Tuesday, April 27, 2021

REASONING WITH GOD - Do you have a question about God? A question about your circumstances? Make the Bible your only safe source of knowledge about him. Make this a commitment for the year. “’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD.” -Isaiah 1:18 When tragedy blindsides you and almost knocks you silly, you are understandably bewildered. You feel confusion and panic. You may feel afraid that more hardship will come on top of it all. You may feel like cursing. Or praying. You may feel a thousand things. But at some point, somewhere along the line, if you don’t stop feeling and start thinking about how to attend to the circumstances you find yourself in, you’ll freeze. Yes, intense suffering calls for deep emotions. In the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, people weep. We should weep. God weeps. But there is also a time to think. Neither can replace the other. When you are able to raise your head above the heartache in which you are swimming, the Bible tells you to take the next step. It is full of commands to “think,” “ponder,” “consider,” “weigh,” and “judge.” Jesus often turned questions about the meaning of life, death, and suffering back onto the questioner. “What is written in the Law?” he would ask. People would blink, sniff back their feelings, flip the pages in their mind, think out loud, and come up with the relevant passages. But this didn’t end the discussion. Next was the real work. “How do you read it?”

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  Reasoning with God Do you have a question about God? A question about your circumstances? Make the Bible your only safe source of know...
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Monday, April 26, 2021

ARE GOD’S PLANS MEANT FOR GOOD? - God uses all things. He even redeems suffering. God wants to take our pain and heartache and transform us through it. He wants to use it for His glory and for our good, to make us more like Jesus for our sake and the sake of the world. Because guess what our world needs? You got it — our world needs Jesus. And guess what God’s good plan for our world may be? A transformed you and me. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV) God knows the plans He has for your life, and they’re meant for good. I don’t know your life, but maybe it’s hard to believe that a God with good intentions would plan each part of the life you’ve lived. I get it. But what if God’s definition of “good” is different than ours? When I tell you God’s plans are meant for good, I’m not talking about the Western world’s definition of good: comfortable, easy and successful. I’m talking about the good described in Romans 8:28 (emphasis added): “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” In the next verse, Paul tells us what he means by good: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son …” (Romans 8:29a, emphasis added). While only God knows the plans, we can know something about His intent for every part of them.

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Sunday, April 25, 2021

EPHESIANS 3:20: THE POWER THAT WORKS IN US - God wants us to clearly perceive the exceeding magnitude and excellence of the power He can exert for those of us who believe. He demonstrated this power when He raised Jesus Christ from the dead and placed him in a position of excellence far above any other power. This tells us that there is no other power more excellent than God’s, and no authority on earth greater than the authority God has given us in the name of Jesus Christ….As we reach out to others, we sometimes encounter challenges that seem overwhelming. We may wonder whether we can bring the same kind of deliverance to these situations that Jesus Christ was able to bring to those he encountered. At times like these, we must go to God’s Word to get the strength and encouragement we need. Ephesians 3:20 is a tremendous go-to verse in these situations. Ephesians 3:20: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” This verse explodes with power and abundance! But how do we tap into this power? How do we unlock, unleash, and “upload” this power to a greater degree in our lives and in helping others? Let’s focus on Ephesians 3:20 to engrave two great realities into our thinking: God can do, and we can do. Strengthened with these truths, we can put our believing into action as we see it big, dare to do, and walk valiantly for God.

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Saturday, April 24, 2021

HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN YOU - Salvation is God's work, not yours. God is sovereign in his salvation initiative. His work is a good work, and it's a sure work. You can rest in your Creator's capable hands. ”And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” - Philippians 1:6 (ESV) Paul encouraged the Christians in Philippi with these confident words. He had no doubt whatsoever that God would finish the good work he had begun in their lives. How does God complete his good work in us? We find the answer in Christ's words: "Abide in me." Jesus taught his disciple to remain in him: ”Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ”I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5, ESV) What does it mean to abide in Christ? Jesus instructed his disciples to stay connected to him. He is the source of our life, the true vine, from which we grow and develop into completion. Jesus is the fountain of living water from which our lives flow. Abiding in Jesus Christ means connecting with him every morning, every evening, every moment of the day. We keep ourselves so interlinked with God’s life that others can't tell where we end and God begins.

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GOD HAS ALREADY WRITTEN YOUR LIFE - It is reassuring in the midst of trouble to know that God has a plan for us, and that it is a good one. Our Lord has been very clear in the New Testament about his intentions regarding those who have come to faith in his Son. And as we continue to place our trust in him, we begin to see that these plans are deeper and more satisfying than even our own ideas about “the good life.” God is taking care of you, you just have to let go and surrender everything to him! Allow him full control and trust him! - Wow! What a year! While many things that happened may have been a surprise to me, they were not at all to God. He knew exactly what trials and tribulations we were going to face. He knew what happy and joyous things were going to happen. God had it already planned out before it began. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. I find great comfort and security in knowing that God has my life planned out exactly how he wants it. God knows the exact moment that our death will occur. We can be free in knowing that we can live life fully relying on God that our life is in his hands. We just have to trust him and surrender our lives completely to him. I can enjoy an intimate walk with the One who is intimately involved in each minor detail of my day who never lets me out of his sight whose fatherly hand guides my every move and who is never limited or intimidated by my circumstances.

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Friday, April 23, 2021

WAS IT UNFAIR FOR GOD TO ALLOW JOB TO SUFFER OVER WHAT WAS BASICALLY AN ARGUMENT BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN? - Job thought he was being punished entirely out of proportion to any conceivable offense he may have committed. Job questions God incessantly throughout the dialogue. His protest climaxes in a direct indictment of God on the charge of injustice. Job finally sees that God’s governance of the universe is much more wonderful than he could have imagined, and he openly concedes this so this is what Job spoke about God that was “right.” Job obeyed God and was rewarded for his obedience. God’s wager with Satan actually achieved an incredible coup: He harnessed evil and turned it to good and He transformed Job into the most effective servant of all. - A surface reading of the book of Job usually evokes a reaction such as “Why is God making a ‘bet’ with the devil? God is being unfair to Job!” If we are honest and not just trying to defend God, He seems at first like some kind of cosmic ogre. God not only wagered Satan over the outcome of Job’s trials, but He actually provoked the bet. To make matters worse, Job never finds out why he was afflicted in the first place. This is very disturbing for those who hope to see God as just, gracious and loving and not just “playing” with us as if we were pawns on a chessboard. So, in a way, the story of Job puts God on trial.

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      Was it unfair for God to allow Job to suffer over what was basically an argument between God and Satan? Job thought he was being punis...