Archive for June, 2024
God – Part Seven
Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand all about God. No one ever has. If we could we would be as great as He and that would dramatically diminish Him.
Though we do not fully understand Him we can know Him. Some of His attributes help us to know Him.
One of the most mystifying aspects about God is where He is.
His center is everywhere, His circumference is nowhere.
He is present in each event, though His presence is not quite the same as the presence of physical beings. God does not have a body; He is immaterial. He is the ultimate spirit being.
His omnipresence means He is all present. It enables Him to be present with all of us at all times. That defies our imagination.
There is no science that enables us to be in more than one space at the time.
The fact we can be at only one place at a time makes it all the more challenging to conceive of God as being at all places at one time.
God being all present at all times means nothing escapes His notice. The Psalmist confirms this, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I escape from your presence?” (Psalm 139: 7 – 18) Though we cannot look on the face of God He continually looks upon each of us. It means you are never alone.
Some people can amazingly multitask, that is do several things at one time. God is the ultimate multitasker. He can give personal attention to every person at once.
God is not spatially limited. We categorize everything along a timeline: past present and future. God is eternal. He always has been and always will be. With Him there is no time He is the creator of all things and will be the consummation of all things. He is the beginning and will be the ultimate end.
God’s omnipresence is not just a theory. It is a foundational truth of redemption. Although we have sinned and deserve God’s judgment, God comes to his faithful people and declares to them “I will be with you.” This means that God is here, wherever we are, but also that God is on our side. He is with us, not to destroy us, but to forgive and to save us from sin.
Historically God came to us physically in the person of Jesus to declare and demonstrate His presence, power. And love.
If you can’t fully comprehend His omnipresence, rejoice. If you could, you would be as great as He and that would not be good. Conversely, He would be equal to you and that would not be good.
Because God is omnipresent, you and I are never alone. Jesus Christ promises to be with us always and everywhere (Matthew 28:18-20).
“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” (Proverbs 15: 3)
God – Part Six
The number of atheists (a = without; theos = god) and agnostics (a = without; gnosis = knowledge) has dramatically increased in recent years. The errors of such doctrine needs to be refuted.
During the old USSR I shared with a hardened member of the KGB proof of God’s existence. As the conversation progressed I noticed a tear on his cheek and asked if I could help. He said no it was just that he had been reared in an atheistic country, and it saddened him to know God had been there all the time and no one ever told him, and not only was He there but that He loved him. He is representative of many in America.
Romans 1: 20 shouts of evidence of God: “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities… have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” Imagine a car existing without a designer and maker. Could a C-5 airplane rolling off the assembly line at Lockheed Georgia and it being argued it came into being as a result of an explosion in the storage building. If there is a C-5 there must be a designer and builder.
The very existence of our beautifully designed universe shouts there is a God, and Calvary shared His love.
In our court a criminal is found guilty under the law and sentenced to prison. For there to be a law there had to be a lawmaker. The laws of nature evidence a lawmaker.
When challenged to prove God’s existence, ask the enquirer to prove He does not exist. In doing so, keep in mind the law of logic which says you can’t prove a negative. You can’t prove words don’t exist without using words. You can’t prove God does not exist without using examples He does.
Objective truth would not exist were there no universal source of objectivity, no universal laws against evil such as murder and lying, no power of reason, and no laws of science.
It is impossible for God not to exist. Without Him these things would not exist. The fact they do proves He does exist. This line of logic is known as “Transcendental Proof for the Existence of God.”
Truth proves God exists. Some claim there is no absolute truth, all is relative. This claim itself is an absolute truth proving absolute truth does exist. If absolute universal truth, such as the laws of math, science, and morality exist, there must be a universal source of truth. That source is God. There can be no truth without God. The fact that the truth does exist is proof God does.
If morality is based on consensus, the atrocities of ISIS must be considered acceptable because a consensus of a sect of Islam approves it. For truth and morality to exist it cannot be merely based on opinion, for opinions vary and are not absolute. Absolutes acclaim the existence of God.
Back to the KGB agent. Not only does God exist, He loves you. Why not love Him back?
God – Part Five
The law of design demands there to be a God. Simply stated, where there is design there must be a designer. Observe a watch. An elemental observation reveals it does specific things exactly. It was designed by a designer to do them. Expand the principle and observe the universe. There is an obvious design to it. Where there is design there has to be a designer.
Biology is brimming with observable laws of science. Where there is a law there must be a law giver.
The Apostle John in writing about Jesus opened his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
Dr. Robert Jastrow, one of the world’s greatest astronomers, in his book “God and the Astronomers” notes one of the most outstanding discoveries of modern astronomy is the universe had a beginning. That requires a “Beginner.” He said it is as though, “The scientist has scaled the mountain of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak, and as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1: 1)
All of His planning and creating pales in light of His planning for us a way to enjoy eternity. Following is His plan.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3: 16, 17)
God, the creator became God the created in a stall in Bethlehem. To understand Him as the God/man-man/God requires deep thought. He was Immanuel, God with us. In the cradle in Bethlehem that little baby was God breathing air, God whimpering and crying, God cooing, and God smiling. He was God incarnate, God in flesh and blood.
The babe of Bethlehem made the straw on which He lay. He, in eternity leaned on the chest of His Father without any mother, in time leaned on the breast of His mother without any father. He was as old as His Father and eons older than His mother. He was Immanuel, God with us.
Of that birth Isaiah the prophet wrote: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given….” (Isaiah 8: 6)
The child was Mary’s baby. The Son was God’s only begotten. He was God incarnate, that is, God in flesh. That is a miracle far more miraculous than any of the scientific ones.
This was done in order that He, the innocent one, might give His life for us the guilty ones. In order that whosoever believes in Him enough to make Him their Lord and Master might be saved and enjoy eternity with Him. That is God at His best.
God – Part Four
Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand all about God. No one ever has. If we could we would be as great as He and that would dramatically diminish Him.
Though we do not fully understand Him we can know Him. Some of His attributes help us to know Him.
One of the most mystifying aspects about God is where He is.
His center is everywhere, His circumference is nowhere.
He is present in each event, though His presence is not quite the same as the presence of physical beings. God does not have a body; He is immaterial. He is the ultimate spirit being.
His omnipresence means He is all present. It enables Him to be present with all of us at all times. That defies our imagination.
There is no science that enables us to be in more than one space at the time.
The fact we can be at only one place at a time makes it all the more challenging for us to conceive of God as being at all places at one time.
God being all present at all times means nothing escapes His notice. The Psalmist confirms this, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I escape from your presence?” (Psalm 139: 7 – 18) Though we cannot look on the face of God He continually looks upon each of us. It means you are never alone.
Some people can amazingly multitask, that is do several things at one time. God is the ultimate multitasker.
He can give personal attention to every person at once.
God is not spatially limited. We categorize everything along a timeline: past, present, and future. God is eternal. He always has been and always will be. With Him there is no time He is the creator of all things and will be the consummation of all things. He is the beginning and will be the ultimate end.
God’s omnipresence is not just a theory. It is a foundational truth of redemption. Although we have sinned and deserve God’s judgment, God comes to His faithful people and declares to them “I will be with you.” This means that God is here, wherever we are, but also that God is on our side. He is with us, not to destroy us, but to forgive and to save us from sin.
Historically God came to us physically in the person of Jesus to declare and demonstrate His presence, power, and love.
If you can’t fully comprehend His omnipresence, rejoice. If you could you would be as great as He and that would not be good. Conversely, He would be equal to you and that would not be good either.
Because God is omnipresent, you and I are never alone. Jesus Christ promises to be with us always and everywhere (Matthew 28:18-20).
“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” (Proverbs 15: 3) Thus, He knows when you have a need. Call on Him.
God – Part Three
Design argues–there is a God. Where there is design there must be a designer. A watch operates by design. Logically it can be concluded there was a designer of the watch. The earth operates by design, the rotation and tilt of the earth causes the seasons showing design. Earth is tilted 23 degrees. This allows a turning, allowing all parts exposure to the sun. If there were no tilt the poles would accumulate masses of ice and the center part become unbearably hot and life impossible. This operates by design. Therefore, there must be a Designer.
The authors of “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” offer an argument for the existence that goes something like this.
A young boy wakes up one morning and goes down for breakfast to find his mom has left for work. He notices on the breakfast table a box of cereal has fallen over and pieces have spelled out on the table reading, “God loves you.” He assumes when the box fell over, the cereal formed the design.
He hurried down to the beach in hopes of seeing a girl named Sue he liked. There in the sand was drawn a large heart with an arrow through it and the message “Sue loves John.” He assumed the waves just washed up and made it.
Looking up he sees puffy white clouds spelling, “Eat More Chicken.” Immediately he assumes the wind blew them in such a design.
It never occurred to him the message on the table had a design and his mom must have designed it.
The message in the sand had a design. Sue and John must have designed it.
The message in the sky had a design. There must be a designer. Sure enough, there is nearby a skywriting plane.
All of the effects had design. That required a Designer.
All the designs in the universe have a Designer.
Law is an evidence. Where there is a law such as the 55 mile speed limit, there must be a lawmaker. There are laws of science at work in the universe; thus, there must be a Lawmaker. The existence of law evidences His existence.
Without Him there can be no binding moral law, no absolutes. There can be subjective law, laws made by individuals, but no objective law, law made by an objective source, God. Subjective law allows for every individual to make his or her own standard law. Where individuals set all the law there are no absolutes. Hence, man is god.
Evil, such as the holocaust, is absolute. Everyone agrees such is evil. For there to be such an absolute law there must be an object, God, who established the standard.
However, if morality is merely subjective, then moral choices are simply personal preferences. For example one likes war, one likes peace, one likes hate, and one likes love. However objective law requires an object, God who sets the standard.
Love, mercy, optimism, hate, and hope can’t be put in a test tube and proven by scientific method; but by faith we believe in them.
The law of cause and effect argues for the existence of God. For every effect there must be an equal or greater cause. The effect is the universe, the cause has to be greater…. He is.
Scientists concur that the universe is running down. This is known as the law of entropy. If it is not self-sustaining, neither was it self-creating. It has a beginning. The answer, “In the beginning God….”
Anthropology reveals a universal God consciousness among all people. Yet, there are some people who do not believe in God. People in general do, however. Their disbelief doesn’t discredit the general rule of God consciousness, any more than the fact that some people have only one leg disproves the general principle that people have two legs.