God's Word on That

Category: Total Abiding

To abide is man’s highest calling by our Father.

  • Our Awesome God

    The planets move in split-second precision.  There is no guesswork in the galaxies.  We see in nature that everything is part of a plan: harmonious, orderly, obedient…   Could a God who make the physical universe be any less exacting in the higher spiritual and moral order?

    Everywhere we look, we can see God’s marvelous works.

    That all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God, there is no other (1 Kings 8:60).

    Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; let not the mighty man glory in his might; nor let the rich man glory in his riches.  But let anyone who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.  For in these I delight,” says the Lord (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

    And He passed in front of Moses proclaiming: The Lord, the Lord God.  The compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin; yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished… (Exodus 34:6-7)

    The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.  Holy and awesome is His name!    (Psalm 111:4, 9)

    “I owe no one anything,” God declares.  “Everything is Mine.”  God owes no explanations, excuses, help, favor, or debt.  But He still gives.

    Does He who implanted the ear not hear?  Does He who formed the eye not see?  Does He who disciplines nations not punish?  Does He who teaches man lack knowledge?    (Psalm 94:9-10)

    The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The Lord is good to all, He has compassion on all He has made (Psalm 145:8-9).

    Grace = God’s work.  His idea.  His expense.  His discretion.

    Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.  For He spoke and it was done!  He commanded and it stood fast!    (Psalm 33:8-9)

    … You alone are God (Psalm 86:10).

    If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine and all that is in it.  Do I eat the flesh of bulls?  Or drink the blood of goats?  Sacrifice thank offerings to your God (Psalm 50:12-14).

    For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men (Lamentations 3:33).

    “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die,” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23)

    God is God.  God knows what He is doing.  When you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.     (Max Lucado)

  • Let Us Seek Wisdom

    “Christ” = literally “The Word” meaning the Messiah, the wisdom and power of God and the first cause of all things; God’s personal expression of Himself to man. (The Living Bible, note on John 1:1)

    Let us seek God’s Wisdom, since He created the universe around us.

    “God is with us”. When I walk with this knowledge, I find that even though all of life is the same, everything is different.

    Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise (Psalm 111:10).

    “I owe no one anything,” God declares. “Everything is mine.” God owes no explanations, no excuses, no help, no favors, nor debts. — But He still gives.

    Grace = God’s work; His idea; His expense; His discretion.

    For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly – as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith (Romans 12:3).

    For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself (Galatians 6:3).

    By shear faith in Christ Jesus we gain access to all God’s treasures: joy, peace, wisdom, eternal life… (What is left?)

    If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

    All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness – that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

    Scripture will make you wise; wiser than people around you. Notice I said wiser, not more knowledgeable. A wise man is one who can distinguish what is fundamental from what is trivial; who knows what life is about and who acts appropriately whatever the circumstances.

    Thus says the Lord: “let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

    All that is physical is passing away. As long as I keep holding on to it, I continually set myself up for disappointment. If all I see is how you look and what you have, I will miss the point that you – like me – are a hurting spirit looking for home.

    Put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge – into the image of its creator (Colossians 3:10).

    The Bible reveals God has a plan for every life, and if we live in constant fellowship with Him, He will direct and lead us in the fulfillment of that plan.

    Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him (Luke 8:18).

    God transformed you into a new person — live like it!

  • The Perfection We Seek

    One Scripture says “God is love” (1 John 4:16), but another says “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). How do we reconcile these two? We must understand just as God is perfect in love, so He is also perfect in holiness.

    Our God is both Love and Holiness. We must try to understand this.

    God does not compromise His holiness to accommodate anyone. He placed Adam and Eve in a beautiful garden, but drove them out after they sinned. He appointed Aaron’s sons as priests but destroyed two of them when they offered “strange fire” (Leviticus 10). Ananias and Sapphira were among the earliest Christians but God punished them for lying (Acts 5:1-11). Even in the New Testament age, God does not tolerate sin in His presence.

    We need to understand something of God’s holiness before we can understand His love. If we grasp how holy God is, it helps us to see that He must have a tremendous love for us, since He gave His own Son to save us.

    God proves His own love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

    God’s love does indeed give us a reason to smile, but it s not an indulgent love that is satisfied to let us do as we please. It is rather a redemptive love that yearns for us to be holy as God Himself is holy.

    You must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

    Following Jesus is not a “do it yourself” endeavor. We cannot be perfect, no matter how hard we try. It is the Father who is engaged in the work of perfecting us. Our role is to fully cooperate with His work in us. If we try by our own efforts to be perfect, we sentence ourselves to a lifetime of repeated frustration. Rather than focusing on, “How am I doing?”, we instead should ask, “Father, what do You want me to do?”

    “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

    She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His words… Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her (Luke 10:39, 42).

    Devour God’s Word.

    Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of Hosts (Jeremiah 15:16).

    So that you may will know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).

    Do good works because you love God not because people expect them.

  • What Is Truth?

    It is good to remember that conventional wisdom is usually concerned with justifying itself, not with finding truth. (Rev F. Everding)

    God’s Word is all we need.

    Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

    Send forth Your light and Your truth. Let them guide me; let the bring me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You dwell (Psalm 43:3).

    Your Word is truth (John 17:17).

    God’s economy is upside down from ours! God says: the more hopeless your circumstances, the more likely your salvation; the greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers; the darker the room, the more need for light.

    Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law (Psalm 119:18).

    Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105).

    The unfolding of Your Word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130).

    Turn or burn. Turn and learn.

    The entirety of Your Word is truth, and everyone of Your righteous judgments endures forever (Psalm 119:160).

    Give ear and come to Me; hear Me, that your soul may live (Isaiah 55:3).

    The Ten Commandments were given for us to enjoy life better, not to make it worse.

    Jesus did not come to abolish the old law and give a new one. He came to redefine the law — so we understand it was meant for our hearts, not our minds.

    That you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days (Deuteronomy 30:20).

    They are not just idle words for you — they are your life! By them you will live in the land (Deuteronomy 32:47).

    God deserves the best we can give: our finest possessions, our most valuable articles, our precious time.

    We live in an age which everything is working against the things we hold dear… In this evil day, we need constant reminders of the Truth. If we are not careful with our time, we will allow others to fill it up for us, and there will be none for God.

  • God – Our Father

    For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we live. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we live (1 Corinthians 8:6).

    Our Father loves us so!

    Christian life begins with obedience, depends on obedience and results in obedience. To really love God means living out His commands no matter what the cost.

    But You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; You, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer (Isaiah 63:16).

    Blessed are you, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever (1 Chronicles 29:10).

    Is He not your Father, your Creator who made you and formed you? (Deuteronomy 32:6)

    Your life is entwined with the God who gave you birth. Frail dust, remember you are splendor!

    But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay and You our Potter. All we are the work of Your hands (Isaiah 64:8).

    Behold! What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called “Children of God”! (1 John 3:1)

    Because You are sons, God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out “Abba, Father”. So you are no longer a slave but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir (Galatians 4:6-7).

    The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ Jesus, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may share in His glory (Romans 8:15-17).

    You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

    Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children. And live a life of love (Ephesians 5:1-2).

    Live as children of the Light (Ephesians 5:8).

    For God (who said “Let light shine out of darkness”) made His Light shine in our hearts to give us the light of His knowledge: of the glory of God in the face of Jesus the Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

    Make us aware of how precious Your Word is. Bless those who transport it to far-off places. Thank You, Father, for giving us this source of light and strength and for the opportunities to uncover the jewels waiting to be discovered in Your pages.

  • A Study on Abiding in Jesus

    There are so many verses on the way to live as a Christian. I have compiled a few small collections of them, and will try to put them into some kind of cohesive service.

    Let us study to find God’s pathways.

    Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you (Romans 12:2 LB).

    Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8).

    Many seek the God they want, but do not know the God who is.

    How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word (Psalm 119:9).

    If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32).

    This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life! (Deuteronomy 30:19).

    The Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29).

    Throughout the expanse of creation, God has hidden things for us to discover, to enjoy, and with which to perceive the nature of our Creator. No one can understand all the ways of God. However, by studying the Bible and His creation, we can serve Him and find fulfillment in our work.

    What is man that You care for him? The son of man that You think of him? Man is like a breath, his days are like a fleeting shadow (Psalm 144:3-4).

    What is man that You are mindful of him? The son of man that You care for Him? You made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor (Psalm 8:4-5).

    And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statues, to fear the Lord our God, for our own good always, that He might preserve us alive as it is this day (Deuteronomy 6:24).

    Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all things will be provided for you (Matthew 6:33).

    God is never irritated by the candle of an honest seeker. God reveals Himself to those who search for Him. God often communicates His desire for us by counsel of parents and mentors. Seek God’s wisdom so you are slow to condemn but quick to show compassion.

    Aun Aprendo