Nature of God

Where Is God?

June 17, 2022 by Bill Leave a Comment

There are times in our lives that we may ask this question, “Where are You, God?” The Bible gives us several answers to this question.

God is before you. “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT).
God is behind you. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21 NIV).
God is beside you. “I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” (Psalm 16:8 NLT).
God is IN you. “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:23).

Before, Behind, Beside, Inside. He is there. But there is one thing we must know; we have to accept Jesus in order to receive the benefits of His nearness. “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” (Isaiah 55:6). Jesus is just a call away, He’s within ear shot. Call on Him. Draw near to Him and He will come to you. (James 4:8). If you haven’t asked Jesus into your heart, do it today. Ask someone for help with that. He’s waiting for your call. If you’ve wandered away, call Him for help, He’s waiting. Where is God to you?

Lessons From The Garden – Pruning – A repost for 2022

May 8, 2022 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given April 2008

The grape vines in my yard are just beginning to put out leaves from the tiny buds that appeared a few weeks ago but they are looking pretty sparse now. I remember this same vine as a child as it grew in my grandfather’s yard, (mine now), up into an apple tree nearby and got bigger and bigger every year. However, I have learned the process of pruning.

At first I thought, as I cut off a substantial length of the vine, that I was wasting valuable buds that would produce leaves and grapes. But I had learned that you should only keep 10-16 buds on each cane so the energy of the plant will be concentrated on that small number, thus producing bigger and better grapes. It was good to cut off some of the extra vine so the remainder would be better. And the old, diseased, weaker or dead parts, they definitely have to go for the good of the vine.

Jesus said in the 15th chapter of John, “…my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Pruning hurts. Giving up part of yourself is hard to do. But, if you want to be productive in the Kingdom of God, it must be done. Lots of vines and leaves may look good but you know what happened to the fig tree that had no fruit, (Mark 11). As Christians, God wants us to produce fruit; to be productive but to do so we have to shed the parts that are not producing for the Kingdom.
I’ve learned that just as I have to prune my grapes, the parts of me that are unproductive must be cut off as well. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me…” (Psalm 139:23-24 ), and cut it off. Not my will Father, but yours be done. It’s up to us. If we want fruit, we must submit to the pruning.

God Is Good!

May 10, 2020 by Bill Leave a Comment

There are times in our lives as Christians when we realize just how good God is. I had one of those times recently. It involved a Confirmation, a Conversation, and a Celebration.

My truck has a cracked frame which limits any heavy work I can do and I’d been considering several possibilities to rectify the situation. Sell it, trade it, fix it, I wasn’t sure. I have a friend who does that kind of repair work and I had almost decided to take it to him. But I still wasn’t sure if that was the right decision. What to do?

I was using my chainsaw, this day, to remove a stump in my front yard but when I began cutting, there was nothing but sawdust coming out which meant my chain was dull. Oh man, I’m gonna have to stop and take this saw to be sharpened. So, I put the saw in back of the truck and here I go. I get to the shop, tell the owner what I needed, and he said it’d take about a half hour. I happened to mention to him that my truck had a cracked frame and I couldn’t pull my trailer or do any heavy work. He said he had a customer who had the same kind of problem and got it fixed without a whole lot of expense. He wrote down the guy’s name and number and gave it to me to call him and check it out. Then, unexpectedly, he said, “I’ll just call him now and see what he says,” So, he called the guy and asked him about it and where he got it fixed. He couldn’t remember the name of the guy and I told him my friend’s name who I was considering and, you know what, he said, “That’s the same man!” Immediately, I had peace that I had made the right choice. Confirmation.

I got my chain sharpened and started home to finish the job. As I pulled out of the parking lot, I noticed the sign on the church next door, “God Loves You.”. Well, as I went on, I began “talking” to God, “God, thank You. I don’t know why you’re so good to me.” He said, “Son, you don’t know the least of it.” “It’s more than you can think or imagine.” “Thank You, God!” Conversation.

Wow, this all made me think of all the things God has done for me…that I know of. He sent Jesus to save me, cleansed me of sin, forgives me when I falter, made a place for me in Heaven, gives me Spiritual gifts to use to help others, talks to me any time I call, never leaves me…and He loves me no matter what! Oh, I was so overjoyed as I drove home, I felt like jumping and shouting! Celebration!

Be Well Rooted – A Lesson From Nature

November 10, 2019 by Bill Leave a Comment

There is a maple tree next to my driveway. It’s beautiful in the Spring and Summer, providing ample shade for my vehicle. But in the Fall, I dare not park under it for the many dead or dying leaves that loose from the branches would pile up on my car. After clearing the dead leaves from my driveway recently, I noticed something about that Maple tree. All the leaves that had fallen came from the top 75% of the tree while the bottom 25% were still attached. Here goes God with another lesson! The leaves that remained on the tree were closer to the roots of the tree; those that had fallen were farther away from the roots. Are you getting the understanding? “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5). The closer we are to the Root, the better off we’ll be.

But we also know, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Leaves come and go. There’s a purpose for green ones and for brown dead ones as well; first to replenish oxygen then to amend the soil. Our lives are like that too. There is a time to flourish but also a time to die. But unlike the leaf, when we are loosed from the Tree, we have another life to live. We may go through some storms here on earth but, “after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10). It’s much better to stay close to the Root of our salvation, the Creator of all things. If we are rooted and grounded with Christ, “the root of the righteous will never be moved.” (Proverbs 12:3). We’ll just be transplanted into Heavenly ground! Are you well rooted? You can be today.

You Are Special

February 17, 2016 by Bill Leave a Comment

Given February 2016

“You are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. He chose you to be his own special possession out of all the nations on earth.” (Deuteronomy 7:6)

I’ve been reading in Isaiah since the first of the year and I’ve noticed something. In those days, God was this big, almighty, all-powerful being who only spoke to certain people, the prophets. The prophets would then relay God’s word to the people. The regular folks had no real access to their God. And, in the tabernacle, only the priests could go before God with the petitions and sacrifices of the people.

But God eventually had another plan, Jesus. He sent Jesus to the earth to live, to die, and then live again to institute this new plan for His people. When Jesus cried out on the cross, the thick curtain in the temple that symbolically separated the people from the Almighty God was torn from top to bottom signifying that the old covenant had been replaced with the new. Now, we, the regular people of God, can go right into His presence at any time to have a face-to-face session with Him. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) How different that is from the old covenant! We are now special; we’re His children and have direct access to the CEO, our Father.

So, go into His presence, not looking around and behind the throne for your needs but go straight in, look up into His loving face, get up into His lap and you’ll find that all your needs will be met. Why? Because you are special!