GOD: HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH US
SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY
[2Sa 22:33 KJV] 33 God [is] my strength [and] power: and He makes my way perfect.
MY COMMENTARY
God: His Relationship with Us – Part Two
Wow! We are living in a very troubled world. There are problems that are surfacing in every sector of our society. Whether it is the Covid19, which has enhanced the difficulties, divisions in politics like I have never seen, hatred, racism, you must be vaccinated or you will face consequences and vaccination is of the devil and the list goes on. I am here not to add any more problems but I believe that if we continue on this path the problems will continue to mount and destructive behavior will ensue.
Something has to change. We as believers must return to what will bring peace and help the world around us become sane. There is only one source that can change what is going on in the hearts and minds of people and that is God. Let’s face it, we are broken people who need healing spiritually, emotionally, mentally and relationally. It’s not religion but God that we need. So we need to focus on who God is and what He requires of us.
So, in part two of this series I want to look at some of the attributes of God which makes Him stand alone and above everything else. Pastor Chuck at our church spent time in a series of messages speaking about a line that separates us from God. Above the line are the ways of God and below the line are the ways of man and if we want to experience wholesome living we must connect with the One who is above the line. In this commentary I want to share with you about some of His attributes and how we should respond to Him.
ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
1. God is all-powerful (omnipotent).
In Daniel 4 we have a story that testifies to God’s omnipotence. Nebuchadnezzar, who was the King of Babylon at the time received a second dream which required an interpretation because of the magnitude of its impression upon the king. So Daniel was summoned to interpret the dream (Daniel 4:24 – 27 NLT) “This is what the dream means, your Majesty, and what the Most High has declared will happen to my lord the King. You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone He chooses. But the stump and roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules. King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.”
The interpretation was specific as to what God required. A year goes by when the king celebrated and gloated over his accomplishments and the moment he did this the dream was fulfilled. (Daniel 4:33 NLT) “That same hour the judgment was fulfilled and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws.”
After a certain period of time Nebuchadnezzar would acknowledge who God really was and said this (Daniel 4:34, 35 NLT) “After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshipped the Most High and honored the One who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and His kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to Him. He does as He pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop Him or say to Him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’ “
2. God is all-knowing (omniscient).
There is nothing that God does not know. Gods know everything about anything. There is nothing that you can do to hide from Him nor do anything without Him knowing about it. (Hebrews 4:13 TPT) “There is not one person who can hide their thoughts from God, for nothing created is concealed, but everything is exposed and defenseless before His eyes, to whom we must render an account.”
Talk about the future as to what will be happening. Well, God knows what will happen. In fact, Jesus spells out in Matthew 24 and 25 along with other passages of Scripture revealing what will take place. God is totally in control.
So much frenzy is taking place causing people to be afraid as to what might happen. We have politicians making horrendous decisions on climate change, with a movement towards getting rid of oil and gas and attempting to reduce the population. You see when man takes his eyes off God he becomes weird. Isaiah, the prophet said this (Isaiah 46:9, 10 MEV) “Remember the former things of old. For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My good pleasure.’ “
Hey, trust Him.
3. God is all-present (omnipresent).
Not only is God all-knowing but He is all-present. Everywhere we might go, He is there. In other words, He is everywhere. The Psalmist acknowledged this truth when he said this (Psalm 139:7 – 12 MEV) “Where shall O go from your spirit, or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell at the end of the sea, even there your hand shall guide me, and your right hand shall take hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light shall be as night about me,’ even the darkness is not dark for you, but the night shines as the day, for the darkness is like light to you.”
4. God is eternal.
God always was, is and will be. In the burning bush encounter, Moses was called to an incredible task of leading the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt and in that conversation God identifies Himself as to who He is. (Exodus 3:13, 14 MEV) “Moses said to God, ‘I am going to the children of Israel and will say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you. When they say to me, what is His name? What shall I say to them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM,’ and He said, ‘you will say this to the children of Israel, ‘I AM’ has sent me to you.’ “
Jesus identifies Himself with the Father God by using the same name. (John 8:58 MEV) “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.’ “
What does this name mean ‘I AM’? This name describes God as the eternal power, unchanging character, and uncreated self-existence and there is no other God.
5. God is holy.
(Leviticus 11:44 MEV) “For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy, for I am holy.” We find similar words in the New Testament (1 Peter 1:15, 16 MEV) “But as He who has called you is holy, so be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’ “
Holiness means complete separation from sin, evil and anything that is impure. It is opposite to anything that is profane. In fact, holiness pervades God’s character. That is who God is and He wants us to be holy as well.
6. God is merciful.
Over and over again throughout Scripture you can find the word ‘merciful’ describing God and the word displayed by Him in various stories of the Bible. God also revealed Himself as a God with plenteous of mercy.
I want to take us to one story in the Bible in which God reveals Himself as to His mercy. A ‘Tent of Meeting’ was set up as per God’s instructions outside the Israeli camp after they left Egypt. This was a special place to meet with God. On one such occasion Moses was at the meeting place meeting with God and in that prayer conversation Moses wanted to know more about God and His ways. And so, we have the request and response (Exodus 33:18 – 20 MEV) “The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do this thing of which you have spoken, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.’ Then Moses said, ‘I pray, show me your glory.’ Then He said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.’ He said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live.’ “
In the next chapter, we find that Moses was to go to Mount Sinai and meet with God and there he would receive tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments written out which would be the Law of God for the people. But it was during this time that Moses would have a deeper encounter with God. (Exodus 34:5 – 7 MEV) “Then the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. . .’ “
As God spoke these words to Moses, Jeremiah, the prophet confirms about God’s mercy (Lamentations 3:22, 23 MEV) “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed; His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
OUR RESPONSIBILITY
Some of the attributes that I tried to address today reveals who God is. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, eternal, holy and merciful. Yet at the same time God is reaching out to us inviting us to come into relationship with Himself. He created us for His pleasure and He will not force us to come if we refuse.
Jesus came to reveal God’s plan and show how much God really loves us. So often we think that ‘real living’ is wealth, power and position. Unfortunately, these things in themselves will never satisfy us because God made us and put within us a desire to fellowship with Him. Otherwise, we are disconnected from Him and turn to wrong things in life which lead us to misery, emptiness and bad consequences. Listen up! Don’t limit yourself to less important things. Love God with all your heart.
(Deuteronomy 10:12, 13 MEV) “. . . what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?’
(Matthew 22:37 MEV) “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ “
(1 John 2:5 MEV) “But whoever keeps His word truly has the love of God perfected in him. By this we know we are in Him.”
Jesus spoke these words in (Luke 10:28 MEV) “. . . Do this, and you will live?”
JUST SAYING – Devotional
Living for others
Listen: [Gal 5:13 KJV] “. . . by love serve one another.” William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, lived by those words. When he was too old and sick to attend their General Conference, he sent a one-word telegram – a word that ignited the auditorium and brought delegates to their feet – “others!”
William Wilberforce lived by those words too. History records that in one 30-day period in 1814, without the aid of mass communication, his efforts produced 1,500,000 signatures protesting slavery, which he then presented to the British Parliament. He was constantly under threat from slave owners, not to mention those members of Parliament who themselves owned plantations and slaves. His fight lasted for decades. Encouraged by people like John Wesley and the prime minister, William Pitt, Wilberforce awakened the conscience of the nation. One of the greatest influences in Wilberforce’s life was his friend John Newton, author of “Amazing Grace,” himself a former slave trader and now a vicar. On his deathbed in 1833, Wilberforce received the news that Parliament had finally passed the Act of Abolition outlawing slavery forever. Eventually his influence reached America and slavery was abolished there too. Think one person can’t make a difference? Think again!
Why don’t you pray: “Lord, You’ve given me unique abilities, traits, and a genetic combination? Deliver me from feeling weird, from wishing I were someone else, from envy and jealousy toward others. Help me to discover what you created me to be; to enjoy the things that make me so special; to realize that I was born to make a difference; to give this world something that no one else can.”
– Bob and Debby Gas
Q & A
QUESTION: Did Judas Iscariot die by hanging or did he die by falling and bursting open?
ANSWER: I am not sure when he died but one thing is certain. If he did not die in the hanging process he would have died by falling on the rocks beneath.
Matthew 27:5 does not go into great detail about the hanging but Luke the writer of Acts seems to indicate that while in the hanging process the limb or rope must have broken and Judas would have fallen to his death on the rocks below as the jagged edges would have torn into his body causing it to rupture.