Lightness of being#22 There is a God ( 11th Oct 2013)
Dear....
Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4
Childlike faith, is that what is needed for us to believe that God exists, that He is not a figment of our imagination? And that we can and should totally submit to His Sovereignty, to revert to the relationship that Adam the first man originally had with God, before sin crept in. To be good stewards of all that God provides, yet always dependent upon a loving and faithful Father.
and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.
2 Chronicles 20:6
It seems cliche to state the obvious, "we do lived in an increasingly difficult world."
Many struggle to cope, to make sense of the forces that impact them, yet are beyond their control. Be it the victims of the Kenya terrorist carnage or the US government workers who are placed on furlough. In the corporate world, and probably in academia and all aspects of society, basic respect for our fellow humans are thrown out of the window as the law of the jungle increasing takes precedence. It is no small wonder that the spirits of depression, pride, selfishness and angst are do a roaring trade.
Where is God in this whole equation? Is God truly omnipresent and omnipotent? Or is He a lame duck, absentee father?
Or in truth, is there truly a Divine Being we call "God?"
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8
Man like to start from the pedestal of personal judgment. For the fruit from the tree of knowledge was proffered by the devil and willingly partaken by Adam and Eve.
"Till we see God, we will not believe," snorted the non believer.
"And even if God is real, we cannot accept a cruel, overbearing, disinterested God," glared the self righteous man, at anyone who dared to share the good news of the gospel.
Is it then no surprise God is an easy sell when packaged as a God of prosperity. A God after man's sinful liking. A God Who demands no accountability from our continued sins. Who panders to our sinful wants. Purveyors of such misrepresentation are enriched materially by the false gods they worship.
There is a Divine God, but He is not the God preached on the altar of prosperity.
God promises us a richness of life when we seek after Him, not riches of the world. The latter is what the devil offered Christ in exchange for His subservience.
I am not equipped to go into a discourse on Christian apologetics. But the God I know is a Father Who loves His children. But are you willing to be His child in all circumstances? To know if there is truly a God, we have to want to seek Him. To know God, we must be willing to love our neighbors, for God is love.
Do that and you will know there is indeed a Sovereign God, Who is omnipresent, omnipotent and Who loves us.
To paraphrase from the faithful servant of God, the late John Stott
"Perhaps the transformation of the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest evidence of the work of the Spirit of God living in residence in the hearts of believers."
O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
2 Chronicles 20:12
Transformation is a process. It is life long unlike the "2 minutes" needed to cook a delicious bowl of instant noodles. Some people of the older vintage like me might recall the "Maggie noodles" advertisement and its jingle "fast to cook, good to eat."
Transformation starts with a moment of epiphany with our Lord. An encounter where His love cleanses our tortured inner being and His peace washes over our parched soul.
The wheels of refinement begins to move into gear when we respond to God's love by loving Him and people He placed in our lives.
But much as our hearts have opened to the Spirit of God, will our carnal mind be willing to be renewed?
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Luke 18:1
Prayers bring us into communion with our Lord. It is time out from the world, and time in with God. God will "converse" with you. But it is our spirit man, as instructed by the indwelling Holy Spirit, who God will commune with.
Prayer is not an incessant drone like that of the cicada. It is being willing to be still and to sense the soft quiet voice of God. Prayers is about our hearts being totally focused on God.
A heart that is uncluttered will have better resonance with our Lord.
And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat:Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.
2 Chronicles 20:15
Can we truly take God at His word? Love does imbue in us the sense of what God is like. But only in immersing in His Word, will we know Him well, for God is the Word.
You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. ’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
2 Chronicles 20:17
Letting go and letting God, most of us struggle with living out this command. Faith is about being able to hold back our tendency to resolve matters our way, and instead waiting upon our Lord. Going forth boldly but only when His Spirit lead us.
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Yielding to the will of God is an act of worship. It must come from a thankful heart, for gratitude signifies our willingness to give the Holy Spirit latitude to mold us in Christlikeness.
In the ways of man, we are thankful when things go our desired way. With God, we are thankful because of the risen Christ, there is always life after death, no matter how daunting a situation might seem to be.
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his steadfast love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 20:21
An aftershock??
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
Isaiah 40:18
Bowing down is something that I used to do at Mass in the Catholic schools I attended.
I never became a Catholic not because I abhor kneeling, but rather, the non Catholic students were dismissed from school earlier on the Fridays that Catholic boys had to attend Church.
For us Methodist, besides coming to the altar rail to pray, we get to bow, a symbolic yet very meaningful act of supplication to God only during Holy communion. But last Sunday, I got to bow twice. Once at Holy Communion when we partake in the bread. The other preceding it when I lost my balance at the Church steps.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness
Psalms 95:6-8
Why did I trip? I do it not too infrequently but thanks be to God, I have always managed to land gracefully with no serious damage. And why did God allow me to trip last Sunday?
I guess I was too distracted by a new toy that I had just bought. And it was slowly creeping in to jostle for space in my heart. Our God is a jealous God. There must be no idols in our lives. He watches us, He will intervene for He will save us from ourselves.
And indeed the fear of God is what keeps us the professed faithful, steadfast.
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
John 4:35
And as I prepare to go to Japan next week. I am reminded of how God continues to bring to the surface, the planks for me to step on, even as I walk in faith, across the chasm He has pointed me to this past one year. Thanks be to Him our ever present Abba Father.
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