God speaks.

Genesis 1:3 

"And God said..."

It occurred to me the other day just how much those three words mean. God speaks. That means a whole range of things.

God is intelligent.
I think it is easy for us to forget that God is intelligent. He is more than just intelligent - he is the creator of intelligence, he is all-knowing, all-wise. He invented language. He invented speaking.

We like to think to ourselves that we are smart. That we know what we are doing and that we understand the world and how it works. We like to think that we know whats right. But in reality it is God who knows it all. We are nothing. He is intelligent and we would be better off if we humbles ourselves and listened to him. He who spoke first in the universe, who created the universe, who reigns over the universe is far wiser than we will ever be.

God is deeply involved in his creation
Creation didn't just happen by accident. God purposefully, directly created it. He controls his creation and he created it. Not only that, but since that point he has been constantly involved in it - saving a people for himself, ultimately bringing us who are Christians to him, and also in sustaining it every moment of every day.

Jesus was "before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:17).

God is real
There are many false gods and idols that people believe in, but God is real. He is the one, true God and he is real.

In contrast to God speaking in the beginning Psalm 135:15-18 says

"The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
 they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
 Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them."

Idols are fake and that is proved by the fact that they do not speak. They do not have any effect on creation. They do not have any power. But God does, and we know hat because he has been involved in his creation ever since he made it.

God speaks to us today
There are a number of views about how God speaks to us today. Some say there are still prophecies and revelations through dreams or God speaking directly to people - I think that's dangerous: Satan can dress as an angel of light to trick us (2 Corinthians 11:14). In reality we have all we need of God's word in the bible - it is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). We don't need more words from God - he has given us all we need.

Read the bible! Spend time getting to know God's revealed word to us, not chasing after dreams and visions that may or may not be from him. Now he speaks to us through his son - through Jesus, who's words are recorded in the bible. (Hebrews 1)

God does more than just speak
God doesn't just speak. He also acts. He isn't just full of words and promises - he keeps every one of them. He is faithful, he is merciful, he is gracious, he is holy, he is just, he is good, he is real.

God didn't just speak. He created. He didn't just call Moses to save Israel, he empowered him to do it. He didn't just tell us we were sinners with the law, he sent Jesus to take our condemnation and save us. He doesn't just call us to become christians, he sends the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and to draw us to him so we will respond in repentance and faith. Have you? He doesn't just tell us to obey him, he saves us by grace and works in us with the Holy Spirit to enable us to obey and to share his word. Are you doing that?

God is God. He reigns. He is mighty. He is holy. He is real.

Remember that. Remember that he speaks, he knows, and he acts.

Remember, turn to him and praise him for it.

Soli Deo Gloria!
Nat.

Light.

As I was reading through John 3 yesterday afternoon I spent a bit of time considering the significance of the themes of light and dark in the bible. These are just a few connections that I've made - I'm certain there are many more cool, interesting and helpful ones that could be made, but it was good to think through a little.

When is light first mentioned in the bible?
At creation in Genesis 1:3-5

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Light was the first thing God created. It was the start of his glorious creation, the first step in his plan to bring us to life and eventually to show forth his glory through saving us. It was his first blessing for us and the first thing he created to glorify himself.

And it was also good. The first thing that God spoke into existence (as far as it is recorded).

In John 3:19-21, Jesus says:

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. 

So when we hate the light because of our sin, we are actually hating God's plan, his blessings and his glory. We are hating his first words, and therefore we hate his whole word and Jesus who is the word (John 1).

God created everything and it was good. When we rejected him through sin we began to hate what is good and love what is evil. Instead of loving the light, which God made to symbolise his good creation, we loved the dark - the absence of God and his plan. We wanted to be in control and we rejected him. Instead of his eternal blessing we chose his wrath - hell - the absence of his blessing.

But if we turn to God in repentance there is salvation - we can live by the truth and rejoice in being part of God's plan, bringing glory to him - "so that it may be seen plainly that what [we] have done has been done in the sight of God."

How do we turn back to God's blessings and his plan?
We need to follow and trust in the light of the world.

'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."' (John 8:12)

So the question for you is this: Have you put your faith in Jesus? Have you given up your sin and repented of it? Or are you still living in darkness, treasuring your sin instead of God's measureless grace and mercy and blessing? Are you rejecting God's good gifts and clinging to worthless things that will lead only to his wrath?

Are you a Christian?

God Bless
Nat.

Our Glorious, Awesome God.

Romans 11:33

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!

Image Source

Oh the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How wonderful He is! How unfathomable, how awesome, how powerful! How perfect and holy!

We should be thrilled at who God is. We should be entirely overawed. His wisdom, His plans and ideas, His works are deeper and richer then we could ever fathom. They bring glory to Him and they work for the good, of all those who love Him - revealing His mercy, grace, love, patience, kindness, justice, holiness, perfection and peace to us. God has done more then we could even imagine or measure!

We should simply be over-awed at who God is. We should just stand and appreciate His work, His character, His love. We should just stop and enjoy it, glorying in it and glorifying him for it.

Yet so often we are disinterested. We shrug our shoulders and go back to work or to study or to our meaningless wealth or to our friendships. I do that constantly, in fact it is the rare occasion that I just bask in God's glory - it is very rare. But it is so precious.

The wisdom of God. God's wisdom is wiser then anything we can imagine, "the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." (1 Corinthians 1:25). What did He decide to do? He sent Jesus, who was and is eternally God as a man, to suffer and die. To live among us, and to be murdered by us. Why? So He could save us, so He could forgive us for our sins, so He could reveal to us God's full character and so that He could love us. No, it isn't about us - it's about Him, but He did do it for us as well. What an awesome God!

What does this mean for us? 

• We can trust God! His wisdom and knowledge are unsearchable because we are so frail and ignorant. Therefore when things don't make sense, when we can't see how God is working, trust him! He knows infinitely more than us! We don't have to fret because He has promised to work everything for His glory and for the good of His people (Romans 8:28)
• We can "Rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil 4:4) because He has shown us His character and it is wonderful. Because He is infinite and unsearchable, yet has revealed himself to us, offering to save us even though we are ignorant and foolish. If we never lose sight of the awesome God we serve, then we never have reason to stop rejoicing, because we should simply be rejoicing in who He is, and that remains constant regardless of what is happening in our lives
• We need to be humble. God is infinite, His plans are so full, so deep, so rich, so perfect that they are unsearchable by us. Who are we to think we know better? Who are we to live in sin and rebellion to him? Who are we to ask why He does what He does? Who are we even to be noticed and loved by Him? Yet he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7) and in His mercy and grace He does call us to know Him and to ask questions. But we do that humbly, knowing that God is unfathomably more awesome then we can understand.
• Just enjoy God. Know His character and bask in the light of who He is. Pray for His help to do that, read His word so that you can understand it further. Just enjoy God for who He is!

God is in control and He works out everything to bring glory to Him in ways that we do not understand. His paths are more wonderful then we can understand, deeper and more glorious then we can search. We cannot comprehend all He does in the world around us, in our lives and the lives of others. But God knows what He does, and we can glorify Him that He is working through everything to bring about His good and perfect purpose. We can glorify Him for who He is, and we should do that.

Where is the Joy in your walk with God? Are you basking in who He is? Are you simply enjoying the God who created, sustains and saved us? Are you enjoying His creation, which sings his praises (Psalm 19)?

To God be the glory! Great things He has done!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Nat.

The Solar System

This is great, God has made awesome stuff! Awesome video, aside from the "billions of years old" (not true) and the end of the universe happening by the sun expanding - I'm pretty sure Jesus will come back before then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efYGZZMVmgc

Why do we exist?

1 Corinthians 6:20

You were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your bodies.

God created the universe for his glory. Every rock, every tree, every molecule of oxygen gas, every electron in every atom. Everything that exists was created by God to glorify him and to express his glory.

And yet we see in Genesis 3 that we sinned. We rebelled against God and stuffed it up. Adam and Eve ate the fruit when he told us not to, and every single human being since then has also rebelled against God. We no longer give him the glory, instead we try to take it all ourselves.

But instead of destroying us like we deserved, God made a promise to Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:15 -

And I will put enmitybetween you and the woman,and between your offspring and hers;he will crush your head,and you will strike his heel.”

God promised from the beginning to save us, to provide someone to crush Satan, sin and death. That's what Paul means when he says we were brought with a price. Jesus, who was eternally God, became a man. He lived among us, yet he did not sin, and he suffered and died in our place. He took God's wrath for those who turn to him - the punishment that we deserve because we sin against him and he paid for it in full. As a result we can be saved, and we can fulfil our purpose: we can glorify God again.

Why do we exist? Isn't that one of the biggest questions asked? We exist to glorify God, and we do that best by being satisfied in him, by being thankful and by praising him for his goodness.

If you are a Christian then you have been brought at a price - God (Jesus) became a man and died in your place. Then he rose again and now he sits at God's (God the Father's) right hand, interceding for us, still God and still retaining his humanity. We have been brought with a price that we cannot even begin to fathom. If that's true then the only response should be thankfulness which leads to obedience - glorifying God with your body.

Do you Glorify God in all you do?

Soli Deo Gloria.
Nat.

Creation Worships God. Do you?

Psalm 19:1-6

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world. 

 In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.

 "The Heavens declare the glory of God".

How true that is. All of creation sings God's praises. It proves he exists and it shows his character. God is most praised when his character is understood and praised. Creation glorifies God because he created it, he sustains it and he makes it continue.

God created the universe. Every atom, every cell, every piece of grass, every tree. Every human. God created it all. He is worthy of all praise! We should praise him for his marvellous creation, for his awesome deeds. We should see it and rejoice in the God who made it, and who made it for us to enjoy. Even though we have sinned and creation is corrupted, it is still beautiful, it is still declaring God's glory.

How does creation declare God's glory?

I had a thought about this once. I don't know if it's worthwhile, but everything is made up of atoms right? And, unless they're at absolute 0, they are all vibrating. Music is made up of vibrations at different frequencies. Therefore all of creation is in a way making music. Though we can't hear it, all of creation truly is praising God, making music to him.

If you have some time then take a look at this video by Louie Giglio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zWKm-LZWm4. It's pretty cool that creation does make noise, and to consider that it is declaring God's praises.

How does this apply to us?

It's all good and well to consider these things and to dwell on them, but they also have to be a direct challenge to us don't they? All of creation praises God. God created us as well. Yet there are so many people out there who don't even acknowledge God's existence. Who deny that he created, who refuse to praise him. There are also many who say God exists, but worship a false god, or simply refuse to worship the true God.

Here's the challenge: is that you? All of creation is praising God, declaring his glory. Are you? Do you believe the gospel? That we are all sinners, From Adam and Eve to us. That every person on earth is naturally living in rebellion to God because of our sin. Do you believe that Jesus, who is God, came to earth, suffered and died in the place of his people. He took our sins and God's completely just wrath for our sins so that whoever turns to him in repentance and faith will be completely forgiven? He also rose again, proving that he had dealt with our sins and proving that we can be totally forgiven. Proving that those who trust in him will also rise to eternal life in heaven. Do you believe that gospel?

The challenge for those to do is simple: Do you declare God's praises? Do your ell people the gospel? Do you take time out to just pray and to thank God for his wonderful mercies? Even if you can't think of anything else to praise God for, you can praise him for the salvation and forgiveness we have in Jesus and for his awesome creation. That's enough to praise God for eternity - start now!

I love this quote from Paul Washer, and it kind of ties in to these two points of application.

"Imagine this for a moment. God stands there on the day of creation and he tells planets to put themselves in certain orbits in space and they all bow down and say amen and obey him. He tells stars to find their place in the sky and to follow his decree to the letter and they all bow down and obey him. He tells mountains to be lifted up and valleys to be cast down and they bow down in worship. He tells the brave sea, “You will come to this point and you will come no further,” and the sea adores. And yet God tells you to come and you go, “No.” 

How wicked is our sin. And if it were only an act it would be terrible enough, but sin goes much deeper in the heart of a man. A man does not simply commit sin. A man is born in sin, vile and corrupt from the beginning.

Do you refuse to worship God? Do you refuse to submit to him and put your faith in Christ? All of creation praises him, all of creation submits to him, do you?

If the answer is no, and you continue to rebel then the result is hell. If the answer is no, but you turn to him then there is complete forgiveness and mercy. Jesus saves! If the answer is yes, then Praise God and never stop!