Blog Archives - Created through Him

Created Through Him

God sustains

6/30/2012

9 Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. 10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof (Psalm 65:9-10).

The Creation is sustained through the sovereign will of God. God cares for His creation. The Creation is His work. It is part of God’s nature to create. It is therefore also a part of God’s nature to sustain the Creation. It is pure fallacy to hold that the Creation is self-sustaining. In order for the Creation to be self-sustaining, it would either have to always have existed or it would have to have created itself. Either way, the Creation would have to have the capacity to design and to be purposeful without intervention. But we know from experience that this is not possible. All things in Creation decay over time, and such processes as the law of entropy necessitate that a sustainer intervene to bring order out of chaos. It is only God who is self-existent; He existed outside of time because He is the creator of time. Since God is the self-existent Creator, He is also the sovereign sustainer of the Creation.

In God we trust

6/29/2012

11 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me (Psalm 56:11).

The basis for placing trust in God lies in God’s ultimate sovereignty. By placing trust in God, we are acknowledging that it is God that is in control. If God is in control then there is no other Being, including ourselves, that we should total rely upon. This is not to say that we shouldn’t trust people, but rather that our ultimate trust should be in God and His sovereignty. God’s action, on our behalf, is more powerful than any action that can be taken against us. God does sometimes allow bad things to occur, this we know from experience, but in the end, God will make all things right. So when times of trouble come, place your trust in God: He will deliver you, and that deliverance will be from an eternal perspective.

A clean heart

6/28/2012

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).

The Psalmist is asking God to be his redeemer. God as our redeemer gives us a new way of life. Notice that it is God that creates a clean heart and renews the right spirit within us. We cannot rely on ourselves to ‘get right’ with God. We are not able on our own to have a clean heart and spirit. This is not to say that we don’t have responsibility to do what is right, but rather that we are to acknowledge that it is ultimately God that saves us. In the end, Psalm 51 is a prayer of confession and an acknowledgment before a holy God that we need Him.

Call upon God in the day of trouble

6/27/2012

15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me (Psalm 50:15).

God is the source of our strength during times of trouble. Trouble can take many forms, and although painful and difficult, trouble is temporary. God’s deliverance though is permanent. God’s choice to deliver us from trouble is routed in the covenant. The covenant is a promise of God usually predicated on conditions. The simplest condition is that God shall be our God and we then will be His people. Our response to God, in covenant, is to glorify God. It is God that saves and therefore God meets the condition of the covenant on our behalf. For this, God is glorified through His actions. Our only requirement to be delivered is to call upon God.

God's righteousness

6/26/2012

10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness (Psalm 48:10).

As God acts in sovereignty, He is righteous. God according to His nature is good. God cannot act any other way other than with righteousness. Therefore, God is the standard and measure to which we should base all of our decisions and knowledge. The righteousness of God is then the first principle to and the source of true knowledge. God is not subject to knowledge but rather knowledge is subject to God. We should then subject all knowledge to a simple test. The simple test is whether knowledge is contrary to God’s word. If any knowledge is contrary to God’s word, then the law of negation (negation of negation) mandates that this knowledge be rejected as false based on the argument that God’s word supersedes all other knowledge. The truth of God proceeds from His righteousness.

The city of God

6/25/2012

46 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High (Psalm 46:1-4).

Since God is sovereign, He is where we should turn for strength and help. When we take refuge in God, there is nothing that can ultimately overcome us. Verse 4 mentions the City of God. The City of God is where God’s presence is permanent. It is a place of sanctuary and peace, a place that will nourish and feed our souls. The river is a river of life, everlasting and holy. When we come into the presence of God, we are recipients of God’s strength and we abide in Him. To abide in Him is to be fed by the river of life. Drink from river of life, making glad the holy City of the Most High God.

His thoughts toward His children

6/24/2012

5 Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered (Psalm 40:5).

God’s works and thoughts are infinite. It is hard to get our arms wrapped around the depth of God’s actions. Notice too that God’s works and thoughts are towards us. So, God is infinite in what He does for us. That should be enormously comforting. The God that called the Universe into existence cares for His children to an infinite degree. Our response to God’s care should be a mixture of awe and thankfulness. The Lord our God has His thoughts toward His children, and His children in-turn should respond in love toward Him-This we ought to do.

Commit to the Lord

6/23/2012

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass (Psalm 37:5).

By placing our trust in God, we are aligning our own desires with the desires of God Himself. A common question asked by believers is, “why does God not actually answer all prayers?”. The answer is found by examining the very nature of God. God cannot do anything that is not in accordance with His will. The nature of God and the will of God are not separable. Therefore, we must seek the will of God in prayer placing our trust in Him; the response of God then is to bring our request to pass. Our happiness is found through committing our way to the Lord’s way. Seek Him in all things.

In awe of God

6/22/2012

6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast (Psalm 33:6-9).

The response to God as the sovereign creator should be one of awe. When we are in awe of God we are worshipping Him. Mixed with our awe of God should be a fear of Him as well. The fear is a form of respect. Since God is the all-powerful creator and sovereign over His creation, we should respect/fear God for who He is and what He has done. After all, the God that spoke the Universe into existence is infinitely more powerful than those He created. It is the ultimate form of arrogance to think that, we, as the created, are in the same ‘league’ as God. Yet, at times, we try to make God in our own image, and we attempt to make God unnecessary to our existence. Let us approach God with the sense of awe that He deserves and in fact, demands.

The mercy of God

6/21/2012

16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake (Psalm 31:16).

Part of God’s grace is His presence in our lives. When God chooses to shine His face toward us, it is a gracious act of mercy. In fact, scripture declares that is for the sake of God’s mercy that we are saved. In other words we are saved as an act of mercy. This is what God does on our behalf and we are expected to act similarly toward others as well. When we turn towards others or try and impact them it should be out of the abundance of God’s mercy towards us that guides our purposes. We should be merciful ourselves and our presence in others lives should reveal the tenderness of the mercy of God. We pray that God continue to make His face shine upon us while we act towards others humbly and with a merciful spirit.

Created Through Him