From His heart to Mine

I’ve been entertaining the idea of writing a book for a while now and I’m curious as to what other people’s thoughts are. Should I write a book? Would you read it? Etc. Just give me your thoughts.

     Throughout our lives we are all wronged at some point. Sometimes it’s a total accident, like you get shorted money on a paycheck. Other times its a stranger taking something from you that isn’t theirs to take. Still other times, the people you love the most break your heart. If you have lived a life free of being wronged then this post is not for you. I have been wronged many times and over the last couple days God has been pulling at me to forgive.

     Colossians 3:13 “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” John 14:15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.” Well, I love God so I have to forgive. That’s the thought process for so many people and I’m certain that we are all guilty of this at some point in our lives to some extent. It’s so easy to get in that rut of forgiving people for the sake of “forgiving” them and “obeying” God. But we forget that true forgiveness is deeper than simply saying “you’re forgiven.” Selah.

     God told us in Jeremiah 31:34 “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” This is how our father has forgiven us: He will never again remember them. Imagine what would happen you would just walk in these few verses alone. What would happen if you followed this chain of commands with forgiveness: I love God so I’ll obey (John 14:15), I am to forgive others as Christ forgave us (Col. 3:13), and in doing so I will never again remember their sins against me (Jer. 31:34). That’s heavy and extremely tough. Selah.

     It would be nice if that were it, but there is so much more here to tell! Matthew 6:14-15 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” So now we’re told that we have to do all of that above, but if we don’t Christ won’t forgive us. That sounds so harsh, but is it really that harsh? Consider this: everyday we defile God and His name and His creation and everyday we break His heart; as much as you have ever been hurt by anything that anyone has ever done to you, we do this to our Father every single day. Everyday we sin and everyday we disobey and everyday we mess up, but amidst all of that God still loves us and forgives us! Hallelujah! Praise God that “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Luke 5:8) God is asking us to forgive each other of the petty things that we do to each other. People do terrible things to us and it sucks, but how dare we consider petty issues to have any significance when we daily break the heart of our very source of life, hope, and eternal salvation. Selah.

     The beauty of this is that Christ died for us knowing every single thing that we would ever do against Him. This has never hit me so hard before, but we break God’s heart every day and He knew we were gonna do it but He loved us so much He died for us because of it. Because we can do nothing but break His heart daily He made a way for us to be made right with him. God loved us so much that he sent Christ to die for us because there was no other way for us. Every time I hear the song “How He Loves” I break down in the second verse. “We are His portion and He is our prize.” This line breaks me so much every time because it expresses so deeply Christ. Our creator NEEDS us! We long to be in His presence, but He NEEDS us. He died for us because He NEEDS us; He didn’t need to but He did because He is a gracious God and forgiving and longs to be with us. As much as we long to be with Him, He NEEDS us.

     With all of this said we can do nothing less than obey and forgive and extend grace and compassion daily because daily we are forgiven. So it should, by this point, go without saying that we are to forgive EVERY sin, EVERY time. Jeremiah 33:8 “I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion.” Christ forgives ALL sins, so we should forgive ALL trespasses against us. When Christ was asked by Peter how many times he is to forgive his brother Christ answers with, ” I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.” This is not to put a number on it, the point is that you should never cease to forgive you brothers. Luke 17:4 “Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” We have never forgiven enough and we never will. There is no limit on how much we can forgive; we are told to forgive always, and always we shall forgive lest we be unforgiven in the eyes of Christ.

     Right now as you are finishing reading this I encourage you to sit back and just talk to God. Ask Him if there is any unforgiveness you have towards anyone. Ask God to convict you of any unforgiveness and then work it out in your heart to forgive that person or people. Unforgiveness is a parasite that will eat away at you and drag you down. Holding onto it, whether you are consciously aware of it or not, will not only hurt you but it will hold you back from intimacy with God. I pray that any of you that are reading this are freed from any bondage to unforgiveness. I ask that in the name of Christ you be freed from this bondage and that you would learn to forgive those who have hurt you just as Christ has forgiven us: wholly and selflessly. Be blessed. Amen.

     Lately, I’ve had a lot of things going on in my life. By no means do I have the worst life or do I claim to have it incredibly tough, because, all things considered, I have an easy life. I’ve just lost some things that mean a lot to me and I’ve had a lot of stress as of late. All of this has had me really down, stressed, and just downright overwhelmed. So, I’ve been faced with a tough question lately: despite all that is happening am I still happy with my walk? Do I still trust that God is with me and will fix everything? Is God hearing my prayers? What should I do?

     When you take all of that above it really just boils down to joy. What is joy to you and where does joy come from? Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary says this about joy: the passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; pleasurable feelings or emotions caused by success, good fortune, and the like, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exhilaration of spirits; delights. I feel like Webster did a great job of defining joy in human terms, but what does God have to say about joy? In Galatians 5:22 we are told “But the fruit of the spirit is love, JOY…” If we are of the Spirit we should be bearing fruits of joy. That isn’t a standard that we can work up to; it is simply something that we are given by the grace of God. Psalm 132 tells of God’s promise to us through His covenant with David. Psalm 132:16 “I will clothe its priests with Godliness; its faithful servants will sing for joy.” We are promised by God to sing for Joy, not because of a happiness or emotion we achieved on our own, but because of His greatness and because He promised it to us. Romans 14:17 “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and JOY in the Holy Ghost.” When we come into the kingdom of God we are GIVEN the JOY that God promised us. Joy is not something that we need to try and find, it is something we are given when we come into the kingdom. Selah.

     Joy is a word that is so tossed around in the English language it is almost impossible to truly explain its true meaning in terms that express the gravity of joy. We say we are overwhelmed with joy when we win something or if something exciting happens in our lives. And maybe this is joy, as we humans know it and can grasp it and can create it. But I can’t help but feeling like the Joy that God promises us is so much more than a feeling that comes and goes.Throughout the book of Psalms we read “Sing for joy” or “come to God with shouts of joy” or things of that nature so often. How can we sing for joy if we aren’t “feeling” that joy? I’ve come to believe that joy is not an emotion but a subtext to the true Christian walk.  Emotions lie to us and deceive us and hurt us. They lead us to act irrationally and illogically. Our emotions are so destructive to us and those around us. Joy is not an emotion, but a promise. Joy is accompanied with happiness but sustains through the sad. Joy is a promise that never lets us down and will never fade.  Webster’s best definition of the joy we have in Christ is: “pleasurable feelings or emotions caused by success, good fortune, and the like, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire.” What we desire or love is to be in the presence of God and to be eternally secure in our salvation. In Isaiah 61:3 God promises us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, and praise for heaviness. God promises us joy for when we mourn. When we are sad God gives us a promise that He is there and will lift us up out of the mire. Selah. If your joy is simply an emotion, you need to check where your joy comes from. My joy comes from God and is not just there for the good times. Nehemiah 8:10 ” Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

     What seems to be the hardest for people is to have joy during the hard times. Joy is really easy when God is blessing you all over the place. But often times we forget what God tells us about the hard times. James 1:2 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Man, that’s rough. When we are faced with a tough time God smacks us in the face with a challenge: be joyful in the hard times. I’ll be honest this is a tough spot because it almost feels as though God is lacking compassion when he tells us through James to consider our hard times joy. Its one of those things our parents would say when we were having trouble: “push through, hard work build character, and etc,” but its a biblical principal and truth. The beauty of it is that even when we are going through those tough times God is still providing for us. Matthew 6:30 “And if God cares so wonderfully for the wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the wildfire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.” Even in the midst of our tough times God still provides for us. Psalm 5:11 “But let all that put their faith in you rejoice; let them shout for joy, because you defend them: let them also that love your name be joyful also.” We should have joy because God will defend us. If nothing else in this life is given to you on any particular day, you have at least been blessed with another day to praise God on this Earth. But even more important than that is this: Luke 10:20 “rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” Selah. (The greek word for rejoice there is “chairó” which shares the same root and overall meaning of joy, just to maintain the consistency and stressing of joy.)

     James 1 goes on to explain to us that from these hard times come perseverance, and perseverance helps us to mature and be made complete so we lack nothing. But one of the more important things to come from this is that when we consider hard times joy we are able to see the big picture.  James 1 tells us we’ll develop perseverance and mature in faith and that if we still lack after that we can ask of God what we lack and he will give it freely. But we must have faith in order to receive. If we aren’t joyful, chances are we are gloomy about things and lacking faith and we can’t expect to receive anything if we lack faith because we are “double-minded” (James 1:8). 

     So I guess what God is telling me through all of this is: Be joyful in all things. When you start to feel sad, that’s fine; but don’t let that take away your joy. Your joy is a flame that can’t be put out; it is a promise God has given you. I expected to get a better understanding of joy through this but instead God wanted me to learn that Joy is a promise that won’t be taken away. If you want joy, its yours to have in Christ and it will not only help you to lead a happier life, not because it makes life easier but because it helps you to put things into perspective by remembering that through Christ you have eternal security, but it will also help you to grow because until you have a peace and a joy in the midst of a tough season, you won’t get what you are truly meant to get out of it. Those rough times are rough, but God is still there and you are still eternally safe! Rejoice in your suffering because you still are blessed to have relationship with the creator and you are still promised eternity with him. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 “Always be joyful.”

Its been a long time since I posted on here and I just realized it. So I will have something new for you guys in a week or so. I’ve really been struggling, not with being in the word, cause I do that every single night, but with really digging in the word searching for some truth. I’ve been doing my quiet times more for the sake of getting them done than to learn something new and to see change in my life. So, I would like anyone who is reading this to feel free to keep me accountable. Ask me what I’m learning in my quiet times and if you care enough about my writing ask me when I’m gonna put up another blog haha. I love sharing what God gives me and I hope that it is of some kind of help to someone but that can’t happen if I’m not really searching for truth. Every time I write one of my blogs it is usually get a lot out of just writing them and finding the scripture for them. So if for no other reason, hold me accountable so I can see change even if you don’t. Thanks a ton, and again I’ll have something good up in the next week or two.

Also be in prayer for me as I prepare to go out and skate across the great state of North Carolina. There are still a couple loose ends I need to tie up for the trip and I’m really stressing this trip. So if any of you could just bathe this in prayer it would be so greatly appreciated. I’d love for at least one person to pray for me every day until I get back July 12 or 13. I just need the prayer leading up to it and especially during the trip so I: A. will have safety, B. have a peace about the trip, C. so I will remain strong spiritually throughout the trip. I will be skating all over NC, not just to skate the state, but also to minister to my home state. This is MY mission trip this summer and I will be raising money for Charity: Water and ministering to as many people as I can along the way. I’m looking forward to seeing God move in powerful ways. I whole-heartedly believe lives will be changed through this, but only if I stay strong pursuing what the Father wants and being willing to be used.

Thank you guys so much.

     As we go through our daily lives, we all have struggles. For some of us, the biggest struggle that we have is whether we decide to lie about not doing our homework, whereas others struggle with doing illegal things, and others still have struggles with disease and stress. The one thing that unites all of these things is the solution: walking in victory. Every time that we encounter an issue there are two solutions: 1. to let it break us or 2. walk in the realization that nothing can stop us.

     I think the best place to start this is in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is filled with the stories of wars and battles. The beauty of this is that God always provided for His people. 2 Samuel 22:40 You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet. Oh the power in this verse. God has made us ready for battle! Luke 10:19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. WOW. We have authority over all of our enemies through Christ. There is nothing that we come across that we don’t have authority and power over through our savior. Eph. 6:12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Oh what a blessing this is, that we don’t have to physically battle. God has made us ready for battle but we don’t need it because we are battling spirits. Selah.

     1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Notice that this says whom he MAY desire. The word may implies that he is being given permission. So let’s use the tools that we’ve already looked at. We know that have authority over all power of the enemy, we’ve been made ready for battle, but we don’t have to battle against flesh but spirits instead. So we know that we have the authority to say no to the enemy and give him no power over us. When we are tempted we should know that A. it is not of God (James 1:13-14 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.) and B. that we don’t have to give in. 1 Cor. 10:13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. Our temptations are the fault of our own humanity, our allowing ourselves to be tempted, and of the devil. When we are tempted it is never from God but always from ourselves or the devil. I think that way too many of us allow ourselves to blame it on the devil. “The devil made me do it” is a phrase used way too often, but people don’t realize the devil is prowling around looking for who he may, who will give him permission, to devour. If you don’t want to do bad, don’t give the enemy a foot in the door. Don’t put yourself in positions that will lead to temptation. I believe all scripture to be directly from God; that being said I whole-heartedly believe that temptation is from ourselves (James 1:13-14) and I also believe that we have the authority to prevent that from happening (Luke 10:19).

     Everyone has struggle and we all sin (Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard) but we all have the authority to prevent it.Phillipians 4:13 I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. This is such a cliched verse but it stands strong now and forever. Through faith in Christ, nothing is impossible. Luke 18:27He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” There is no arguing with scripture, we are told that anything is possible with God. However, many people take both of these very lightly and have made them into a joke. People will say, “If I can do all things through Christ, so why can’t I fly?” The answer is simple: there is no need for such nonsense. God did not put these in the Bible and tell us this for us to abuse and take so lightly. These verses are encouragement that if God wants you to do something there is nothing that can stop you because He will give you the strength. Romans 8:31 If God is for us, who can be against us? However, I believe that if God had a purpose for us to fly, that we could do it if we had the faith. 1 John 5:4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. Throughout scripture we see the importance of faith and that faith is central. Matthew 12:20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

If we each were to take these scriptures and really press into them and apply them that our walk would be so much easier. God has given us the tools to do anything and to walk in victory, all we need to do is take them up. We have victory! 1 John 4:4But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. As far as sin is concerned, we are told to put all of our evil desire to death (Col 3:5) and I know that through faith this is possible. It’s a decision that we have to make and one that we have to make daily. 2 Corinthians 10:5 … and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Take control over your mind and speak truth over your life. It isn’t always going to be easy but through Christ we can do it. 2 Cor. 12:9-10But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. If we find our strength in Christ then our hard times will be much easier.

     I encourage you now to pray with God and ask Him to help reveal to you places where you don’t walk in victory. Ask Him to show you where you need to walk in the victory that He has given you. James 5:16 tells us that there is power in the prayer of a righteous person and through Christ we are made righteous. Psalm 6:9 The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer. Then ask God to help give you the strength to walk in this victory. Ask Him to help you to take captive your thoughts and to learn to exercise a spirit of self-control.

     I hope that this has been as encouraging to read as it has been to write. Psalm 3:8Victory comes from you, O LORD. May you bless your people.

     So after a brief conversation with a total stranger last night, I felt the desire to start writing again. I just realized its been months since I last wrote and I never really finished the thought process behind my last blogs. So now its time to finish up some loose ends from my last few blogs.

     So with all of this stuff about God’s power and glory, we are left here to respond. But the question is: how do we respond? Do we sit back idly and just bask in his greatness or do we cower in fear?

     The response to this should be neither. We should never sit idly and do nothing. Scripture tells us that we should not sit idly. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 is one of the bluntest and most powerful commandments that we have. “And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.” We are told to, basically, never stop doing what is right. Now to take this a step further and further simplify this, let’s break down what we know to be right. What we know to be right is based on truth; not fact, but truth. Truth always supersedes fact. In John 14:6 Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” So now we know that truth comes from Jesus, or rather that Jesus is truth. Everything that Jesus speaks is truth; his actions and words are truth and are an example of what to do. To just further verify this let’s look at John 1. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” So we know that not only is Jesus the way, the truth, and the life, but we also know he is the Word. 2 Timothy 3:16 reads, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” So just in these few scriptures we have learned that Jesus is truth, so what he says and does is true. With this being said, He is also the Word, so all the Word must be true because Jesus is truth. And even further, we know that the word is used for teaching and rebuking. So if we want to know what to do we must look only to the Word of God.

     Now lets look at what God’s word tells us to do in response to His glory and power. John 14:15 “”If you love me, you will obey what I command.” In this verse we learn 2 things. 1. We should love God. God has done so much for us and the first response we should have is one of love. God has supplied us with so much. Not only does he supply us, He promises to continue to supply us. “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”-Phillipians 4:19. We are told in Matthew 6:25-26 ““Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” That is powerful right there; its something that we take for granted everyday. But this is what our God does for us. But these things are not the focus of this blog, so back to the point. God does all of this because he loves us. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Not only does God love us enough to provide for us with things that will fade, like food, money, clothes, etc, but He loved us enough to send us eternal security. Now to go back to John 14:15, we are to keep God’s commandments.

     Matthew 22:37 tells us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” So there is something crazy: if we love God we’ll keep his commandments, and one of his commandments is to love Him. Its just a circle: love God, obey, love God, obey. Once you realize what God has done, is doing, and is going to do you will love Him and if you truly love Him you will obey Him. Above all else, I believe that the most important response to God’s awesomeness is to truly love Him because if you do the rest should fall in to place.

     In loving God, though, we should also fear him; God is a great provider but He IS powerful. God created all that we see just by speaking it into existence. “You, Yourself, are to be feared; and who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?” (Psalm 76:7) Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. (Psalm 33:8) Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is man’s all. “These scriptures tell us to fear God, but what is it to fear God? So many times we confuse the fear of the Lord with being afraid of God. But to fear God is not to be afraid of Him; to fear God is to love him and to obey him. The best example of this that I have found is in Exodus 19 and 20. It has only been a few months after the Israelites have left Egypt and they are at Mt. Sinai. God tells Moses that He would come and talk to him in the form of cloud before the Israelites so they hear Him speaking and know to trust Him and Moses. But when God spoke to Moses and gave him the 10 commandments in front of them they trembled in fear. This fear is not the fear of the Lord but being afraid of God because Moses had the fear of the Lord and did not hide. True fear of the Lord does not cause us to pull away from God, but it draws us to him. We fear God because we understand what he has done, is doing, and what He will continue to do for not only us but for all of creation. When we understand God’s power, we realize that he is a powerful God, that should be feared. If He wanted to, God could destroy it all but we know that He is a just God, and though we should fear Him and keep his commandments, we should not be afraid of God. This is a concept that I still really struggle with getting a firm grasp on so forgive me if it is not completely clear because its still intense.

     I believe that part of it, is that we as humans will serve who we fear. Anytime that we are afraid for any need that we have we work to ensure that that particular need is met. We will work for countless hours to make sure that we have food or money to pay for things that we need. This is because our security is in our own things and we fear earthly things. If we truly feared God, we would obey Him and know that He will provide for us because His promises are true and His word never returns void. Because we are so afraid of starvation or poverty we serve them.

     Throughout the Bible, we are given so many promises for those who fear God. Here is just a list of promises that God has for those who truly fear Him. Let these be an encouragement to you.

     (Psalms 33:18-19) Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

     (Psalms 128:1) Blessed is every one who fears the LORD

     (Psalms 34:7) The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear him, and delivers them.

     (Psalms 33:18) Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him

     (Psalms 34:9) Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.

     (Psalms 103:11) For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy towards those who fear Him.

     (Psalms 111:5) He has given food to those who fear Him

     (Psalms 115:11) You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their sheild.

     To take everything that we have discussed and shorten it here is what we should take away: Jesus is the truth and Jesus is the Word made flesh. The Word has always been and the word is true. All of the Bible is God breathed and is useful for teaching and rebuking. We are commanded to fear God, love God with all that we are, and that if we truly do both of those we will keep his commandments. God’s commandments are found in His Word, the Bible. So plainly the best way that we can respond to God’s power, glory, mercy, and love is to obey, love, and fear Him. And not only that, but we should take the good news of God’s love and blessings and promises and take it to the world. (Matthew 28:19) Go and make disciples of all nations. For us to do any less than that would not only be disobedient but it would also be selfish. God had mercy enough to provide us (believers) with grace so we should respond and take that faith to others who need it because without it they are doomed to eternal separation from God because there is no way to the father but through Christ.

     So what we should do in response to all of who God is: To love God (Matt. 22:37), and to love God is to obey him(John 14:15), and to obey him to fear him (Eccl. 12:13).

     As I was in bed last night, just about to fall asleep, I got yet another impromptu revelation of God. I was too tired to stay up and write for another couple hours so I just wrote down in my quiet time journal “Don’t Limit God.” Now that I have free time, its time to expound upon this revelation and thought.

     All too often we realize that there are things that we can’t do. Sometimes its just that we realize we don’t have enough time to do something, or that we don’t have the physical strength to bench press 300 pounds, or that we can’t run a 3 minute mile. As human beings we recognize that there are limits on the things that we are capable of doing. We also limit what things we can do where or when, like parking, or speed limits. So in this life, we are very accustomed to limits.

     The one thing that I think we are truly the best at limiting, though, is God. Following up on my previous post, look around and think of all that you see and don’t see. God made it. “But God made the earth by his power (Jeremiah 10:12).” Not only did he make it but He spoke it into existence. Genesis 1:3 tells us “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” How awesome is that alone? That God spoke and it was. He didn’t need to create electricity, then the lightbulb, and then make a circuit to produce 60 watts of light. God just spoke and there was light. Selah.

     I encourage you to just go read Genesis chapter 1 and be reminded of the power of God. He didn’t just create everything that we see, He SPOKE it into existence. And even now He is holding it all together. Colossians 1:17 “In Him all things hold together.” So not only did He speak it into existence, but He is today holding it all together. Selah.

     Let’s stay in the old testament and just bask in the glory of all the things that God has done. In Exodus we read of the Israelites coming out of Egypt. In this alone there are signs and wonders nothing short of amazing. Just to get the Israelites free there were the 10 plagues: water turning to blood, frogs, gnats/lice, diseased livestock, boils, thunder and hail, locusts, darkness, and the killing of the firstborns. These plagues alone are enough to make a man fear the Lord. If God wants something to happen, He WILL make it happen. Let me repeat that in another way: If God wants it to happen, it is going to happen no matter who or what stands in His way, God’s will will be done. Selah.

     After the Israelites were free to go, God parted the Red Sea. Wow. Remember, this isn’t a pond, or a lake; this is the Red Sea we’re talking about. Go take a look at a map of the Red Sea. It contains 233,000 cubic miles. Now if you don’t fully grasp that, imagine something a mile long, mile wide, and a mile high. That’s a cubic mile. Pretty big. Yeah, 233,000 of those of water. God parted this and let the Israelites cross. Selah. After they crossed the Red Sea God led them on their journey. “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night; the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people (Exodus 13:21-22).” Okay, picture that: you’re walking in the desert and you have a giant cloud lead you the entire way, one that never leaves until night. Then at night, you are led by a pillar of fire. I don’t know if I’m the only one feeling this, but that’s amazing. A pillar of fire. And it leads you. Selah.

     God also helped his people win wars. Joshua chapter 10 tells of God delivering the Amorites into the hands of Israel and “the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites (Josh. 10:11).” The book of Joshua also tells of how God tore down the walls of Jericho. The Old Testament is full of instances where God’s power delivered the Israelites and saved them. God’s might and power are clearly displayed throughout the OT and I encourage you to just look into that because you will see that there is no enemy too strong for the Lord to overcome. No matter how big the obstacle, God is faithful and mighty to overcome. Selah.

     The New Testament shows us God’s glory and power revealed through the coming of Christ. However, I will be focusing on the things that happened after Christ because those things are still happening today. At the day of Pentecost something amazing happened. “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them (Acts 2:2-4)” The scriptures go on to say that 3000 were added to their number that day, and a little further on it says that daily there were people being added. By the power of God there were 3000 added at once and even more added to that daily. Selah.

     In this, I will not delve into the Spiritual Gifts but I will speak on the power of the Holy Spirit. John 14:16-17 says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to 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.” This is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is what gives us power. Jesus even tells us “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12).” So we are told that through the Holy Spirit we able to do all the things that Christ did, and even greater. So let’s sit on that a bit. In Jesus’ lifetime, He fed thousands, healed thousands, cast out demons, and ministered to thousands and we are told that we can do this and even more. Selah.

     This is happening even now as we speak. Through the power of the Holy Spirit there are thousands who are saved. Every day there are people being healed. Sunday at church I heard the testimony of two people who were healed by the power of Christ. One was thought to have had cancer and the other had a herniated disk if I remember correct. Christ healed them through the power of prayer and people taking authority in the name of Christ. Selah.

     So all of this is just to say that God’s power is limitless. The things that he can do are absolutely amazing. His power is absolutely amazing, it is LIMITLESS. He speaks and things happen. His power is evidenced throughout all of creation, throughout the Bible, through the actions on believers today even. God has been at work for all eternity and is still at work today and we are a part of it. I challenge you, after having read this and seen several instances of God’s power in scripture, to praise God for His power. He alone is worthy to be praised. Just sit back and think of all that God does for you, not just all the things that He gives you like yesterday, but think of how His power is at work and evidenced throughout your life and give Him thanks for all of it. In all things give God the glory.

   So I was just in the shower thinking, (don’t judge me, that’s where I do my best thinking), and I was thinking about math. I thought about how much I loved math but how much I absolutely loathed calculus. I didn’t hate calculus because it was too hard for me or anything like that, but because it absolutely shook me. What I took away from calculus that shook me was that the lack of security in an answer. Calculus taught me that between 1 and 2 there is an infinite amount of numbers. Just sit on that for a second. Between 1 and 2 is not one number but an infinite number of numbers. There is an immeasurable number of numbers between.

     So with this realization put into practice, you see that unless something is finite, i.e. something that can be counted, you can never know the exactness of anything. Distances are never completely correct because you can not measure to the infinite decimal place because you would never get there. You would never reach a complete exactness because you would be constantly measuring. Selah.

     So as humans, we seek to control and understand the world around us. Science has been constantly advancing to further understand the world in which we live so that we can manipulate the world around us to our liking. New buildings are built, machines to help make our lives easier, medicine to help make us well when we are sick, etc. But when man reaches something that it can’t fully grasp we irreverently put a simpler label on it and evaluate it in terms that are easier for us to grasp. Measurements are never exact, they are always exact to the nearest whatever decimal place. Temperature is exact to the nearest tenth or hundredth of a degree. Scales are accurate to the nearest tenth or hundredth. The point is, when we can’t fully grasp something we simplify it. Following this further makes you realize how great man’s struggle with comprehending God’s glory. As human beings we can not fathom infinity. We simply can’t wrap our minds around something so big, something that never ends seems impossible to us.

     If we do this with the infinite things found in our very own world, how much more do we do this with God? Selah. God’s glory is all around us and we can’t even see it. It’s crazy to me, as I type this even, that the math of calculus truly revealed God’s glory to me, and over 2 years after the fact. The math of calculus even proves the glory of God. The fact that there is infinite space between 1 and 2 is absolutely mind blowing, and that’s just between 1 and 2; what about 2 and 3, or 3 and 4? The infinite is all around us but we fail to acknowledge. God forgive us. The glory of God is infinite. We can not grasp it, but that does not mean that we can’t daily be revealed more of it. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t strive to learn of the greatness of God’s glory. Oh how we have lost our reverence for the glory of the God of this universe. Selah

     The heaven’s above us, the earth we live on, the air in our lungs, the everything that we see: GOD MADE IT ALL. Selah. Daily we fail to recognize God’s glory because we forget that HE MADE IT ALL. God spoke the universe into existence. When we speak words come out, when God speaks life comes out. The glory of God is found in the complexities of the human body, containing millions of cells that constantly are being replaced, in the vastness of the universe, which as of today man has still found no end but seen objects over 13 billion light years away, in the infinite grains of sand on any beach in the world. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” I mean, God’s creation is not simple by any means and He SPOKE it into being, and today He holds it all together. Colossians 1:17 says, “In Him all things hold together.” Now there is something to sit on. Not only did He create it, but today He is still holding it together. Selah.

     This is simply the glory of His creation, the glory of who He is and what He is does is just too much for me to delve into right now. How can we put infinity in human terms? How do you define something that never ends? How dare we not give all the glory of this world to God; how dare we think any less of God than that He alone is worthy of praise and that He alone is holy. Yet in churches all over, people sit, talk, and apathetically sing a few songs. God has blessed us with so much, yet we daily fail to recognize how great He alone is. In heaven the angels are constantly praising God. “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’” Rev. 5:11-12. Isaiah 6:2-3 tells us “Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’” These angels spend eternity lathering the Father with this praise. They are covered in eyes, and their eyes are veiled with wings but still these angels daily see new facets of God’s glory and daily find something new to praise Him for. Yet here we sit complaining on Sunday morning of having to sing the same worship song again. Selah.

     You hear it said every so often that time doesn’t exist and that it’s just a man made thing. I thought about this and after applying calculus have come to believe that it doesn’t exist. It simply can’t exist because between the first second and the second second is an infinite number of numbers and time, and its impossible to measure infinity. However, it is how man measures his short amount of time on this earth. It makes us feel as though we have a long life. 70 years sounds a whole lot better than 1 lifetime. On this earth our time is limited and I really think that this is the reason that in heaven one day is like a thousand years. 2 Peter 3:8 says, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” Here on this earth we have a lifetime, but in heaven life never ends. We are no longer bound to die and we are able to live in the infinite time between 12:00:01 and 12:00:02. The infinite is no longer being put into finite terms and thus we get to enjoy the vastness of infinity. Selah.

     All of this is just to say: Rethink the glory of God. Sit and think about the greatness of God. Think of all that He has just given you for starters. Thank Him for the material possessions that you have. Thank Him for the relationships you have, your health, your house, etc. Then thank Him for the things He daily provides you with: your life, breath in your lungs, blood in your veins, health, food, etc. Then move onto the beauty of His creation around you. Think about the beautiful grass, flowers, trees, lakes, ponds, and all of that around you. Then think outside of your yard and what you see. Think about the beauty of your favorite place on this earth. Think about mountains, beaches, oceans, glaciers, deserts. Now move onto the earth as a whole. Then think about the solar system and all the planets, and the solar systems and stars that make up our galaxy, and all the galaxies that make up the galaxy cluster that we’re in, then all the galaxy clusters that are in the universe. Now realize that all of this is of God. All of this was simply spoken into existence by God and He is still holding it all together. Selah.

     I challenge you to do this, not just today but on a daily basis. Understanding the glory of God is not something that we can fully comprehend but we can sure try. The more you understand God’s glory the closer you will grow to Him and the more fully you will understand Him. Consider all of this next time you worship, pray, or read His word. In all things give God the glory.