"Secondhand God"

"And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord." 1 Chronicles 28:20 

In David's exhortation to his son Solomon, he told him that his God would be with him and that He would not fail him or forsake him but would stay with him until the task was finished. What David said about his God was all true. But Solomon needed to know how true it was for himself. He needed for David's God to be his God.

 

It is not enough to know about God through secondhand knowledge. It is not enough that He is your mother's God, or your father's God, or even the pastor's God. That does you no good spiritually. It is not until you know Him for yourself that you can have the confidence and trust in Him that you need to have. 

 

Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" What others say about Him is not what is most important. "But whom do you say I am?" That was the heart of the matter that Jesus was getting to. Who do you say He is? Who is He to you personally? Is He someone else's God or your God? Do you know Him for yourself? Ruth knew about Naomi's God through all that Naomi had told her about Him. But that wasn't enough. She needed Him for her own self. We should be like Ruth to Naomi-- your God shall be my God. 

 

Have a great day. It is not about having a secondhand knowledge of who God is, it is about having a personal experience with Him. 

 

For further reading:

Matthew 16:13-16

Ruth 1:16

 

"Light For The Path"

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105 

When I have to go outside at night, and it is very dark, there is one thing I take with me.... a flashlight. If I don't have one, I wish I did. It brightens up my path so that I can see where I am walking. God's Word is light to our path, it shows us the way to walk when we are in darkness.

 

Are you walking on a "dark" path today? You don't know which way to go? You have decisions to make but aren't sure what to do? Are you going through a dark place and aren't sure how to get out? Then go get a light. Bring God's Word into your situation. What does it say? Look to it to direct you through this. Perhaps this sounds a little simple, but God's Word has been giving guidance and instruction to millions for thousands of years. It will still do the same for you today. If I am walking around outside and stumbling over objects, falling down, getting tripped up because of the darkness and my inability to see in it, one simple way to change that is by getting a light. 

 

Have a great day.  When you are walking around in darkness, not knowing what to do, take God's Word and let it enlighten your path.

 

For further reading:

Psalm 119:130, 133

 

"It's Not Neglect"

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." Isaiah 49:15 

Some of you who are reading this are accusing God of "child neglect", because you think He has forgotten you and forsaking you. God, your Heavenly Father, has not forgotten you. He has not abandoned you. He is not neglecting you. You are falsely accusing Him just because He has not come through when you thought He should or because He has not moved in the way you wanted Him to. 

 

God, being the Father, is wiser than the child. He knows what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. His ways, and thoughts, are so much higher than ours. He moves in perfect ways with eternity in mind. We want things done in a way that will get the need met quicker. We also think in terms of the "here and now".

 

When Jesus was hanging on the cross, the mockers in the crowd kept taunting Him by saying, "If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross." (Matthew 27:40) He was the Son of God and He could have come down from the cross to prove it. Had He done what they wanted Him to do, some of those standing there that day would have believed that He was the Son of God when they saw it. It would have changed some of their lives that day, but what about the rest of us. What about all of lost humanity? What about those of us who were not born yet and still need a Savior? He stayed on the cross because there was a greater eternal value in doing so-- there was an eternal purpose to fulfill. 

 

When He delays in answering, when He delays in moving on your behalf, He is working out a greater plan than to just run to your rescue. It is a plan that will touch many other lives. It is a plan that will bring Him the greatest glory. It is a plan that will work all things together for your good.

 

Have a great day. Don't accuse God of neglecting you. He is working out a far greater, and eternal, plan on your behalf. 

 

For further reading:

Romans 8:28

Isaiah 55:9

 

"Finding God?"

"Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near." Isaiah 55:6 

There are people who are always trying to "find" God. Then there are those who have Him in their lives and are so thankful that they "found" Him. I have said the same, "I am so glad I found God". Well, God was never lost. We are the ones who were lost and needed to be found. We were lost in trespasses and sin. We needed someone to come looking for us, instead of us looking for someone to save us.

 

When Jesus came to earth, He came to "seek" and to save that which was lost. He didn't hide Himself. He was out in the public daily. In the very beginning, God didn't hide from man, it was man who hid from Him. "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3:8)

 

Are you still "lost" this morning? Are you hiding from the Lord? Are you needing to be found? Finding God is not hard to do. He is not way off somewhere unable to be found. He is not hard to find. Seek Him and He will be found. Call upon Him, He is near. He will hear you calling. He will come to you. He will come just as He did for Adam in the Garden. He will come just as He did through His Son Jesus. This is the difference between Christianity and other religions. In the other religions man is making an attempt to find God and get to where He is by their own merits and deeds-- man is seeking God. In Christianity God is the One who came to earth seeking man and allows him to come through the merits and deeds of Jesus Christ-- God is seeking man. Since He is the One seeking, you can rest assured He will be "found". 

 

Have a great day. God is not lost. We are the ones who are lost and need to be found. God came looking for us through Jesus. 

 

For further reading:

Jeremiah 29:14

Luke 19:10

Isaiah 53:6 

 

"How Great Thou Art"

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" Psalm 8:3,4

This song has been on my heart for the past couple of days. I believe it would be a good idea to just read and re-read the words and ponder and meditate on what it is saying.

 

"How Great Thou Art"

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think of God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art! 

 

Have a great day. How great is God? We can't even fathom just how great He really is! He's greater than we can describe!