Tag: Knowledge of God

Jumping from the Precipice

Without a heart that is willing, we cannot know God.

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If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (John 7:17)

Jesus spoke these words after his own brothers expressed their skepticism about who Jesus appeared to be suggesting he was, the long awaited Messiah from God. (John 7:2-5) He spoke these words to a crowd that was also largely skeptical, wondering who he really was. Some were saying he was a good man, but others were claiming that he was leading people astray. (John 7:12)

I keep coming back to this verse (John 7:17) since I heard Dr. Rosaria Butterfield give her testimony of her journey from liberal, lesbian professor who was highly critical of Christians and Christianity to becoming a believer and later a pastor’s wife and having a ministry of her own.

In her world of academia, she was used to doing research and coming to conclusions before being willing to put her faith in a proposition. That is the academic process.

As she was listening to a sermon after having spent many months becoming friends with a pastor and his wife, reading the Bible, and considering the evidence for Christianity, she made a life changing realization. She was approaching Christianity academically. She was not willing to believe until all of the facts were lined up and could be reduced to a certain answer.

When she heard this sermon in which the preacher read John 7:17, she realized that she had it all backward. Continue reading “Jumping from the Precipice” →

Viewing God in the Mirror of Our Lives

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“Now we see as if in a mirror dimly… but then we will see face to face.”

Corinthians 13:12 (ESV)

The filter through which we see God is the physical, spiritual, emotional and conscious person we see staring back at us in the mirror. Our perspective of God comes filtered through our own selves.

Think about that for a moment….

If our sense of who we are is distorted, our view of God is distorted. If we don’t see ourselves accurately, we can’t see God accurately.  Having an accurate view of God requires us to have an accurate view of who we are.

Continue reading “Viewing God in the Mirror of Our Lives” →

Warming up to the Wrath of God

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Clouds in Little Spider 2

Putting the Wrath of God in Perspective Part 1

The wrath of God has long been a source of discomfort for believers and a stumbling block for unbelievers. The subject is one step away from the question, “How can a loving God allow evil to exist in the world?” The counter punch is, “I cannot believe in a God who kills people, who wipes out innocent men, women and children.”

I am going to tackle this prickly subject in a series of writings. I have already written on the subject a number of times because it is a perplexing one.

It seems clear to me that the “answers” one finds are largely determined by orientation. A person who wants to understand will seek resolution and understanding; a person who is not interested in resolution or understanding will camp on the questions and make them rhetorical. I am writing for the person who is seeking to understand.

Continue reading “Warming up to the Wrath of God” →

God Reminds Us Who He Is

Is it out of character for God to make unequivocal statements about Himself?

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2015-09-21 Sunrise by Heather Wagner Russell
By Heather Russell

Isaiah declared that the Lord says, “I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God…. Is there any God besides me?” (Is. 44:6, 8)

Is this arrogant for God to say? My son says so; he says, “I cannot respect a God like that.” He believes that statements like this in the Old Testament were written by men and do not accurately reflect the Creator of the Universe.

Certainly, if you or I made a similar statement, it would be the height of arrogance. Imagine how our siblings, parents or friends might respond if we made a statement like that?

No, actually, it would be delusional. Though we sometimes may act like the world begins and ends with us, we might be committed if we actually said something that like.

But, is it out of character for God to say something like that?

If there is a God, the world actually does begin and end with Him.

On the other hand, the “books” of the Bible were written by men, right?

Continue reading “God Reminds Us Who He Is” →

When God Shows Up

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Stormy Road by Ken Gortowski

Job was a good, God fearing man who did everything right. He was hard working, conscientious and treated other people well. He was a good father and a good husband. He was a man of integrity with strong morals that he lived out; his word was his bond. Then tragedy and calamity struck. Everything was taken away.

Job naturally began to question God. Who wouldn’t! Continue reading “When God Shows Up” →