Big Words of the Christian Life: Omnipresence (Part 2)

June 29, 2018 at 2:40 pm | Posted in big words of the Christian life | 4 Comments
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The presence of God, though invisible in its true essence, is inescapable throughout all of creation.

3.God’s presence is infinite.

God is not limited to any “place” – to any location or “point” of existence. He is truly everywhere all the time. Not only that, but “all of Him” is always present at every point all the time. We could say that He “fills up” the entire universe, but, being finite ourselves, such a concept is difficult to grasp. It might be more useful to think of everything in all of existence existing “within Him.”

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Acts 17:24-28, emphasis added

4. God’s presence is invigorating.

The revelation that God is everywhere should prove to be a great comfort and a great motivation to His people. He does not stand aloof from His creation, and there is no possibility of an opposing regime or faction ultimately establishing itself anywhere within the realm of existence, because He not only supervises each molecule, but reigns absolutely supreme and victorious.

Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

Isaiah 66:1

Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:24

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Ephesians 1:22-23

Careless Love – Part 1

April 7, 2010 at 8:52 am | Posted in Bible Studies, Philippians | 6 Comments
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But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.

Philippians 4:10

God providentially placed a desire in the heart of the believers in the church of Philippi to meet the needs of the Apostle Paul. Paul is telling them, “You have always loved me. You have been ‘careful’ (full of care) for me. It’s just that, until now, you cared, but you lacked the opportunity.” This reminds me of how, many times, in our love for God, we are not full of care.

We say we don’t have the opportunity, but is the problem really that we don’t have the concern? “Careful” is the Bible word for “worried.” What is causing you to worry right now? That you don’t have enough time to do the things in your schedule? Or that you are not taking time to get alone with the Lord? I am afraid that, as 21st Century believers, we are careless with God’s love.

That may be because we don’t fully realize how much He loves us. Song of Solomon is thought by some to be only a book about the relationship or the love between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife. But God created this love, and all His creations contain lessons about Him. All His creations contain lessons about His relationship to His people, about the relationship between Christ and His Church.

Song of Solomon is a book of poetry in which different voices speak in the first person. This is the king speaking to his bride, and it is also our King’s message of love to us:

Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

Song of Solomon 4:8

First of all, it’s a call to come down from the high places – from the monuments and edifices we’ve built in our lives to draw us away from time with God. These include not only the material hobbies and pleasures and pursuits of this world, but even the “good” things we do, such as our devotion time, our church time, our ministry time. It is as if God is saying, “’Come down’ and spend time with Me.”

When is the last time you completely shut out all distractions and went somewhere no one could see you – and where you truly determined to seek God’s presence?

“Come down from your high places.” This will be necessary for me to have the power of God abide on my life – to teach, to witness, to love, to pray, with the power of the Holy Spirit. I can say all the right things, go to all the right places, but without the power of God abiding upon me personally, I will live a defeated life.

I can’t explain why God would love me – the way a lovesick king longs for time alone with his bride – but His Word says He does.

Second, Song of Solomon 4:8 is a warning that our “high places” are not only keeping us from spending time alone with God, but also that they are dangerous places.

Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards.

Song of Solomon 4:8

These mountains of Lebanon looked like mighty strongholds, but they were really the mountains of leopards. There were lions’ dens. How dangerous it is to get too far from God’s Word and God’s will!

Lions are out to devour. Our enemy, the devil, is not afraid of the sheep. He is only afraid of the Shepherd.

Furthermore, God wants us to stay near him. If we are truly His children, He will rescue us if we cry out, but what scars will we bear from being attacked? “Stay near Me,” God says. “Come away from Lebanon, the high mountains where the lions’ dens are.”

Once, I was at a skating rink where we were having a children’s church activity, and one of the children went missing. Her mother was terrified. Several of us began searching, and I happened to find the little girl, upstairs, in a dark room where parents could watch television. She was reluctant to come with me, so I wanted to pick her up because the quicker I could show her frantic mother she was safe, the better. However, she kicked and screamed and howled for me to put her down all the way down the stairs. How often God wants to hold us in His arms, but we don’t want to be carried – we want to get down and play. Lord, help us to trust in You and Your loving arms which carry us away from danger even when we think we’re having fun.


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