NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

God Is Personal Means What

by 2 Comments

Does the holiness of God completely trump His personal response?

God Is Fully Aware
And Personally Responsive

Every Bible-believing system I know of refers to God as Personal.

But then, after saying that, these same systems suggest things that defy the concept, like God doesn’t hear the prayers of sinners.

Begs the question. Several actually.

What do they really mean by Personal? Or better yet, what impact would Personal have on beliefs about God if taken to the logical end? The answer is profound.

Let me explain.

Whatever is done Personally is done in person, by a person, and for a person. It’s relational.

Saying God is Personal means He acts as a person and relates to people individually. He hears individual prayers. He saves individuals. He isn’t relationally challenged.

Tell me. Has God ever sent a message His Spirit didn’t personally infuse?

God’s blessing on any nation, culture, or geographical area is largely based on His relationship with the individuals. In other words, God is God to the whole group one person at a time.

Generally, everyone agrees with that, but extrapolating the idea draws fire. [Read more…] about God Is Personal Means What

5 Lessons From The Life Of King David

by 2 Comments

Faith and action are synonyms.

David Never Waited
For Special Dispensations
From God

There are very good reasons David is one of the most popular figures in the Bible.

His story is long and spread out, which means you won’t read very far before bumping into him, but more to the point, it’s personal. We don’t have to wonder what David said or what he thought or how he felt. Many of those details are laid out for us.

It also never gets boring. It’s the stuff that inspires movies.

The history extends from 1 Samuel 16 to 1 Kings 2 (42 chapters) and much of it is repeated, with additional detail, in 1 Chronicles. All total, he is the focus of about 70 chapters and since God made timeless promises to David and his descendants, he is mentioned repeatedly throughout the Old and New Testaments afterward.

Additionally, large portions of the Bible were actually written by David and his son, Solomon.

  • David is credited with 75 Psalms
  • Solomon is credited with 2 Psalms (although he wrote over a thousand), much of Proverbs, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes.

These portions of the Bible are still read and embraced daily. Psalms and Proverbs are the starting points for many devotions. Saying David is influential is an understatement.

In short, David is the reference point for personal-relationship with God. If you want to know what that relationship feels/looks like, David’s your guy.

He’s easy to identify with. He’s spiritual without being super righteous and human (meaning sinful) without being committed to evil.

If we were to ask people which Bible personality they would like to emulate, David would probably top the list. Who wouldn’t want to be the little guy who takes on and defeats Goliath? [Read more…] about 5 Lessons From The Life Of King David

7 Ways God Spoke To Moses’ Mother, Jochebed

by 8 Comments

God said nothing to Jochebed audibly, but He spoke.

God Uses The Mundane
To Produce The Miraculous

Mention the name “Jochebed” and most people give you a blank look. But refer to Moses’ Mother and the light comes on.

Everyone knows the story of Moses. He features prominently in Exodus through Deuteronomy and, in fact, wrote all four books. There is little question that he edited the Book of Genesis also – with God’s guidance, of course.

There is also little question that Jochebed should get a lot of credit for everything Moses did.

Of the many unusual things about the life of Moses, the one that is rarely mentioned is the fact that the Bible covers his complete bio from birth to death. Very few have that distinction: Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist and Jesus to name a few. It is also interesting that the lives of these people are accompanied by miracles, at least at birth.

Unlike the others, however, Moses’ conception wasn’t miraculous. His survival immediately following birth was.

Pharaoh, the reigning monarch when Moses was born, decreed that all male born Israelites be sacrificed to the Nile. Not only did Moses survive that decree he was also protected in the safest possible place, the palace of Pharaoh.

It was a miracle, yes, but not in the normal sense of the word. This miracle required a large dose of human activity by someone with a lot of courage, tenacity and ingenuity.

Enter Jochebed, a little known figure otherwise, but one that will forever be associated with the miraculous survival of Moses. The question is, did God speak to this woman and if so, how?

The story unfolds like this: [Read more…] about 7 Ways God Spoke To Moses’ Mother, Jochebed

God Speaks To Us – Abraham

by 11 Comments

Once established, God neither repeats nor defends His principles.

Abraham Didn’t Find God
He Recognized Him

Abraham is usually recognized as the founding leader of the Jewish religion and he definitely was one of the more prominent contributors. The interesting thing is, much of what he did religiously he received from his ancestors and, other than Abraham’s descendants being selected as the guardians of God’s revelation, there were only two new developments in this religion during his lifetime.

He didn’t wear different clothes or “move his affiliation” or modify his diet. The only additions were:

  • The institution of circumcision and
  • The naming of Canaan as the eventual home of those who followed.

Taken together, these additions don’t add up to massive religious changes but both were an inconvenience to Abraham, especially the land issue. It was a constant source of irritation.

On a religious level, not much changed during his life but on a personal level, his world was turned upside down. [Read more…] about God Speaks To Us – Abraham

Why Doesn’t God Speak To Us Normally?

by 1 Comment

God is equal and findable to every person.

He Isn’t In Your Face
But God Is Close

People often complain that God is neither visibly present nor audibly perceived and they are correct on both counts. I have never seen Him with the naked eye nor heard His voice and I’m okay with that. I’m a little unbelieving when others say they have. It’s a little scary.

That, however, doesn’t mean that God is distant or uninvolved or uncommunicative. He made extensive efforts to communicate with us, not just on the odd occasion, but throughout history. In fact, one New Testament writer captured the full extent of God’s effort to communicate in one very brief statement:

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)”

In other words, God has spoken to us consistently over a long period of time (most of human history) and has used a variety of methods to do so. He didn’t sit idly by, watching while history and the people in it stumbled along. [Read more…] about Why Doesn’t God Speak To Us Normally?