Pondering God (Part 2)

2 May. A month-long study on the being we call God. From the words of the Bible itself. Today, God is faithful. What does that even mean? "Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments" (Moses wrote that in Torah, Deuteronomy 7.9)

Faithful. No matter what. No matter the situations. No matter His own feelings. No matter our actions ...He is faithful. Paul, a former rabbi, then apostle wrote about this in his day a haiku: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." (2 Timothy 2.13)

Don't you love Him today because He initiated this relationship in which we live, and He will keep us, faithfully? Lord, I fail you many times, I fail others, and yet, you remain faithful for you have made promises which you will keep. I'm not worthy. You are awesome and faithful. I give you thanks.

Pondering God (Part 3)

3 May. Continuing our study of who God is. Eternal, everlasting, forever. He was, and is, and is to come. NOT He was, He is and He will be. There is no 'will be' about God as if He were underdeveloped. He is always at full capacity. Nothing wearies Him; nothing in the universe stops Him. 

Some look at the Hebrew name "YHVH" which some call "Jehovah" or "Yahweh" or any number of odd alternatives. In that four-letter word are all three tenses of the Hebrew verb "to be." Some Bible versions translate "YHVH" as "The Eternal" as a result. 

The Bible says, "From everlasting to everlasting, He is." "Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." (Psalm 90.2)

I suppose some assurances from this reality include (but are not limited to) His not being surprised by anything, thus He has a plan, and that plan will find fulfillment. Unlike the old folks at the nursing home, His faculties are strong and continual, without disappointment firstly to Himself! Then to us who count on Him. 

Isn't God good?

Pondering God (Part 4)

4 May. Continuing our study of who God is. God is true. Not only does He represent something which is true, He embodies Truth. Against the noise of fake news accusations, it's good to know that there is Truth, and we don't have to wait for CNN, the ABC or FoxNews to verify this. Verification complete already. By the way, the word 'verify' means "to make true.'

The Bible says, "Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “That You may be justified in Your words, and prevail when You are judged.” (Romans 3.4 [quoting Psalm 51])

Yeshua said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14.6) Truth emanates from Him. And truth is comforting. Every investigator wants that; every husband and wife want that. Every student sitting exams and every examiner want that. 

Search no longer. God is true.

Pondering God (Part 5)

5 May. Continuing our study of the being whom we name God. God is Spirit. Not only spiritual. Not only spirited. He's a spirit, and He's The Spirit. Ponder with me the nature of spirituality. It's other than physical. It's another dimension. Factors that prevent bodies from certain motion or activity are not the same in a spiritual realm. 

Isaiah the prophet wrote this amazingly perceptive and declarative statement from the being we know as God. Seems that the people who talk about God as Tri-une (3 in one) are not off at all. 

"Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first (Creation), I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.” (Chapter 48, verse 16)
Yeshua said, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4.24)
He's not in our league; He's outside our dimensions and perceptions. And yet, God, by His Spirit, invites us to know Him personally. Spiritually. Deeply. Personally. 

To the 'other side.'

Pondering God (Part 6)

6 May. We continue studying the nature of God (all month). God is awake/ alert. So many people here in Australia or France or almost any western country demand time off. It's sad that when most young people today are interviewed for a job, they want to know their times off, their vacation length, their federal holidays offered, in other words, how little work will count for full-time work. They want their times off, which are reasonable. 

But God has no time off. He wants no time off. He begs us to relate to Him. He longs to be in relationship with us. That takes time. His time. And of course, your time.

The Psalmist wrote, "He that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps." (Psalm 121.4). Life is good when you consider that the God of heaven and earth, the One who never sleeps, will be watching over you, watching with you, watching on your behalf. 

The God who never sleeps has His plans in mind, and will bring them to pass. Nothing can prevent Him. No time can limit Him.

Pondering God (Part 7)

7 May. Continuing our study of God. He's not on your side. He is above the fray of human contest. Joshua was a general who was about to conquer the land we now call Israel, and to take it from the 7 nations in those days. (about 1400 BCE) "Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” (Joshua 5.13-14)

In this era of caustic tribalism and binary thinking, and on this day which is still celebrated in the Russian world as THREE things: 1) Day of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
2) Radio Day (holiday of workers of all industries due, like Labor Day), and 3) The day of the Presidential regiment. Whose side are you on? (Remember the movie "Das Boot"? Or any 007 or Dr Strangelove or any Cold War thinking?)

Isn't this the sound of the stridency of the last US election, the French election, Brexit, and so much of our inability to get along with one another? In Australia, Labor vs Liberal is almost a sport.
God is not 'on our side.' He is above 'sides.' He wants us to follow Him. Some have entertained angels unawares. Our inability to look beyond human war zones prevents our seeing him. 

I remember a few years ago watching on the television the end of a gridiron game between Notre Dame and Boston College. There was less than a minute left in the very close contest. The tv zoomed in on both benches. Uni students from each side linked arms and some knelt. They were praying to the God in whom they believed. Eventually one team won; the other lost. Their prayers for victory were misguided. God is not on your side. 

One last image. The Apostle Paul was annoyed by having people follow behind him, changing the new teaching he was giving by mixing in a legalistic consideration. Without following their laws, they said, you could not really be saved. Paul had taught a clearer message. He asked God three times to 'choose sides' and to get rid of them. God's answer? "God said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (2 Cor. 12.9)

Turn your eyes on Yeshua, the Messiah today. Justice will "roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." (Amos 5.24) If we are smart, we will be 'for Him.' Agree?

Pondering God (Part 8)

8 May. Our pondering of God continues. God is Father. Dad. Daddy. Sir. Omni everything. He ever knows. He was here first. He is a person, not a human, but personal. He's not an It. Or the Great Idea. He's the Higher, no wait, the Highest Power. Dads can do anything. At least that's what we thought when we were young. "My dad can beat your dad at...."

Fathers love their kids. I think grandfathers love their grandkids, even more, but that's another story.

I'm not talking about the distant, remote, abandoning fathers, or the ejaculate into the test tube sperm donor dads. I'm talking about real dads. From Hugh Beaumont to Fred MacMurray, from Tim "The Toolman" Taylor to Homer Simpson. Each dad has his quirks and his embarrassing moments. We all fall short. But dads are there for their kids. Graduations, weddings, concerts, basketball games... dads are there. 

Oswald Chambers (whom I quote often) said, "God is my Father, He loves me, I shall never think of anything He will forget, and worry becomes an impossibility." Fathers allow their kids to be confident. Not boastful, but comforted knowing He will desire and accomplish their best, if they will let him. 

There was some controversy about the person Yeshua. Back then in 30 AD (CE) and to this day. One scene captures this exactly. It's in Jerusalem. Yeshua said, "You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me." (John 8.41-42)

God's Fatherhood is awesome and comfort bringing. It's assuring. It brings us confidence. But presumption is a lousy master. 

Father, thank you for loving us, for being for us the Father in whom we can rest and in whom we can find great strength. Nothing surprises you; nothing prevents you. We are yours. You created us; you formed us; we are yours.