Category: Awesome God

Isaiah 43:19                          Roads and Streams Where Needed

“I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands” (CEV).

 

As desert dwellers, we can perhaps appreciate this verse better than others.  My wife and I have driven on a road in the deserts of Nevada that is the flattest road and land that I have ever seen.  It is also one of the most desolate places I have experienced.  There are no plants or almost no plants in sight to either horizon.  The land is so flat and desolate that it doesn’t matter if your car wanders off the pavement, except that you might not get to your desired destination.  It’s a featureless plain that appears to have no driving hazards.  The insidious and always-present danger of this road is the non-ending boredom of driving it.  This stretch of road needs some hills, some turns, and especially, some water.

Thanks be to God that He has provided a more interesting life for us.  Living the life of a Christian is the opposite of the land described in the previous paragraph.  The reading of the Word provides new insight almost every time I read a passage.  The Bible has been written by many different authors from many different places and also at many different times.  But the message throughout is central and unchanging.  The love and care God has for us, the ones He created for fellowship, shows up everywhere.  It is intriguing to discover how God shows His love in the creation in Genesis, in the poetry so beautifully written in the center of the Word, to the salvation He presents to us in the Gospels, to the end of His amazing book, Revelation, where He draws to himself all who will accept His love.

Fellowship with our Lord is interesting and exciting because even though He does describe life on this earth from creation to eternity with Him, He doesn’t show us what might happen tomorrow.  Along with the physical streams created by Him long ago, He has given us spiritual streams to carry us and nurture us all the way through our lives.  Enjoyment is always present for us when we interact with others who have accepted Jesus.  And, to top it off, He has given each of us a job or jobs to do.  My boss created the entire universe, and He knows me, He knows what I do, and He provides guidance and help whenever I request it.  Thank God that I don’t live on a featureless plain with nothing to do but indulge my desires.  God has provided a fantastic planet, amazing spiritual wonders, and He has given me the privilege of living on this planet, experiencing the wonders of His love along with other children of His.   Praise be to God!

Nehemiah 9:6                                                     The Awesome God

“You alone are the Lord.  You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all  that is in Therm.  You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you” (NIV).

 

God is indeed awesome.  All we need to do to discover that is look outside and see the vast beauty of the universe, the earth and all the magnificent landscapes, animals, plants, and the seas it contains.  Mountains are stunning from the Alps to the Rockies, to the Appalachians to the hills of Missouri—they are all stupendous.  The vast numbers of plants, from spiny cactus to beautifully petalled pansies, the many animals from the amoeba to the great whales—they are all unbelievably intricate.  He created the earth such that the animals, the plants, the landscapes, the oceans and the heavens work together as an amazing functioning unit that sustains life.  From His creation alone, we can see that “Our God Is an Awesome God.”

He went beyond all that, and He created humans, and these He loved.  He loved and loves them so much “…that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” John 3:16 (NIV).  Nehemiah tells us more of God’s awesomeness in Nehemiah 1:5:  “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands.”  As we saw in John 3:16, He went beyond that love spoken of in promised in Nehemiah to include not only those who obey his commandments, but also to those who would accept His Son, Jesus.

He is powerful.  He is awesome.  He is the most loving.  HE IS GOD

Psalm 16:8                                                         Unseen Greatness

“I know the Lord is always with me.  I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” (NLT)

 

There it is, right in front of you, right beside you.  Do I mean the sunset?  No, I mean the Grand Canyon.  This picture was taken right at the edge of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, the most awesome canyon on earth, and we can’t see it.  You have to take my word that the entire bottom half of the photograph includes the Grand Canyon with its wondrous features.  The same can be said for the presence of our Lord; He is always with us, as David says above, but He is not visible.  The question is, “Do I really believe He is there even if I can’t see Him?  That’s why it is called faith.  I must have faith that my Lord is with me always.  How do I know that He is there?  First of all, He says He is always there, and His word is His bond.  If it isn’t true, He doesn’t say it.  Second, when I have really needed Him, He has done something that lets me know that He is there.  He brought my wife back from the brink of death in 2011.  In the same situation, He kept her from having a tracheotomy by a means I wouldn’t have believed, and I’m sure some of you won’t believe  even if I tell you.  The day she was to have the tracheotomy, the gas line to the operating room broke; they couldn’t sterilize their equipment, so no operations were performed.  The next day, Norma began to breathe better, and the trach was not needed.  If you ask me if God is there even though we can’t see Him, my answer is a resounding, YES!

Colossians 3:16                                                     God Is BIG (2)

“For in him all things were created:  things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

 

 

This is the last of the messages in the series of twenty adjectives that describe God.  I pray that you have found them to be useful.

Mount Rainier is one of the biggest mountain in North America, but it is as a grain of sand on the seashore in comparison to the size of God.  He created the entire universe, so He must be larger than the universe.  In the past few weeks, we have used twenty adjectives to describe God.  Perhaps they can give us some idea of the breadth and depth of God and the breadth and depth of His love for us.  Here’s a quick review of the twenty adjectives we used.  I’m certain you can come up with many more adjectives that describe our great God.

God Is Loving.

God Is Immutable.

God Is Merciful.

God Is Infinite.

God Is Generous.

God Is Omniscient.

God Is Peaceful.

God Is Just.

God Is Faithful.

God Is Holy.

God Is Good.

God Is Sovereign.

God Is Wise.

God Is Omnipotent.

God Is Compassionate.

God Is Self-Sufficient.

God Is Gracious.

God Is Spiritual.

God Is Glorious.

God Is Big.

Yes, He is all those and more, and the best thing to remember is that God Is love!

Colossians 1:16                                                             God Is BIG

John 3:16

“For in him all things were created:  things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

 

I wrote two different messages for this last entry in the twenty adjectives that describe God.  Tomorrow I will post God Is BIG2.  Be sure to check for it tomorrow morning.

Denali is the biggest mountain in North America, but it is a grain of sand on the seashore in comparison to the size of God.  He created the entire universe, so He must be larger than the universe.  The size of His creation is beyond comprehension, but there is one thing larger than the universe, and that is the love that God has for us, for you.

God created the Andromeda Galaxy for you.

God created Alpha Centauri for you.

God created the solar system for you.

God created the sun for you.

God created the earth for you.

God created oxygen for you.

God created apples for you.

God created green beans for you.

God created petunias for you.

God created mountains for you.

God created rivers for you.

God created water for you.

God created persimmons for you.

God created cotton for you.

God created elephants for you.

God created eagles for you.

God created goldfish for you.

God created horses for you.

God created maple trees for you.

God created copper for you.

God created diamonds for you.

God created cardinals for you.

God created sunsets for you.

God created colors for you.

God created you for Himself.

You’ve accepted all these things that God created for you.

Now it’s time for you to accept the best that God gave you.

God gave His Son, Jesus for you.

Jesus gave His life for you.

Accept these last two gifts and enjoy eternity with the great God who created all of this for you.

If you have accepted all of these I will see you someday in eternity.

 

Psalm 19:1                                                              God Is Glorious

John 1:14

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”  “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  (NIV)

 

Glacier Bay in Alaska is certainly glorious in beauty.  In this case, I would say that the mountains and the seas proclaim the work of His hands.  I have visited 47 of the 50 United States, and this is one of my favorite places and views.  The glory of God’s creation is certainly evident.  When we take the time to stand and look at the work of the Creator all around us, we become convinced of the glorious nature of the One who created all that we see, but that’s just the beginning.  After he created the fullness of the earth and inhabited it with plants, trees, animals, fish, and birds, He created mankind.  He didn’t just create mankind, He created mankind in His image, and then He did a remarkable thing.  He breathed life into the first man with His own breath, thereby making mankind eternal beings.

He created us for His fellowship, but He didn’t demand that we love Him or worship Him.  He gave us free will so He could ask us to love Him and worship Him.  Mankind rejected God’s love by disobeying the only rule in the Garden of Eden.  He ate from the forbidden tree, the tree that would allow sin to enter the earth through mankind.  By doing this, Man created a split between himself and God and was no longer able to live beside or with His Creator.

Then God showed His glorious nature even more than He did through creation.  He provided a way for man to again fellowship with God.  He sent His only Son to earth to live as a man, take on Himself all the sins of mankind, and accept the punishment for each and every one of those sins.  The magnitude of His love for us was made manifest by this supreme sacrifice.  This deed was much more glorious that the original act of creation.  In creation, He created the universe out of nothing but His words, but at Calvary, He entered into this life and participated by giving Jesus’ own life as a sacrifice.  He gave up something very precious to Him—His only Beloved Son.  At Calvary, Father God had to turn His back on His one and only Son in order for the sacrifice to be complete.

The love of God is much more glorious than anything He did during creation.  Thank you, dear God, for your glorious love.

John 14:16,17                                                       God Is Spiritual

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the spirit of truth.  The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (NIV).

 

Our God is a triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The triunity of these three is a great mystery.  Each one is distinct, but together they make up one God.  Jesus spoke to the Father throughout the New Testament.  God, the Father spoke at the baptism of Jesus: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” Matthew 3:17 (NIV).  In the focal verse of this message, John 14:16,17, Jesus says that He will ask the Father, and He will send the Holy Spirit.  All three are spoken of in the same verse of Scripture.  That’s it, God is three in one.

If God will send the Holy Spirit to be a helper and advisor and a counselor, we can certainly say that God is spiritual.  He is using the Holy Spirit, part of our triune God, as His personal presence in this world today.  The Holy Spirit carries all the authority of God, speaks with the knowledge of God, and acts with the love of God.

We are made up of three parts, body, mind, and spirit, and our spirits are most able to interact with the Holy Spirit.  When we say we “got a Word from the Lord,” we mean that we heard from the Holy Spirit.  How do we hear from the Holy Spirit?  Once in the Old Testament, God wrote words on a wall for a leader and his close followers to read.  As mentioned earlier, God spoke audibly at Jesus’ baptism.  We have the audible words that Jesus spoke recorded in the New Testament.  All of that is great, but how can we hear from the Holy Spirit.  I believe that one of the best ways is to spend as much time listening as we do speaking when we pray.  We often don’t give the Holy Spirit any time to respond before we move on to our next point in our prayer.  Listening while praying is a learned activity, and a worthwhile one.

Many mentions are made in the New Testament of “speaking in tongues.”  There are things that our minds are not capable of expressing to God, and our spirit can express them by allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to our spirit and give our voice the words to speak in a language either earthly or heavenly that we have not learned.  This is one time when we allow our spirit, one third of our being, to operate on its own.  We let our body do things on its own, and we allow our soul, our mind, to think things on its own.  The third part of our being, the spirit, has been given to us by God for a reason.  I believe that reason is to give us a greater ability to communicate with Him when our hearts are broken or when we are bewildered, and our minds just can’t come up with the “right words.”  Speaking in tongues is a learned activity and a valuable one.

Yes, God is spiritual, and because He is spiritual, He has given us the Holy Spirit, a counselor, a helper, an advisor, and an interpreter.  Thank you, God for sending us the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 86:15                                                           God Is Gracious

“But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (NKJV).

 

The dictionary defines gracious as having and showing kindness, mercy and compassion.  Those three words certainly describe God.  We have already had messages that describe God as being merciful and compassionate.  He has frequently shown mercy to me when I deserved anything but mercy and has shown compassion when I have needed loving care.  The grace of God is immeasurable.  His kindness, mercy, and compassion are visible wherever we look.  Anyone we speak to can relate numerous stories of God’s mercy, kindness and compassion, usually occurring in the past few days or weeks.  It would probably be a good exercise for me to stop writing and suggest that you and I take a few minutes to think about the past month and write down some of the times God has shown His gracious nature to us.

If you have done what I asked, there is no need for me to write any more.  Our experiences with God have undoubtedly shown Him to be quite gracious.  All that remains is to go to prayer and thank Him.  Thank you, Lord!

Acts 17:24-25                                               God Is Self-Sufficient

“The God who made this world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.  And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything.  Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else” (NIV).

 

Paul spoke these words in Athens as he was addressing a gathering of Athenian philosophers.  They had many gods, and Paul observed statures and monuments to the many gods throughout the city.  He even saw an inscription “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.”  He then went on to introduce them to this “unknown god” of theirs, the known God, the God of Jesus Christ.  As can be seen from the Scripture above, God made it all, and He needs nothing.  Paul’s all-encompassing words were, “Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”

Before I began to write this message, I asked God for His help.  He led me to read a daily devotional from a book of devotionals, Drawing Near by Pasquale Mingarelli, a writer I admire. We agree that God uses His creation to draw us to Him.  Mingarelli says that since God created everything, He is not part of creation, but independent of creation.  He goes on to say, “God does not need the help of creation to exist.  Everything in creation needs the help of creation and the help of God to exist.  God alone is self-existent.”  All life on earth is dependent upon something else in order to exist.  God created it that way.  Mingarelli says that trees need sun and soil, animals need food, fish need water, and mammals need air.  Ultimately, He created everything in such a way that we and every part of creation depend upon Him.  Colossians 1:17 tells us:  “He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together” (TLB).

God was and is self-sufficient.  He didn’t need us, and He doesn’t need us, but He desired us.  He wanted to be able to fellowship, so He created all of this, every single bit of creation so that we would be able to live and enjoy a beautiful world that invites us to study it and come to appreciate God, the creator.  Since we didn’t obey His one basic rule, “Don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” we couldn’t fellowship with Him.  So He provided a way for us to still be with Him.  He sent His Son, Jesus, so we could obtain forgiveness for not just that one sin, but also for every sin committed since then.  Once we accept that sacrifice of Jesus, we have eternal fellowship with God.  So, God is self-sufficient, but He desired us, and that is our great blessing.

Psalm 103:2-5                                      God Is Compassionate

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (NIV).

 

We count on God’s compassions every day.  I know I need His mercy and compassion daily because I don’t follow Him and His leading as I should.  I get lazy about Bible reading and I get lazy about prayer.  I don’t know why I do that because I am rewarded every time I read His Word, and I come away from prayer time, when I take time to listen for His voice, refreshed.  As a member of the human race, I sin both consciously and unconsciously much more than I should, but because of His compassionate nature, I can feel confident that He has forgiven me for all of my sins.  As Isaiah suggests in 49:13, I “Shout for joy, you heavens, rejoice, you earth, burst into song you mountains!  For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones” (NIV).  I shout, I rejoice, and I burst into song many times in life.  Why wouldn’t I shout because of the Lord’s compassion?  I shout at baseball games.  Why wouldn’t I rejoice because of His compassion?  I rejoice when I get a raise at work or get a compliment for some work I’ve done.  What better reason is there to sing than having received the compassion of the Lord?

We are rewarded for waiting on the Lord.  Isaiah tells us in 30:18, “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion, for the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him” (NIV).  This verse makes it sound like God looks for opportunities to be gracious to us, and we are blessed when we wait for Him.  He makes an effort to show us compassion: “…he will rise up to show you compassion….”

Of course, John 3:16 tells of His greatest compassion for us.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (NIV).  That makes me eternally grateful to Him for His great compassion.

In his letter in 1 Peter, Peter was encouraging the Christians in Asia Minor who were being persecuted.  He told them in chapter 3, verses 8-9: “Finally, all of you, be like minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing” (NIV).  Sounds like serious instruction to “turn the other cheek.”  Jesus didn’t say that His instructions were easy, but they were right–as Jesus demonstrated in the time just prior to His crucifixion.  Sometimes it is costly to follow Jesus.