God is Patient!

“God Is” Devotional # 35

In the last devotional we meditated on the forbearance of God.  Now, we will consider a paralleling attribute—His Patience! While forbearance refers primarily to God’s withholding of righteous wrath and judgment, God’s patience includes the attitude He keeps and the work He does while restraining His judgment.  

The Apostle Peter encourages believers to “count the patience of our Lord as salvation” (1 Peter 3:16).  Noah Webster lists one of the connotations of patience as “perseverance; constancy in labor or exertion.” God in patient perseverance and loving consistency has been working His plan to redeem mankind and justly deliver repentant individuals from the consequences of sin.  Therefore, God’s patience with us includes His plan of salvation for us by sending His Son into this world to complete His redemptive work on the cross.  Jesus was born to die upon Calvary! All this reveals God’s persevering patience with us.   
While sharing his own salvation testimony, Paul clearly says that in Jesus Christ we see the perfection of patience:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1:15-16).

How did Christ show His “perfect patience” toward Paul as an example to us who would believe in Christ for “eternal life”?   To answer this we must consider another connotation of the word patience: “the suffering of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provocation or other evil, with a calm, unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness.”   Certainly, Jesus demonstrated this kind of patience in the events that lead to the cross and in the very act of hanging on the cross in agonizing death.  However, the context of 1 Timothy 1:15-17 does not seem to point to Christ’s patient suffering on the cross.  Then to what does it point?  It must point to Christ’s patience with Paul when he persecuted His followers, even to death!  Jesus taught that how people treat His followers, those who bear His name, is in reality how they are treating Him (Matthew 25:31-46). When Paul consented to the death of Steven (Acts 8:1) he was in reality persecuting Christ.  Furthermore, by the grace and power of Christ, Steven patiently suffered as a testimony to His Savior, Jesus Christ who patiently suffered with Him in suffering.  It was after this that Jesus appeared to Paul on the Damascus road and displayed His patience with Paul as a testimony to all that there is forgiveness in Christ when we turn from our sin to Christ in repentance—a change of mind and heart about who we are and who Christ really is (Acts 9).  Paul called Him Lord and obeyed the instructions that were given to him.   Jesus Christ had been perfectly patient with him, when he did not deserve it. What an example to us!  

We have also sinned against God. I shamefully remember ridiculing Christians before I came to Christ in humility.  If God could forgive Paul, He can also forgive me in Jesus Christ.  How about you?  Have you felt that your sins are so bad that God would certainly never forgive you?  Then find comfort in Christ’s perfect example of patience with Paul.  God is not a respecter of persons and will certainly be patient with you as well.  God is love!  Out of His Love comes patience!  I Corinthians 13:4 says, “Love is patient”.  

Will you worship the Lord with me today and praise Him for His patience and then go the next step and pray for His grace to be patient with others as you wait for His coming?  James 5:7 says, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.”  Romans 12:12, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

With Prayer, Mark |   
                     
© December, 2011 Scripture quoted: ESV – Emphasis added

Verses for our meditation:  God Is Patient!

Romans 2:2-5, We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man–you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself–that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

1 Timothy 1:15-17,  The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 13:4, Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

1 Peter 3:18-20, For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.
2 Peter 3:4-9,  They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:13-15a, But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation.

James 5:7-11, Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Romans 12:10-21,  Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”  To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Lastest "Knowing God" Devotionals

What a blessing to write for the Glory of God!

Devotional 34: God is Forbearing!

Devotional 35:   God is Patient!

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year in Christ!

With prayer. Pastor Mark

Thankful for all God has taught me this year!

Knowing God Devotionals!

My goal this year has been to write a devotional a week.  Well, I have not reached my goal but have studied and written more than if I had not had such a goal.  My revised goal is to keep writing on the theme of “God Is,” as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, until I have a devotional for each week of the year – 52.

The Lord encouraged me this morning in my Bible reading from this powerful passage:

1 Peter 4:10-11,   As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:  whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies–in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Knowing God Devotionals on the Theme: God Is!

Devotional 1:  Seeking Idols or God in 2011

Devotional 2:  God Is!

Devotional 3:  God is Light!

Devotional 4:  God Is Beyond Us!

Devotional 5:  God Is Knowable!

Devotional 6:  God Is Near!

Devotional 7:  God Is Merciful!

Devotional 8:  God Is Holy!

Devotional 9:  God Is Perfect in Justice!

Devotional 10:  God is Righteous!

Devotional 11:  God is Judge!

Devotional 12:  God Is The Lawgiver!

Devotional 13:  God Is King!

Devotional 14:  God Is Sovereign!

Devotional 15:   God is Good!

Devotional 16: God is Faithful!

Devotional 17:  God Is True – part 1

Devotional 18: God is True – part 2

Devotional 19:  God is Wise!

Devotional 20: God is Powerful!

Devotional 21:  God is Spirit!

Devotional 22: God Is our Father!

Devotional 23: God is our Shield! I Know!

Devotional 24: God is Witness!

Devotional 25:  God Is Unchanging!

Devotional 26: God is One!

Devotional 27: God is Eternal!

Devotional 28:  God Is the Giver of Life!

Devotional 29:  God is the Creator!

Devotional 30:  God is our Guide!

Devotional 31: God is Our Shepherd

Devotional 32: God is Jealous

Devotional 33: God is Angry!

Courageous!

It does take courage to do things God’s way.  It takes courage to follow God’s instruction on being a parent.  After viewing the new movie “Courageous”, Pastor Don and I concluded that we should encourage all to see this film about fathers assuming their God given responsibilities in parenting.

The following testimony is how God worked in my heart to become a better father:

While I was growing up, one of my favorite past-times was getting under-my-sister’s-skin.  In other words I liked provoking her to anger.   Even after trusting Christ at the age of 18, I still fell to this temptation but now felt convicted for my unkindness to the point that I would even ask her forgiveness.  It is amazing how knowing Christ as Savior begins to change us and better our relationships within our families!

Nearly 10 years later when I became a father, it revealed that I still enjoyed irritating people, though I was unaware that I was doing anything wrong.  This time it was my new baby daughter of just a few weeks old. Well, we had this new camera that had this automatic rewind and rapid picture taking capability, so I snapped a picture of our little one who was sleeping so sweetly in her car seat.  Nothing wrong with that!  But the flash kind of disturbed her rest, and she had a little frown upon her face.  So I snapped another picture, the bright flash glaring into her little face. She became a little irritated now, and I was so amused by her reaction that I snapped another one, and another one, and another one–until my baby daughter was wailing in helpless frustration.  She was crying and I was laughing.  I was laughing at the frustration that I had the power to arouse in another person.  I was laughing at the expense of someone for whom I was supposed to protect and tenderly care.   It was so easy to do—so fun—so wrong!

I continued to provoke—I called it teasing my daughter.  I did not really begin to change until about 6 years later when my wife encouraged me to find out what the Bible teaches about parenting.  At that time I was floundering as a father, had been abdicating my responsibilities, and desperately needed help.   The Bible had the wisdom and instruction I needed to be the father that God wanted me to be.  Two of the scriptures that particularly grabbed my attention were Ephesians 6:4 “And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,” and Colossians 3:21, “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.”

I was deeply convicted of my unkindness in provoking my daughter to anger by those clear scriptural commands!  What a contrast to the nurturing father God wanted me to be!  By following the parenting practices of my ancestors, I was unwittingly discouraging my daughter.  I was neglecting to build a relationship based upon loving respect.  With God’s help I began to overcome the pleasure of provoking my daughter and instead began to lovingly train and correct her.  I turned back from a path that had been leading me to ruin and began traveling a path that has brought me tremendous joy.  God’s way made all the difference.

May God grant us fathers the grace to resist the temptations to provoke our children to wrath and give us the wisdom to train them for the Lord.

With Prayer, Pastor Mark

Note:  The Bible study that changed my life in the area of parenting is available on my blog by clicking here.   Please let me know if it has helped you.  I would love to hear specific examples of  how God has helped you through the Word of God to be a better parent.

God is our Guide!

One of my favorite quotations from the Old Testament is from Abraham’s servant when he had returned to Abraham’s homeland to take a wife for Isaac.  After experiencing God’s guidance in answer to prayer he said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen” (Genesis 24:27).   Can you look back in your life and see how God has led you “in the way”?  You might want to list them out on a piece of paper or a journal. After making your list, praise and bless God for His guidance that Abraham’s servant attributed to God’s “steadfast love” and “faithfulness”!  God certainly leads us in His love and faithfulness for He is a good guide.

One situation that I would have to put on my list of times in which God led me in the way would be when we followed the Lord’s direction in joining a certain mission board to go to Brazil as missionaries. We had just finished their required seminar classes in Ohio and needed to travel back across the country to Washington to start deputation in the Western states. We only had $150.00. We prayed for God’s guidance and provision for the trip.  God led us to look up a friend in Minnesota, whose father offered me a temporary job on the spot.  He needed someone to be the hands for his plumber who had just broken three fingers. So, I learned how to clean drains and sewer pipes, a skill which God would use in Brazil as I maintained mission property.  God’s leading also opened up a door to witness to the plumber for three weeks. Having had opportunity to serve others, we were back on the road and heading west.  On a Sunday we came to a small town in eastern Montana that bears my family name—Worden.  God directed our timing to have arrived about the time that evening church services would be starting. We found a church with open doors and sensed God’s peace about attending.  We met and had great fellowship with the pastor and congregation.  Without any solicitation, the pastor took up a love offering after the service to help us on the way.  I give God thanks and praise for He provided for us and led us while we were in the way.

God’s guidance may not always be so obvious. However, He is always directing those who trust Him and look to Him even in the mundane routines of daily life. God leads us daily by giving us wisdom and truth. He even gives His Spirit to believers to guide them into all truth as Jesus told His disciples, saying, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13).  We still have the truth that the Spirit of God revealed through the Prophets and Apostles in the Word of God which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). God guides us through His Word.
Many of the Psalms contain examples of how to call upon God for guidance and praise Him for this gift:

Psalm 5:8, Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

Psalm 25:5, Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

In a previous devotion—God is Eternal, I listed out God’s eternal gifts. Well, we need to add one more. Psalm 48:12-14 indicates that God’s guidance is eternal, “Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.”

Will you wait for God’s guidance as you are in the way?  He will surely guide you if you call upon Him and seek truth and wisdom from His Word—the Bible.

 With Prayer, Mark

© September, 2011  Scripture quoted: ESV – Emphasis added

Verses for our meditation:  God Is Guide

Exodus 13:21, And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.

Psalm 5:8, Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.

Psalm 25:5, Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

Psalm 27:11-14, Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Psalm 31:3-4,  For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;  you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge.

Psalm 37:23-24,  The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.  KJV

Psalm 43:3-5, Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Psalm 48:12-14, Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.

Psalm 73:24-25, You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

John 16:13,  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

James 1:2-8,  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God is the Creator!

A Shepherd’s Musings Devotional – Week 34-35 – God is . . .


In our last devotional we focused on the truth that God is the giver of life. Let’s broaden our perspective and consider that God is also the Creator of everything!  The first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, states this as fact, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  In thinking of God the Creator let’s consider two questions: what does this reveal about Him and how should this truth affect us?


1. God alone is sovereign over our lives; therefore, He is worthy of our respectful fear.  He determines when we are born and when we die. We should acknowledge and take comfort in His powerful sovereignty over life.  A person’s birth and death is no accident with God! Psalm 104:29-31 says, “When you [God] take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works.” Furthermore, the “Time Poem” of Ecclesiastes explicitly states that there is a “time to be born and a time to die.” Then the writer draws an appropriate conclusion and application in Ecclesiastes 3:14, “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.”  Do you have a healthy fear of God your Creator?   Jesus explained it this way, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him” (Luke 12:4-5)!

2. God is supremely wise in all He does; therefore, He is worthy of our trust: A healthy view that God is our sovereign and wise Creator helps us to trust Him.  This is true especially when we don’t understand the trials and difficulties of life that He purposefully designs for our good. This is what God through the prophet Jeremiah beautifully portrays by analogy for the children of Israel, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ‘Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Then the word of the LORD came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? Declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel’” (Jeremiah 18:1-6).  The Apostle Peter encourages followers of Christ with these words, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19).  Is there a difficulty or trial in your life in which you need to trust your faithful Creator?  He deserves your trust.

3.  God is gloriously powerful; therefore, He is worthy of our worship!  Revelation 4:11 says, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Sometimes we may be tempted to question God because of the circumstances of life, but as we wait upon Him in fear, trust and worship, He will surely help!  Isaiah’s words are a challenging comfort, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God’  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. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:27-31).

With Prayer, Mark

© August, 2011  Scripture quoted: ESV – Emphasis added

Verses for our meditation:  God Is the Creator

Hebrews 11:3, By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Psalm 33:6, By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

Psalm 102:18, Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:

Isaiah 42:5, Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:

Isaiah 40:28,  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.

Isaiah 43:1,  But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

Isaiah 45:8,  “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it.  Isaiah 45:12,  I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. Isaiah 45:18,  For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): “I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Mark 13:19,  For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be.

Colossians 1:15-17,  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Romans 1:25,  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

1 Peter 4:19,  Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

John 1:1-3, 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 was not any thing made that was made. 

Hebrews 11:2-3,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Revelation 4:11,  “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

God Is the Giver of Life!

In the creation account of Genesis, God is the giver of life. Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”  Life is a gift from God, for God gives life! How interesting that people have the audacity to deny the existence of the very person who gives them their next breath!  I can not speak for others but I know the reason I did so was because I strongly desired to be in control of my life. I didn’t want God messing with it.  The irony in my former thinking is that the very life I did not want God messing with was in reality a gift from Him.  Various Scriptures, such as Romans 3, teach that mankind is born with a rebellious heart toward His Creator. However, the desire or our Life-giver is to reconcile us to Himself. This is clear in many passages throughout the Bible.  One of my favorites is from Paul’s messages to the intellectuals in Athens from Acts 17:24-28:

 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Human life is still a gift from God.  We are still made in His image, although that image has been marred by the fall of the first man (Adam) into sin (Genesis 3).  Albeit, we still should be in awe of the gift of life. My daughter recently gave birth to her third child, a precious little girl named Cecilia Lyn, who caused some to marvel at the gift of life.  Even the doctor said, “How can anyone not believe in God after witnessing the birth of a child?”  Each newborn I hold causes me to give thanks to the Giver of life and wonder about this powerful God who desires for us to seek Him and know Him. This adventure of learning to know God begins with faith, a believing trust in a Creator God.  Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”  And then Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Are you believing in Him and seeking Him as you should?  Remember that “In Him we live and move and have our being.”  I encourage you to spend some time meditating on the following verses for your consideration about the Bible’s teaching that God is the giver of life and the giver of eternal life!

With Prayer, Mark

© August, 2011  Scripture quoted: ESV – Emphasis added

Verses for your meditation:  God Is the Giver of Life

Deuteronomy 30:19-20, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

 I Kings 17:21-24, Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.” And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”

Job 24:22, Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life.

Job 27:8, For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off, when God takes away his life?

Job 33:4, The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Psalm 30:2-3, O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

Psalm 42:8,  By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 54:4, Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.

Ecclesiastes 5:18,  Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.
Ecclesiastes 8:15, And I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.

Isaiah 38:5, “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.

John 6:32-33, Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

1 Timothy 6:13, I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,

1 John 5:16, If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life–to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

Verses for Your Meditation: God is the giver of Eternal Life 

John 3:14-21,  “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,   that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John 5:24, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 6:35-40,  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 10:25-30,  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

John 12:23-26,  And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
John 17:1-3,  When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

John 20:24-31,  Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”  Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”  Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.