ISAIAH 64:1,4, " Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! ... Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him."
Isaiah laments that he wishes God would just do something! I've felt like that. In fact, I feel like that right now. The thing is, he is asking God for something that he actually he could do! "God push the stars aside, tear open the sky and drop a footprint on the Everest!" Isaiah knew God was a God who intervened. God was not like other gods. God was in contrast to the other 'gods' because he didn't respond to service, sacrifice, works, money.... He responds to those who wait for him, for HIS salvation. This was unlike any other 'god' of his day. God responds to trust and dependence - NEED. Don't think you need God? Don't expect Him to show. Got all of your bases covered? He won't intervene.
However, if you've got to look up to see the bottom... cry out to the one who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
how do I regard God?
Some people, some Christians, don't know how much this very thing matters. My regard for God makes a huge amount of difference in the outcome of my life.
Hebrews 11:11, "By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise."
Abraham was not enabled to be father simply on the basis that God was good or God was faithful. He was enabled to become a father because of the way he regarded God. He considered God to be reliable. His feelings about God dictated the outcome to a promise God gave him. His church attendance, his Bible reading, his generosity did not dictate the answer to this promise. He believed God was faithful to carry out the promise.
I have read promises in the Bible and thought, "Well, I hope that turns out like that for me." This is an example of me not regarding God as faithful. James has this to say:
James 1:5-7, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."
The context is asking God for wisdom but James expands it to asking God for anything. If I don't believe God will give it to me, then I shouldn't think I'm going to get anything from him at all. (This is no guarantee I'm going to get what I ask for, God is not at my beck and call. Prayers go seemingly unanswered for many reasons, but that is the subject of another post. I'm only speaking about my attitude and perspective on the matter.)
Hebrews 11:11, "By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise."
Abraham was not enabled to be father simply on the basis that God was good or God was faithful. He was enabled to become a father because of the way he regarded God. He considered God to be reliable. His feelings about God dictated the outcome to a promise God gave him. His church attendance, his Bible reading, his generosity did not dictate the answer to this promise. He believed God was faithful to carry out the promise.
I have read promises in the Bible and thought, "Well, I hope that turns out like that for me." This is an example of me not regarding God as faithful. James has this to say:
James 1:5-7, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."
The context is asking God for wisdom but James expands it to asking God for anything. If I don't believe God will give it to me, then I shouldn't think I'm going to get anything from him at all. (This is no guarantee I'm going to get what I ask for, God is not at my beck and call. Prayers go seemingly unanswered for many reasons, but that is the subject of another post. I'm only speaking about my attitude and perspective on the matter.)
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