Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Psalm 100:4...


Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name - Psalm 100:4

Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours!!!

From the staff of Pure Joy International

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

God is Infinite...

Infinite........the realm of God has no limits or bounds whatsoever. 

Webster defines "infinite" in the following way: (1) limitless or endless in space, extent, or size, impossible to measure or calculate.  The synonyms are:  boundless, unbounded, unlimited, limitless, never-ending, interminable…

Please pause for a moment and consider this truth of God’s character.  Wow!  How Great is our God!!!  HE CANNOT BE CONTAINED! 

King Solomon understood this when he stated:

6 But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?
2 Chronicles 2:6 (ESV)

Job understood this when he was going through his sufferings:

26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.
Job 36:26 (ESV)

King David reveals his understanding of our infinite Great God who owns and controls everything and needs nothing from us but yet allows King David the privilege of providing the materials for Solomon to build the temple:

14 “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.  15 For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. 16  O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. 18 O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.
1 Chronicles 29:14-18 (ESV)

We also see David writing of God infiniteness in Psalms 139:7-12 (ESV):

7” Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10  even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “’Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”
1  even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.’”

This is so powerful for us to understand.  He is infinite in all His character.  That means there are no limits and/or bounds to His goodness, presence, knowledge, power, love, mercy, holiness, judgment, wrath, grace, wisdom, truth….    

The next time you become discouraged because you are limited by time, space, or circumstances,  look up and seek the counsel of the One who isn't. 

Remember keep vertical vision, not horizontal!

Love you all!

His,
Vickie

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

God is Omnipotent...

Omnipotent .....God possesses all power.  God's power is unlimited.  He can do anything that is not inconsistent with His nature, character, and purpose.  He is able to bring into being anything that He has decided to do....with or without the use of any means.

I love that definition of God’s omnipotence.  I love it because of this statement, "He can do anything that is not inconsistent with His nature, character, and purpose."  Let me put that to you in human terms.....GOD WILL NOT AND CANNOT ABUSE HIS POWER!

Realizing this truth about God was very comforting to me as a young believer.  Why?  Because God represents authority; and authority and power are 'kissing cousins' as we say in the south. Many of you reading this blog today have had the experience at some point in your life of sitting under authority that used their power for personal gain, abuse, status, etc.  But God cannot do that because He does not act inconsistently with His nature, character, and purpose.  And remember the first attribute of God, He is a Good God!  Can you see the comfort in this now? 

Our God that created and made us with the purpose of being molded into His image, to bring glory to His name, to reach the nations, has the authority and power to complete the good work which He begin in us!  He can and will do it!  God is on your side and He has the power to work on your behalf and accomplish it!  So if you are in a tough place and you want out, ask God to move you but if He doesn't move you ask Him to sustain you! He has the power to do either one or both!  But He only acts in our best interest because He is a Good God whether we understand it in the physical or not.  Remember, vertical vision not horizontal!

Jeremiah 32:17 (ESV) 
Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

Genesis 18:14 (ESV)
“Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”  

Job 42:1-2 (ESV)
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

Mark 10:27 (ESV)
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Matthew 28:18 (ESV)
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

Revelation 19:1 (ESV)
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

Psalm 68:34 (ESV)
Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel, and whose power is in the skies.

And finally, Numbers 23:19 (ESV)
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Know this truth....God has the power to act on anything He has said.  Anything He has said, He will do!  Claim the truths of God’s power at work in your life!!!!

Love you all,

His,
Vickie
  
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
                                                                                                           --- Abraham Lincoln

“The measure of a man is what he does with power.” 

                                                             ---Plato                

Monday, November 4, 2013

He Knows All...

The past two weeks we have looked at two character attributes of God.  He is Good and He is Omnipresent. This week we are going to look at the truth that He is Omniscient.

Omniscient.....  God knows all.  He possesses perfect knowledge of everything that is past, present, and future.

Romans 11:33-34 (ESV)
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”

Isaiah 40:13-14 (ESV)
Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

Job 37:16 (ESV)
Do you know the balancing of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge?

Isaiah 40:28 (ESV)
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

Psalm 139:1-6 (ESV)
O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

1 Samuel 2:3 (ESV)
Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

1 Chronicles 28:9 (ESV)
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

Psalm 147:4-5 (ESV)
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

The list of verses could go on and on. But know this truth about His character...nothing slips by Him! Now, that can bring up several different emotions in us depending on our belief system about His full character. There is a reason why I had us look at the character attribute of God being a Good God first. And that is so when we look at all the other attributes we don't find ourselves being in a position to listen to lies from the enemy. For example, when I was a young believer and was learning about God's character (and I still am), I looked at the attributes of His Omniscience (all knowing), His Omnipotence (all powerful), and His Omnipresence (present everywhere all the time) first before understanding His Goodness. Therefore, my first response towards God regarding His character was, “If You are all knowing, all powerful, and everywhere all the time then why did You let me at the age of 10 to 11 be exposed to some behaviors from an adult that You could have done something about because You knew it was going on. You could have stopped it and You didn't, and You were present at the scenes!”  Those were honest emotions I had back in my early months of being a believer learning about His character. I had a lot of ‘why’ questions back then.  I suspect that many of you have why questions, too. I want to encourage you to stay on this journey with me and allow Him to speak to your heart as we study more about His character together. 

Thursday evening I received some sad news from someone I love very dearly. I couldn't even think about it that evening.  I just kind of shut it down. I couldn't even respond to my precious friend. But I reminded myself of just the very things we are talking about now.....Our God is a Good God, He is Present, He Knows and none of it has bumped Him off His throne! I can either live in my emotions about it and miss everything else God is up to around me in the here and now or I can walk in truth that He is in control and He is a Good God no matter how it feels or what it looks like in the physical.  It's called faith. Some of you are struggling with your own journeys of some kind right now. You have the same choice I do....Believe God or believe lies from the enemy. Please understand me when I say that doesn't mean you don't have emotions about the circumstances. God gave us our emotions. Choose to surrender them to the Spirit and not to the flesh so God can be glorified in your journey!

Love you all so much! Don't forget to meditate on these scriptures and those of the past two weeks and allow the truth of His character to fill your soul!

God is Good...all the time

His,
Vickie