Tonight's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 19:2-4
The Middle East, God’s timepiece. The prophesies of scripture revolve around the Middle East. We need to focus our attention on what is happening over there. We have been given God’s written word to teach us how we should live our lives, how to treat one another, how to love, and what is to come. Jerusalem is considered the center of the world according to scripture. Tonight we look into scripture to see if it has anything to say about what is going on in the Middle East.
Egypt in Turmoil:
Isaiah 19:2-4 "I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists. I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them," declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
Their were over two million Egyptians in Tahrir Square. Millions of angry people demanding change. Our news media paints a pretty picture of democracy. What were the people chanting? “We go to Jerusalem, martyrs in the millions.”
Luke 21:20 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.”
The turmoil in Egypt has sparked more countries in the Middle East to push for “reform”. Libya, Iran, Yemen, and Bahrain. What is the reform that they are seeking? Media will lead you to believe democracy. We need to understand that these countries religious beliefs revolve around Islam. Reform and democracy have a different meaning.
Libya In Turmoil:
Hundreds of people calling for the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi took to the streets of Benghazi, the country's second largest city. Protesters were chanting "no God but Allah, Muammar is the enemy of Allah" and "Down, down to corruption and to the corrupt". Gaddafi’s response is one of murder, he has brought in mercenaries from Africa to “eliminate” the protesters. What is the goal of the protesters? Free and fair elections of their leaders but with an Islamic ideology.
Iran In Turmoil:
Battles erupted in Tehran during the funeral of a student killed in anti-government protests. Rival groups of pro and anti-government protesters both claim the dead man as one of their supporters. Saneh Jaleh, 26, was one of two people killed during protests. Thousands rallied for the first time in more than a year. An opposition leader who became a target of death threats said on his website he would pay any price for trying to bring democratic change to the country. Politicians chanted in parliament for Mahdi Karroubi and two other pro-reform figures to be brought to trial and put to death in response to the demonstrations. Their plea? Free and fair elections of their leaders with an Islamic ideology.
Yemen In Turmoil:
More than 2,000 policemen were sent on to the streets of the capital Sana'a to try to end six days of protests against the president of 32 years. The police, including plainclothes officers, fired in the air and blocked thousands of students at Sana'a University from joining thousands of other protesters. Again the protesters want free and fair elections of their officials with an Islamic ideology.
Bahrain In Turmoil:
Thousands of protesters demanding sweeping political reforms occupied the main square in the capital Manama. Security forces pulled back, apparently on orders to ease tensions. Clashes left at least two dead and dozens injured. Police helicopters flew over a funeral procession for one of the victims. Mourners called him a "martyr". The protests started as a demand for the country's Sunni monarchy to loosen its grip, and open more opportunities for the majority Shias, who complained of being blocked from decision-making roles. See the pattern? Free and fair elections all with an Islamic ideology.
What Does This All Mean?:
In the media, relations between these parts of the world are between the Western and Arab ‘worlds’. There is a strong feeling with many in the ‘Western world’ that those in the ‘Arab world’, hold fundamentally different values, particularly in their politics. We also share completely different conceptions of human freedom. The political systems, religious practices and cultural connections of the majority of countries in these two parts of the world are different. I look at this in a scriptural stand point and not in the political realm. Our media focuses on the political ramifications. Our focus needs to be on God and what He has planned for us. Muslims believe that the last Imam is alive and well in the Middle East. What does that mean?
The fall of these countries will bring about change. Political and economic change on the outside. Religious rule on the inside. Egypt promises to keep peace with Israel, the others promise religious tolerance. Is this the beginning of “False Peace” spoken of ?
Revelation 12:17 “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
Is this turmoil heading toward the ushering in of the Anti-Christ? What does scripture say?
Daniel 12:7 “The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, "It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”
Revelation 12:14 “The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.” Three and a half years of peace with Israel before the beast is revealed.
End Time prophesy, a reality we are witnessing today. Do you have a relationship with Christ? Are your eyes focused on what scripture say’s? Keep an eye on God’s Timepiece.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Who You Calling A Hypocrite?
Tonight's Scripture Reading: Matthew 23:13-33
“Hypocrite”, “hypocritical Christian”, unfortunately, some people feel justified in their view that all Christians are hypocrites. The term “hypocrite” comes from the English language from the Latin word, hypocrisies, meaning “play-acting, pretend.” The word is in both classical and New Testament Greek and has the same meaning. To play a part, or pretend.
What Does Scripture Say?:
When Christ taught about prayer and fasting, He discouraged us from following the examples of those who are hypocrites:
(Matthew 6:2) “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”
Do not be like the Pharisees with long public prayers, don't go to extreme measures to ensure others notice your fasts, don't parade your gifts to the Temple and by the poor. They were revealing only an outward attachment to the Lord. The Pharisees were examples of religious virtue, they failed miserably in their heart’s where true virtue resides …
Mark 7:20-23 “He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'
Jesus never called His disciples hypocrites. That name was given only to misguided religious zealots. He called His own “followers”, “babes”, “sheep”, and His “church”
There is a warning in the New Testament about the sin of hypocrisy. 1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind." Hypocrisy is a sin.
Hypocrisy is recorded in the church.
In Acts 5:1-10 two disciples are exposed for pretending to be more generous than they were. They were being hypercritical. The consequence was severe.
From this we can draw two conclusions from the New Testament.
1.) Hypocrites do exist among professing Christians. They were present in the beginning, and, according to Jesus, they will exist until the end. (Read Matthew 13:18-30) Even Peter was charged with hypocrisy in Galatians 2:13 “The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.”
2.) If even an apostle can be guilty of hypocrisy, there is no reason to believe “ordinary” Christians will be free from it. We must always be on our guard that we do not fall into the very same temptations (Read 1 Corinthians 10:12)
How Do We Know Who The Hypocrites Are?:
Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is truly a Christian. Perhaps most of the hypocrites among Christians were in fact pretenders and deceivers. Christian leaders have fallen into terrible sins, financial and sexual scandals sometimes plague the Christian church. People use these leaders sins to “label” the whole Christian community.
We need to ask whether all those who claim to be Christians really are. A true Christian should exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Jesus’ parable of the seed and the soils in Matthew 13 makes it clear that not all professions of faith in Him are genuine. Many who profess to belong to Christ will be shocked when they hear Him say, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23)
The church is not made up of entirely hypocrites, all of us who name the name of Jesus Christ remain sinners even after our sin is forgiven. Even though we are saved from our sins eternal penalty.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We have yet to be saved and delivered from the presence of sin in our lives.
1 John 1:8-9 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
This includes the sin of hypocrisy. Living our faith in Jesus, we continually overcome sin’s power until we are finally delivered.
1 John 5:4-5 “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
All Christians fail to perfectly live up to the standard the Bible teaches. No Christian has ever been perfectly Christ-like. There are many Christians who are genuinely seeking to live the Christian life, relying more on the Holy Spirit to convict them. Change, and empowerment. There have been millions of Christians who have lived their lives free from scandal. No Christian is perfect. Are you playing Christian or are you living as a Christian should? Making a mistake and failing to reach perfection is not the same thing as being a hypocrite.
“Hypocrite”, “hypocritical Christian”, unfortunately, some people feel justified in their view that all Christians are hypocrites. The term “hypocrite” comes from the English language from the Latin word, hypocrisies, meaning “play-acting, pretend.” The word is in both classical and New Testament Greek and has the same meaning. To play a part, or pretend.
What Does Scripture Say?:
When Christ taught about prayer and fasting, He discouraged us from following the examples of those who are hypocrites:
(Matthew 6:2) “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.”
Do not be like the Pharisees with long public prayers, don't go to extreme measures to ensure others notice your fasts, don't parade your gifts to the Temple and by the poor. They were revealing only an outward attachment to the Lord. The Pharisees were examples of religious virtue, they failed miserably in their heart’s where true virtue resides …
Mark 7:20-23 “He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'
Jesus never called His disciples hypocrites. That name was given only to misguided religious zealots. He called His own “followers”, “babes”, “sheep”, and His “church”
There is a warning in the New Testament about the sin of hypocrisy. 1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind." Hypocrisy is a sin.
Hypocrisy is recorded in the church.
In Acts 5:1-10 two disciples are exposed for pretending to be more generous than they were. They were being hypercritical. The consequence was severe.
From this we can draw two conclusions from the New Testament.
1.) Hypocrites do exist among professing Christians. They were present in the beginning, and, according to Jesus, they will exist until the end. (Read Matthew 13:18-30) Even Peter was charged with hypocrisy in Galatians 2:13 “The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.”
2.) If even an apostle can be guilty of hypocrisy, there is no reason to believe “ordinary” Christians will be free from it. We must always be on our guard that we do not fall into the very same temptations (Read 1 Corinthians 10:12)
How Do We Know Who The Hypocrites Are?:
Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is truly a Christian. Perhaps most of the hypocrites among Christians were in fact pretenders and deceivers. Christian leaders have fallen into terrible sins, financial and sexual scandals sometimes plague the Christian church. People use these leaders sins to “label” the whole Christian community.
We need to ask whether all those who claim to be Christians really are. A true Christian should exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Jesus’ parable of the seed and the soils in Matthew 13 makes it clear that not all professions of faith in Him are genuine. Many who profess to belong to Christ will be shocked when they hear Him say, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23)
The church is not made up of entirely hypocrites, all of us who name the name of Jesus Christ remain sinners even after our sin is forgiven. Even though we are saved from our sins eternal penalty.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We have yet to be saved and delivered from the presence of sin in our lives.
1 John 1:8-9 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
This includes the sin of hypocrisy. Living our faith in Jesus, we continually overcome sin’s power until we are finally delivered.
1 John 5:4-5 “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
All Christians fail to perfectly live up to the standard the Bible teaches. No Christian has ever been perfectly Christ-like. There are many Christians who are genuinely seeking to live the Christian life, relying more on the Holy Spirit to convict them. Change, and empowerment. There have been millions of Christians who have lived their lives free from scandal. No Christian is perfect. Are you playing Christian or are you living as a Christian should? Making a mistake and failing to reach perfection is not the same thing as being a hypocrite.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A Valentine Message
Tonight's Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:25-31
This Valentines Day were going to look into what a marriage is to God. 77% of Americans were married on 1970, today only 51%. Paul says that the wife is “bound” to her husband as long as he lives (Romans 7:2). The principle is, the husband or wife has to die before the marriage bond is broken. Were have we gone wrong? God cherishes marriage. In today’s society marriage ends in divorce over 51 percent of the time, over half of the couples who make the vow “Till death do us part” break that vow.
How Do We Make It Work?:
What can a married couple do to ensure that their marriage will last?
1.) Obedience to God and His Word: A principle that should be applied before the marriage.
(Amos 3:3) “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”
For the born-again believer, this means not beginning a close relationship with anyone who is not a believer.
(2 Corinthians 6:14) “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”
If this one principle were followed, it would save a lot of heartache and suffering later in marriages. Since the woman’s liberation movement began marriage has decreased. We have lost focus on marriage and turned our concerns to self gain, job and money first, then marriage. 77% of unmarried woman have jobs and own their own homes vs. 46% of unmarried men. God created men and woman to work as one, not individually.
2.) The husband should obey God and love, honor, and protect her as he would his own body.
Read Ephesians 5:25-31
The wife should obey God and submit to her own husband “as to the Lord”
(Ephesians 5:22) “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.”
The marriage between a man and a woman is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. Christ gave Himself for the church and He loves, honors, and protects her as His “bride” (Revelation 19:7-9)
Becoming One:
When God brought Eve to Adam in the first marriage, she was made from his “flesh and bone” (Genesis 2:21) “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.”
They became “one flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24) “The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
Becoming one flesh means more than just a physical union, it means a meeting of the mind and soul to form one unit.
A relationship should go far beyond sensual or emotional attraction and into the realm of spiritual “oneness”, it can only be found if both partners surrender to God and each other.
A relationship is not centered on “me and my” but on “us and our.”
These are the keys to a lasting marriage. Making a marriage last until death is something both partners have to make a priority. Solidifying one's vertical relationship with God goes a long way toward ensuring that the horizontal relationship between a husband and wife is a lasting one. A marriage that honors God.
This Valentines Day were going to look into what a marriage is to God. 77% of Americans were married on 1970, today only 51%. Paul says that the wife is “bound” to her husband as long as he lives (Romans 7:2). The principle is, the husband or wife has to die before the marriage bond is broken. Were have we gone wrong? God cherishes marriage. In today’s society marriage ends in divorce over 51 percent of the time, over half of the couples who make the vow “Till death do us part” break that vow.
How Do We Make It Work?:
What can a married couple do to ensure that their marriage will last?
1.) Obedience to God and His Word: A principle that should be applied before the marriage.
(Amos 3:3) “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”
For the born-again believer, this means not beginning a close relationship with anyone who is not a believer.
(2 Corinthians 6:14) “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”
If this one principle were followed, it would save a lot of heartache and suffering later in marriages. Since the woman’s liberation movement began marriage has decreased. We have lost focus on marriage and turned our concerns to self gain, job and money first, then marriage. 77% of unmarried woman have jobs and own their own homes vs. 46% of unmarried men. God created men and woman to work as one, not individually.
2.) The husband should obey God and love, honor, and protect her as he would his own body.
Read Ephesians 5:25-31
The wife should obey God and submit to her own husband “as to the Lord”
(Ephesians 5:22) “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.”
The marriage between a man and a woman is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. Christ gave Himself for the church and He loves, honors, and protects her as His “bride” (Revelation 19:7-9)
Becoming One:
When God brought Eve to Adam in the first marriage, she was made from his “flesh and bone” (Genesis 2:21) “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.”
They became “one flesh” (Genesis 2:23-24) “The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
Becoming one flesh means more than just a physical union, it means a meeting of the mind and soul to form one unit.
A relationship should go far beyond sensual or emotional attraction and into the realm of spiritual “oneness”, it can only be found if both partners surrender to God and each other.
A relationship is not centered on “me and my” but on “us and our.”
These are the keys to a lasting marriage. Making a marriage last until death is something both partners have to make a priority. Solidifying one's vertical relationship with God goes a long way toward ensuring that the horizontal relationship between a husband and wife is a lasting one. A marriage that honors God.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Is God Omnipresent ?
Tonight's Scripture Reading: Psalm 33:13-14
I spent another week debating Atheists. The topic of discussion was God’s Omnipresence. The lack of understanding was prevalent. God’s attributes include Omnipresence, Omnipotence, and Omniscience. To say that God is omnipresent is to say that God is present everywhere. In many religions, God is regarded as omnipresent. This evening we look at God’s Omnipresence.
What does it mean that God is omnipresent?:
“Omni” is Latin for “all”. To say that God is omnipresent is to say that God is present everywhere. Listen to a quotation from The Living God: Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 pg. 67 by Thomas Oden …
“God's presence is continuous throughout all of creation, though it may not be revealed in the same way at the same time to people everywhere. At times, he may be actively present in a situation, while he may not reveal that he is present in another circumstance in some other area. The Bible reveals that God can be both present to a person in a manifest manner as well as being present in every situation in all of creation at any given time ”
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Isaiah 57:15 “For this is what the high and lofty One says he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
Psalm 33:13-14 “From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth”
“Omnipresence is God's method of being present to all ranges of both time and space. Although God is present in all time and space, God is not locally limited to any time or space. God is everywhere and in every now. No molecule or atomic particle is so small that God is not fully present to it, and no galaxy so vast that God does not circumscribe it. But if we were to remove creation, God would still know of it, for He knows all possibilities, whether they are actual or not.” … A view by Eric Landstrom.
God is present in every aspect of the natural order of things, in every manner, time and place.
Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?”
Nahum 1:3 “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.”
God is actively present in a different way in every event in history and in human affairs.
Psalm 48:7 “You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.”
Daniel 5:5-6 “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.”
God is present to us when we call his name. He intercede for others. He is there for those who adore Him. He listens to those who petition Him and who pray for forgiveness.
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”
He is present in Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:19 “He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.”
Apparent paradoxes :
The presence of God in hell. Many argue that hell is a place of separation from God (Read Matthew 25:41). If so, God cannot be in a place that is separated from Him. However, those in Hell endure His everlasting anger (Read Revelation 14:10). In the presence of the Lamb Because God is present in a place that the wicked are said to be is contradictory.
However, this paradox can be explained by the fact that God can be present, because He fills all things with His presence. Colossians 1:17 “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”
He upholds everything by the word of His power. Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Yet He is not necessarily everywhere to bless.
God is sometimes separated from His children because of sin and He is far from the wicked. He is still there in the midst, He knows what souls suffer, He knows their anguish, He is there in every way as a reminder to them of their sin. He is there in every way. He displays no other attribute other than His wrath.
God is in heaven, giving blessing’s that we cannot even begin to comprehend. He will be there displaying His manifold blessing, His manifold love, His manifold kindness, and everything other than His wrath. The omnipresence of God should remind us that we cannot hide from God when we have sinned, yet we can return to God in repentance and faith, without ever having to move.
I spent another week debating Atheists. The topic of discussion was God’s Omnipresence. The lack of understanding was prevalent. God’s attributes include Omnipresence, Omnipotence, and Omniscience. To say that God is omnipresent is to say that God is present everywhere. In many religions, God is regarded as omnipresent. This evening we look at God’s Omnipresence.
What does it mean that God is omnipresent?:
“Omni” is Latin for “all”. To say that God is omnipresent is to say that God is present everywhere. Listen to a quotation from The Living God: Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 pg. 67 by Thomas Oden …
“God's presence is continuous throughout all of creation, though it may not be revealed in the same way at the same time to people everywhere. At times, he may be actively present in a situation, while he may not reveal that he is present in another circumstance in some other area. The Bible reveals that God can be both present to a person in a manifest manner as well as being present in every situation in all of creation at any given time ”
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Isaiah 57:15 “For this is what the high and lofty One says he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
Psalm 33:13-14 “From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth”
“Omnipresence is God's method of being present to all ranges of both time and space. Although God is present in all time and space, God is not locally limited to any time or space. God is everywhere and in every now. No molecule or atomic particle is so small that God is not fully present to it, and no galaxy so vast that God does not circumscribe it. But if we were to remove creation, God would still know of it, for He knows all possibilities, whether they are actual or not.” … A view by Eric Landstrom.
God is present in every aspect of the natural order of things, in every manner, time and place.
Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?”
Nahum 1:3 “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.”
God is actively present in a different way in every event in history and in human affairs.
Psalm 48:7 “You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.”
Daniel 5:5-6 “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.”
God is present to us when we call his name. He intercede for others. He is there for those who adore Him. He listens to those who petition Him and who pray for forgiveness.
Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble”
He is present in Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:19 “He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.”
Apparent paradoxes :
The presence of God in hell. Many argue that hell is a place of separation from God (Read Matthew 25:41). If so, God cannot be in a place that is separated from Him. However, those in Hell endure His everlasting anger (Read Revelation 14:10). In the presence of the Lamb Because God is present in a place that the wicked are said to be is contradictory.
However, this paradox can be explained by the fact that God can be present, because He fills all things with His presence. Colossians 1:17 “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”
He upholds everything by the word of His power. Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Yet He is not necessarily everywhere to bless.
God is sometimes separated from His children because of sin and He is far from the wicked. He is still there in the midst, He knows what souls suffer, He knows their anguish, He is there in every way as a reminder to them of their sin. He is there in every way. He displays no other attribute other than His wrath.
God is in heaven, giving blessing’s that we cannot even begin to comprehend. He will be there displaying His manifold blessing, His manifold love, His manifold kindness, and everything other than His wrath. The omnipresence of God should remind us that we cannot hide from God when we have sinned, yet we can return to God in repentance and faith, without ever having to move.
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