Category Archives: Faith and Practice

How Big Is Your God?

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“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble”
Psalm 107:1–2 (ESV)

Have you ever felt that you’ve gone just a little too far for God?  Like maybe he was able to save you before, but now, well, now you’ve just gone and done it.  The words you said to your spouse, you can’t take those back, the damage is done.  What happened last weekend, you’re still learning about all that happened, and only now beginning to realize the consequences.  You’ve messed up your life beyond the point of no return.  You’ve dug yourself into such a deep pit financially, it would take three lifetimes to repay the debt.  God might have been able to fix things before, but not anymore.

Maybe you’ve sat in church your whole life; you’ve heard the promise of forgiveness, the talk about the power of God, you know all the Sunday school answers.  But the pastor really never knew just how bad things could really get, right?

Listen, even pastors have been there.  Sure the church has existed for 2 millennia, but the problems we pastors face today, we’re not sure if God himself can sort these things out.

We’ve heard the promise of God in Jeremiah 29.  God says, “I know the plans I have for you… plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  But we know better.  We know the extent of what We’ve done.  We are overwhelmed by the problems we face, and underwhelmed by the potential of God to save us.  We hear the voice of God sighing in dismay, “I know the plans I had for you… but then you went and did this, and said that; I just don’t know if those plans are possible anymore.”

Friends, that’s not the voice of God, that is the voice of Satan, trying to discourage you as you cling to the false image of God you have labored so long to create.

My question for you is, “Just how small is your God?”  I’m not trying to kick you when you’re down, but really.  Is your situation so great that the Almighty God, creator of the universe, could not have provided deliverance?  Is the cross of Christ not sufficient for even this sin, this guilt, that you’re struggling with today?  Is the God who sees blind to your plight?  Is the God who hears deaf to your prayers?  When you’ve resigned from trusting in the providence of God, when you say that God cannot save you this time, you have essentially said that you can create a rock that God cannot move, that you and your situation are stronger than God himself.

Psalm 107 is a Psalm of deliverance, a psalm for you.  God is saying to you today, “you got yourself into this mess, you may feel overwhelmed, but turn to me, trust in me, and I will get you out of it.”

Verses 4–7 (The Message)
Some of you wandered for years in the desert, looking but not finding a good place to live,  Half-starved and parched with thirst, staggering and stumbling, on the brink of exhaustion.  Then, in your desperate condition, you called out to GOD. He got you out in the nick of time;  He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live.

Verses 10–11, 13-14 (The Message)
Some of you were locked in a dark cell, cruelly confined behind bars,  Punished for defying God’s Word, for turning your back on the High God’s counsel – Then you called out to GOD in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.  He led you out of your dark, dark cell, broke open the jail and led you out.

Psalm 107:17–20 (The Message)
Some of you were sick because you’d lived a bad life, your bodies feeling the effects of your sin;  You couldn’t stand the sight of food, so miserable you thought you’d be better off dead.  Then you called out to GOD in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time.  He spoke the word that healed you, that pulled you back from the brink of death.

Let God be God; robust, strong, mighty, able, and willing to save you. Abandon this false god that you have clung to in desperation, the one who isn’t strong enough to carry your burden, the one who couldn’t foresee this trial and make a way through it. Turn to the one, true, living God who is mighty to save.

Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is Healer, awesome and power
Our God, Our God…

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?
And if Our God is for us, then who can ever stop us
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?

Our God (is greater) – Chris Tomlin

Grace and peace,

SDG

All Creatures of our God and King

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“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly,
but because of him who subjected it,
in hope  that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption
and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
Romans 8:19–21 (ESV)

 On Monday Christi and I took our family to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo, one of our favorite “getaways” that the entire family can still enjoy.  It was a beautiful day, the weather was just right, the animals were all out and very active, and the crowds were never so bad that you had to wait in line to see anything.

As much fun as I had exploring the zoo, I had just as much fun watching the family.  There was Isaiah (3), talking with the primates (who were being very loud), yelling and dancing around, as if he fully expected the Chimps and Orangutans to understand him.  Then there was Noah (4), pondering aloud as we were leaving the zoo, “I wonder what species my woobie is?”  (Woobie is his blankie/bear that he sleeps with at night.)  Demonstrating that she still possesses all the speed and dexterity that once earned her acclaim in High School track, Christi made like a “bat out of …”  when she thought that the bats were actually flying loose in the caves.  And not to be outdone, we must not forget how not once, but twice, Caleb put his hand in bird poop.

While zoos can sometimes come across a little heavy handed on evolution and other theories of the origin of life, they are still a place where the faithful can get lost in the wonder and beauty of God’s creation.  Consider the colors of the birds, the ridiculous behavior of the chimps, the sheer power of the tigers, the size and strength of the elephants.  In the butterfly pavilion, I noticed a display that demonstrated the protective designs of camouflage in the butterfly wings.  There is one butterfly whose wings resemble the face of an owl.  Now evolutionist call this adaptation: but I fail to see how that works.  Did the butterfly’s begin to recognize that the birds that were eating them were also afraid of owls, so they decided (by a supermajority vote, of course) to will themselves to change their wing design?  Did they have a poster of the Hoot Owl hanging in their cocoon to help them along the way?  Isn’t easier to simply recognize the sovereignty and majesty of God who had all these things in mind when He called all of creation into order?

Of better watching than the animals, of course, were the people.  One some faces you could see the child-like wonder, on others there was a hidden pain that boiled under the surface.  Each was a creature of God, but more than that, an image bearer.  Each was fallen in need of grace: some had found it and were gracious to all, others had not and were not.

But it was almost as if you could hear all of creation there at the zoo crying out with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  For all of creation was cast under the weight and futility of the brokenness of our sins, and longs to be set free.  If you were listening you could hear it, the cry to be free from this futility, to be restored to glory, when the Gorilla beat his mighty chest, in the rhythmic cadence of the tiger’s silent guard, in the songs of the trees as the wind rushed through them.

Some may go to the zoo and just see a bunch of animals kept locked up so that the masses will pay to see them.  When I go, I see the wild and diverse creatures of our God and King.  I see the glory of God’s creativity, humor, and wisdom.  And I hear the song of all creation, crying

O praise Him, O praise Him
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah

SDG