And the tools to unlock such truth are as old as the truths themselves. Commit yourself to a lifestyle of personal Bible study and prayer. Invest yourself in a good Bible-preaching church that edifies God’s people. Let the Holy Spirit have His way in your life as you obey His leadership. And before long, you’ll find a new zeal for the old paths.
Posted in Hebrews by .