God is Merciful

"The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands...'" Exodus 34:5-6

God is merciful. Everything we have that is good is due to God being merciful towards us. Consider John Piper's words,

All we will get from God this year as believers in Jesus is mercy. Whatever pleasures or pains come our way will all be mercy. This is why Christ came into the world – "in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy" (Romans 15:9). We were born again "according to his great mercy" (1 Peter 1:3); we pray daily "that we may receive mercy" (Hebrews 4:16); and we are now "waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life" (Jude 1:21). If any Christian proves trustworthy, it is "by the Lord's mercy [he] is trustworthy" (1 Corinthians 7:25). In the end, when all is said and done, we will confess, "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy" (Romans 9:16). So as we enter the new year, let us humble ourselves and take the position of the blind man, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Luke 18:38).

Mercy is not something we have a right to or deserve (otherwise it would not be mercy), but it is something given to us by a merciful God. As sinful humans we deserve wrath (like we saw last week).

God is both just and merciful. Both of these attributes are seen in Exodus 34:5-7:

"The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, 'The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children."

Is God's mercy sometimes abused? Many people abuse this attribute and presume that God will only show mercy and not wrath. (Sin that grace will increase). They presume too much. God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy (Exodus 33:19). Our God is both wise and just.

God's mercy towards believers. How great the mercy that God has given his children. "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness' has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." God has opened our eyes to see how great and glorious He is in Christ.

The End for Which God Created the World

Here is a free online version of Jonathan Edwards' book The End for Which God Created the World (placed inside of John Piper's book God's Passion for His Glory). In our discussion on God's sovereignty and goodness there have been great questions come up that are worthy of study and discussion.

I am posting this book because although you have to read and think slowly through it I think it would benefit anyone looking to know God in a deeper way and ultimately love God more.

This is by no means required. Only check it out if you are interested.

Put your thinking caps on and go HERE.

God is Wrathful

"God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow, he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts." Psalm 7:11-13

God is a God of wrath. A.W. Tozer writes, "God's justice stands forever against the sinner in utter severity."

John Piper defines wrath from Romans 12 by saying, "the wrath of God is God’s settled anger toward sin expressed in the repayment of suitable vengeance on the guilty sinner."

Wrath as I wrote in the "Attribute Focus" is God's eternal detestation of all unrighteousness. It is God's perfect response to rebellion against authority. Wrath is connected with God’s response to something that deserves vengeance (Romans 12:19-21). And if God's wrath is not poured out on sin then our God is not good. Sin must be punished. And because God is just sin is always punished. Perfectly.

The very nature of God makes Hell as real a necessity as Heaven is. A.W. Pink

In Ephesians, Paul calls those who were once unbelievers "children of wrath."

In Colossians 3:5-6, Paul says, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming."

God's wrath is coming and will be poured out on a sinful world. This message must not be ignored. That God's wrath is coming is part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If there were no wrath of God then there would not be a need for the cross.

Paul, after calling all mankind "children of wrath" continues,

"BUT God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

When meditating on God's wrath at least two things should happen:

1. We should take our eternal future and the eternal future of others very seriously. "The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions. It hushes their fears and allows them to practice all pleasant forms of iniquity while death draws every day nearer and the command to repent goes unregarded. As responsible moral beings we dare not trifle with our eternal future." Take the way you live seriously (Col 1:21-23).

2. We should overflow with thanksgiving. After giving a colorful description of God's wrath against sinners in Psalm 7 the Psalmist ends with thanksgiving. "I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness."

How thankful we should be. We have been saved. Saved from what, you ask? Saved from God's wrath. We, who were once far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. May we proclaim with Paul:

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

God is Good.

Jeremiah 32:40–41.

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them; and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

Our God is good. This is why we can have peace and comfort in God's sovereignty over all things. If God were not good (which would really be saying 'if God were not God') then we could not trust Him.

There are many who believe that God can be either good or Sovereign but cannot be both. Rabbi Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, in trying to make sense out of a tragedy in his own family concludes by reading the book of Job that Job was "forced to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful, or a powerful God who is not totally good. (as quoted in Jerry Bridges' book Trusting God). In the Rabbi Kushner's view It is too difficult for God to keep bad things from happening.

It is surprising to see how many Christians will agree with the Rabbi. Many Christians will frequently speak of things happening by chance and by circumstances outside our (and God's) control. According to Jerry Bridges, the implicit assumption from this is that "If God is both powerful and good, why is there so much suffering, so much pain, so much heartache in the world?"

Can we have it both ways? Can our God be both sovereign and good? The Bible teaches us we do have it both ways.

As we saw last week God is sovereign over all things. Not even the smallest bacteria escapes His control. But there is a two fold objective to God's sovereignty. God's glory and the good of His people.

God has designed His eternal purpose so that His glory and our good are inextricably bound together. - Jerry Bridges

Can we trust God? Can God always care for us (is he sovereign?), and Does God always care for us (is he Good)? The Bible clearly affirms both that God is good and God is in control.

We can learn to trust God in adversity when we believe that nothing can frustrate God's plans for His glory and nothing can spoil his plans for the good He is working out in us and for us.

Along with the Key Scripture in your notes check out Romans 8:28-30 (and if you are really motivated the book of Job) and spend some time meditating on the fact that God is sovereign and that God is good.

Response to Question on How God's Sovereignty relates to 2 Peter 3:9.

If you are interested in seeing how God's sovereignty in Salvation and 2 Peter 3:9 relate then check out John Piper's article "Are There Two Wills In God?".

God is Sovereign

(I provided a lot of material for you to read in your One God packet so I will keep the blog as brief as possible.)

Here are a couple of quotes by A.W. Pink from his book The Sovereignty of God.

"The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the Godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to decalre that God is God...the most high, doing according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What have you done? (Daniel 4:35).

"The sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we say that God is sovereign, we affirm His right to govern the universe, which he has made for his own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay: (in order that) he may mold that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that he is under no rule or law outside His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and that he is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to any."

Though your world, my world or your teenager's world be falling around us God is not alarmed. He is never surprised. There are no unexpected emergency's to which God must react. God "works all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11). All things are subject to his immeadiate control. God is not a distant spectator nor an impotent creator whose plans are always foiled by us or Satan. God never has a plan B. There is only His plan. His purpose and plan cannot be "thwarted by the creatures of His own hands."

One last quote by Pink as to our attitude towards God's sovereignty.

"The sovereignty of God is something more than an abstract principle which explains the rationale of the Divine government: it is designed as a motive for godly fear, it is made known to us for the promotion of righteous living, it is revealed in order to bring into submission our rebellious hearts. A true recognition of God's sovereignty humbles as nothing else does or can humble, and brings the heart into lowly submission before God, causing us to relinquish our own self-will and making us delight in the perception and perfomance of the Divine will...Truly to recognize the sovereignty of God is, therefore, to gaze upon the Sovereign Himself."

Connect Team Leader Meeting

Come get connected at the connect leadership meeting, November 18 @ 4:PM in Carpenter's Cellar. The theme of this meeting is "Connect Four: Getting Connected with Students." Bring some ideas on how you can connect with your students outside of church.

We will also talk about the "One God" Bible study and a bunch of other things.

God is Holy

Who will not fear, O Lord and glorify your name? For you alone are Holy. Revelations 15:4

Stephen Charnock once said that "Power is God's hand or arm, omniscience his eye, mercy his bowels (heart), eternity his duration, but holiness is his beauty."

There is no one like our Holy God. He is uttery different and separated from us. Holiness is the chief characteristic that they ascribe to God in heaven (Is. 6, Holy, Holy, Holy). Holiness is God's greatness. And God is ultimately so great and holy that when we encounter God all we can say is "You are Holy."

All of God's attributes only begin to be seen and understood when his holiness is seen and understood. God's abhorrence of sin and his sending Jesus to die on the cross only makes sense when you see God as holy. As A.W. Pink says, "God's holiness was made manifest at the Cross."

Because God is holy, he hates sin. And sin is never looked over or swept under the rug but is always punished. Think about that. Your sin was not forgiven. In Christ YOU are forgiven, but your sins were punished on the cross. Sin's path always leads to God's wrath.

God has often forgiven sinners, but he never forgives sin; and the sinner is only forgiven on the ground of Another having borne his punishment; for "without shedding of blood there is not forgiveness." A.W. Pink (Attributes of God).

How enormously great is our God. He sent his son to die for our sins so that we may be in Christ and may enter into his presence. There is nothing we could have done on our own to make peace with a Holy God.

Because God is holy, acceptance with him on the ground of creature-doings is uttery impossible. A fallen creature could sooner create a world than produce that which would meet the approval of infinite Purity. The best that sinful man brings forth is defiled....But blessed be His name, that which his holiness demanded his grace provided in Christ Jesus our Lord. Every poor sinner who has fled to him for refuge stands "accepted in the Beloved" Hallelujah! - A.W. Pink

God is Immutable.

Note - If you go down to June in the blog archives you will find additional info on the Immutability of God from a blog I wrote this past summer.

(Remember this week: Students (and adults) desperately need to see who God is so that they can see themselves for who they are in relation to Christ)

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock" Psalm 18:2
Our God "The Rock" Deuteronomy 32:4

In the Bible God is often compared to a rock. He is called "the rock" in Deuteronomy 32. Why? Because God remains immovable though all else around him changes.

God is immutable. God never goes from better to worse or good to great or immature to mature. God cannot change for the better. He cannot become more holy because he has been perfectly holy from all eternity. God is not man. Man is in constant change.

Read what A.W. Tozer wrote concerning God's immutability:

The immutability of God appears in its most perfect beauty when viewed against the mutability of man. In God no change is possible; in men change is impossible to escape. Neither the man is fixed nor his world, but he and it are in constant flux. Each man appears for a little while to laugh and weep, to work and play, and then to go to make room for those who shall follow him in the never-ending cycle.

We find permanence with God.

Why is this important? Does it matter that God is immutable? What does this mean for my life?

It matters because when everything is changing around us (jobs, homes, friends, families, abilities, circumstances, finances, churches, attitudes) God remains the same.

God is not like man. If you mess up (sin) he does not give you the cold shoulder treatment for 2 weeks. We can go to him anytime. His promises are always true.

God's attributes always stay the same. He is always perfectly loving and perfectly just. He is the same in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament. We can find comfort in God because we can rely on Him.

The immutability of God is comfort and strength for believers and terror for non-believers. Those who love God find comfort in that his promises toward them will never change. Those in rebellion against God will find that God's promises of wrath for those who defy him and ignore him in their life on earth remain unchanged in the day of judgment.

The immutability of God "insures the executions of his threatenings, as well as the performance of his promises." Rejoice that you know our Great and Holy Immutable God.

God is Omnipresent.

You can run but you cant hide. This is literally true with God. We can run from God. Ignore God. Curse God. But you can never hide from God. Adam and Eve tried but were unsuccessful. How similar we are to the first male and female. If we sin we do our best to hide. Shame and Guilt always lead to the temptation to hide from God. But hiding from God is impossible for us to do because he is Omnipresent.

Omnipresent. Present means here, close to, next to. Omni means all, therefore giving the word universality.

God is everywhere here, close to everything, next to everyone. (Tozer)

God is our environment. Think of it like a fish in the sea or a bird in the air. God is always present. He surrounds. He hems us in. There is no place beyond God.

THE BIG PICTURE
What this means then is that there are bigger things going on in our lives than the rent. The fact that God is and that God is here screams to us, "Hey, you are not alive for yourself, but for me. Everything you do and say is connected to what you believe about me." This means that all we do; our total existence is taking place in God's presence.

Setting your mind and heart on the Big Picture of things will change your life. (Col 3:1-3). For example, life is short and eternity is long, or all the temporal things we strive for on earth will not be with us in eternity (Matt 6) or that God is always near us. Actively directing our thoughts towards these truths will change the way we live our lives.

Are you there God?
A man named Canon Homes of India tells of Hindu worshipers tapping on trees and stones whispering, "Are you there? Are you there" to the god they hoped might reside within. The answer is "Yes God is there", but he is not refined to a tree or stone, but is everywhere all the time and through Jesus Christ immediately accessible to every loving heart. (Tozer)

Take heart, the all-powerful and all knowing God is here and you are never alone. Stand in awe of him.

God is Omniscient.

"He knew all men" (John 2:24). "You, Lord, . . . know the hearts of all men" (Acts 1:24). "And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, 'Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?'" (Matthew 9:4).

One way that we can see that God knows all things is by seeing in the New Testament that Jesus (God in the flesh) knows all things. He knows all things that will come to pass. "Jesus, [knew] all the things that were coming upon Him" (John 18:4). On the basis of this knowledge, he foretold numerous things that his friends and enemies would do. "[Jesus said] 'There are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him" (John 6:64). "From now on," he said, "I am telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am" (John 13:19).

John Piper writes,

The greatest thing that can be said of Jesus' knowledge is that he knows God perfectly. We know God partially and imperfectly. Jesus knows him like no other being knows him. He knows him the way an omniscient Person knows himself. "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him" (Matthew 11:27). No one but Jesus knows the Father immediately, completely and perfectly. Our knowledge of the Father depends wholly on Jesus' gracious revelation; it is derivative and partial and imperfect.Nothing greater can be said about the knowledge of Jesus than that he knows God perfectly.

God is amazing. The Triune God knows all things past, present, and future. He doesn't just know events but he knows people. He knows things about you and me that we do not know and may never know.

Nothing can be concealed from God.

Nothing escapes his notice, nothing can be hidden from him, nothing is forgotten by him....His knowledge is perfect. He never errs, never changes, never overlooks anything. A.W. Pink

Here are some more passages of Scripture that talk about God's knowledge:

Hebrews 4:13 "And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Ezekiel 11:5 "For I know the things that come into your mind"

Psalm 90:8 "You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence."

How Great and worthy of worship and honor our God is. Our knowledge of God's omniscience should fill us with amazement, awe, and adoration. "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good."

This week think about what this means for our lives. What are the implications for your life?

God is Omnipotent

In Exodus 6, God calls himself God Almighty. This is another way of saying God All-Powerful or God Omnipotent or God with unlimited power. Listen to Stephen Charnock talk about God's omnipotence,

The Power of God is that ability or strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever his infinite wisdom may direct, and whatsoever the infinite purity of His will may resolve. . . . (God's) power is that which gives life and action to all the perfections of the Divine nature. How vain would be the eternal counsels, if power did not step in to execute them. Without power His mercy would be but feeble pity, His promises an empty sound, His threatenings a mere scarecrow. God's power is like Himself, infinite, eternal, incomprehensible; it can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature. (quoted by Pink in "The Attributes of God")

God has in himself the power to do all that he pleases. He has the power to fulfill all that he ordains to come about. He has the power to bring all his promises to fruition.

Omnipotence is not a name given to the sum of all power, but an attribute of a personal God whom we Christians believe to be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And since God has at his command all the power of the universe the Lord God can do anything as easily as anything else. All his acts are done without effort. He expends no energy that must be replenished. His self-sufficiency makes it unnecessary for Him to look outside himself for a renewal of strength. All the power required to do all that He wills to do lies in undiminished fullness in His own infinite being. - Tozer

God cannot be stopped from accomplishing his purposes. He does whatever he pleases. His power is Superior to all other powers. He is the great "I AM". He spoke the world into existence. By the power of his word this world was created. He created from nothing.

What implications does God's omnipotence have for our lives? According to A.W. Pink it should do three things:
1. It should cause his to tremble. Think of the most awesome display of power you have ever seen; A mighty storm, thunder and lightening filled tornado, a terrible hurricane, devastating flood or earthquake. The power of a strong army or government. The power of the human body to withstand disease, cold, and heat. The power of the human mind to think and act and reason. It should cause us to tremble to know that God holds all these in the palms of his hands. We do well to walk carefully and live purposely in order that we might please such an all powerful God.
2. It should cause us to adore God. Think of all the things you adore and why. What do you worship? What do you want most in your life? If we took time to see God's attributes including his omnipotence we would find ourselves adoring our creator above all other things created.
3. It should cause us to trust God. Nothing is too hard for him. What great hope this brings for our lives, our problems, our relationships, our fears, our weaknesses. God can do all things. Nothing is impossible for him. His promises always stand true because he has the power to keep them.

Spend time this week thinking about and meditating on God's omnipotence. If we think of God as limited in what he can do we would lose hope. But hope remains. "No prayer is too hard for him to answer no need to great for him to supply, no passion too strong for him to subdue, no temptation too powerful for him to deliver from, no misery too deep for him to relieve (Pink)." And I would add no teenager or adult too immature, too stubborn, too distant for God to get a hold of and change by his grace for his glory.

We can trust him without hesitation because he is Omnipotent.

Attributes of God, Knowledge of the Holy, and Knowing God.

These are the books that I am using for the One God Bible Study.

Connect Videos

Here are two connect videos to check out: The first is the introduction to Connect and answers the question "What is Connect?" and the second video is a short advertisement for the One God Bible study we are doing through March.

God is Self-Sufficient

What does it mean that God is self-sufficient? One thing it means is that God does not need anything.

"The problem of why God created the universe still troubles thinking men; but if we cannot know why, we can at least know that He did NOT bring His worlds into being to meet some unfulfilled need in Himself...The word "necessary" is wholly foreign to God.

The picture of a nervous, ingratiating God fawning over men to win their favor is not a pleasant one; yet if we look at the popular conception of God that is precisely what we see. So lofty is our opinion of ourselves that we find it quite easy (almost enjoyable) to believe that we are necessary to God." - A.W. Tozer (Knowledge of the Holy)

How often we go about our lives thinking that God needs us to do this or that. God does not need our worship nor our obedience; he deserves it, desires it, and commands it, but never needs it. God is not a busy or frustrated God seeking help to carry out his plan for the world.

God gains nothing from us (Job 35:7-8).

Think about it. Our lives, our joys and pains are in the hands of God who is not needy. He has in himself all power and knowledge to bring about what is the greatest plan that would accomplish our joy and bring him the greatest glory.

Then why did God create us? It is true that God could have "continued alone for all eternity, without making known his glory unto creatures" (Pink). So why did God create the world? He was pleased to create us and so he did. Not out of need but out of his own pleasure.

"He sustains all, but is himself independent of all. He gives to all, but is enriched by none." - Pink, Attributes.

Where does this leave us? It should leave us in a fear (in awe of his greatness) of God and in great humility. And it is great news that the God who needs no one will when faith is present work through anyone. This news should stimulate us to obedience and "holy endeavor." It should increase our faith. God does not need things outside himself to accomplish his purposes. We should rejoice in this because the God who does not need us, loves us still and desires to work in us and through us for his good pleasure.

"This truth...when viewed in its biblical perspective will lift from our minds the exhausted load of mortality and encourage us to take the easy yoke of Christ and spend ourselves in Spirit inspired toil for the honor of God and the good of mankind. - Tozer, Knowledge.

A Great Word on Small Groups

If you are interested, check out this message (it is typed out and really easy to read) by John Piper about small groups. It is really helpful in relation to our Connect Groups. The message is called Encouraging Each Other at the End of the Age. Also don't forget the additional "One God" material for the second week below.

Do I Know God or Just Know About Him?

What a crucial question. Do I really know God? There are so many things we can know about but still not know God.

We can know all the right answers to all the good questions such as, "If you died tonight and stood in front of God and he asked you 'Why should I let you into my heaven?' what would you say?" All sorts of people know how to answer this question the right way. Chritians and Non-Chritians. But do they really believe it with their hearts?

People (including ministers, ministers wives, missionaries, evangelists, deacons, and etc.) go for years thinking they are born again believers in Jesus Christ only to find out that they were not. (How gracious God is to open our eyes). This begs the question, "What does knowing God involve?" What is the difference between knowing God and just knowing about Him?

In the book, Knowing God, J.I. Packer puts forth some points on what it means to know God. (These points will be what I teach on Sunday morning so I will only briefly explain each)

1. Knowing God is a matter of personal dealing. Interaction between you and God. Dealing not just with theology or biblical facts but with God, himself.

2. Knowing God is a matter of personal involvement. This involves the mind, the will and emotions. Personal relationship.

3. Knowing God is a matter of grace. All the initiative is with God. Our knowing God is a consequence of God's taking knowledge of us. We know Him by faith because he first singled us out by grace. (Gal 4:9, Jn 10:14-15, 27-28)

Packer goes on to make a great observation. He says, "What matters supremely is not the fact that I know God, but the larger fact that underlies it--the fact that He knows me."

Take note of these last comments by Packer---

This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort...in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me so that no discovery now can dillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disallusioned about myself, and quence his determination to bless me.

How great is our God. He knows us through and through yet still loves us. Think on these things this week and be ready to share with your students your thoughts on Knowing God.

Why Study God?

"Thus says the Lord, 'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understand and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercies lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for I delight in these thngs', declares the Lord" Jeremiah 9:23-24.


Why should we do a study on the attributes of God? Whats the difference? I am already a Christian. What good will it do me to know God in a deeper way?

Some people might find a study like this boring. Or unnecessary. They say, "Surely I can get by with what I know now. Can't I make it without knowing all this 'extra' stuff about God?"

Allow me to let J.I. Packer answer this question:

-A fair question!--but there is, I think, a convincing answer to it. The questioner clearly assumes that a study of the nature and character of God will be impractical and irrelevant for life. In fact, however, it is the most practical project anyone can engage in. Knowing God is crucially important for living of our lives. As it would be cruel to an Amazonian tribesman to fly him to London and, put him down without explanation in London Square and leave him, as one who knew nothing of English or England, to fend for himself, so we are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it.

The world becomes a strange, mad painful place, and life in it is a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul. "Knowing God" pg 18-19.

This is God's world. Our environment is God. He is everywhere. He sustains our lives.

Knowing who God is and knowing what he is like from Scriptures is absolutely crucial to the way we life everyday. The way you think about God and who you believe Him to be flows out into your thoughts, behavior, attitudes, and motivations.

There is nothing more satisfying to the soul than knowing God. There is nothing that matters more than Him.

In your study this week let me challenge you to write some examples of how knowing a specific attribute of God would effect our everyday life. For example, How would believing that God is immutable change the way we think and live? Think of some examples and come prepared to share some with your students.

Update:
From A.W. Pink's Book The Attributes of God:

A spiritual and saving knowledge of God is the greatest need of every human creature. An unknown God can neither be trusted, served, nor worshipped.

One God

On September 16th we will begin a new FUEL bible study on the Attributes of God. This study will be called "One God" and will run from September through February.

We will be having a FUEL leadership meeting on September the 9th at 4:30 to talk about the bible study and the vision for FUEL. If you are or want to be a table leader, assistant leader, or a sub leader then you need to be at this meeting.

If you are new to FUEL and to this blog then let me just say we are excited to have you with us. The next few months are going to be really exciting and beneficial for you and the students. Thank you for your willingness to serve and pour out your life to show students how great our God is.

Ruins That Have Been Rebuilt

There is a lot to cover in Acts 15:1-35, but the focus of this short blog article is Acts 15:13-19.

Jesus came into the world and began to gather a true believing remnant of Israel. First there were 12 apostles; then there were 5,000 converts in Jerusalem. This spread as God began to fulfill his promise to rebuild the dwelling of David and repair the ruins of his people.

The purpose of these rebuilt ruins in v. 16 is to open up a way for men to call upon the name of the Lord.

As we put our faith in Christ, we are restored to a right relationship with Him. We are new creations in Christ. We live during a time of not tearing down but a time of building up. The ruins are being rebuilt.

Our purpose in being restored it to point all those who have not seen Christ and believed in Him for salvation to Christ as the Messiah, Savior and Lord of Creation.

God has restored you. You have been made new. Go and tell it on the mountain tops what Jesus has done.