Category Archives: character of god

Some Non-Partisan Post-Election Day Perspective: Isaiah 40

Posted on by
Reply

My scheduled Bible Reading today is Isaiah 40 (NLT). It seemed very appropriate after Election Day.

Whether you are saddened by the results or encouraged, may these excerpts from Isaiah 40 be a timely reminder of God’s view of this world.

“The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of our God stands forever.” 

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? 

The earth as seen from Apollo 17

Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? 

Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
Has the LORD ever needed anyone’s advice?
Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
or show him the path of justice? 

No, for all the nations of the world
are but a drop in the bucket.
They are nothing more than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth
as though it were a grain of sand.

To whom can you compare God?
What image can you find to resemble him?
Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold,
overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
Or if people are too poor for that,
they might at least choose wood that won’t decay
and a skilled craftsman
to carve an image that won’t fall down! 

God sits above the circle of the earth.
The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!

“To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing. 

O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 

Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

Freedom Friday: His Goodness

Posted on by
Reply

Folks, I have a Freedom Friday post brewing for you.

But we’ve had to leave town suddenly to be with a loved one who is facing the end of life.

And my kids had food dye for the 1st time in a while, and my 2 year-old is literally bouncing off the walls, screaming, “It’s fun time!” over and over, swinging from the long curtains in this extended stay suite, and riding down the table leg as if it’s a fire pole.

I’m not kidding.

I just pray for you that you’d know how good God is. So often I doubt His goodness, and yet He is faithful to His promises.

I finished the marathon.  Barely.

For the kids at Happy Horizons Children’s Ranch.

And I’m learning to let go of someone I love so dearly and feel I desperately need.  Jesus is waiting for him.

I am so thankful and so heartbroken.  And yet, God is faithful.  He’s amazing.

Be back soon. I promise 🙂

Monday Morning Meditation: The God of Restoration (Psalm 71 Series)

Posted on by
1

We are (finally!) continuing the series on Psalm 71. I encourage you to read the whole psalm here.

Verses 19-20:

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens.
You have done such wonderful things.
Who can compare with you, O God?
You have allowed me to suffer much hardship,
but you will restore me to life again
and lift me up from the depths of the earth.

I am starting this post 5 days before I will run my first marathon.

Running does not come naturally to me; it never has. It has always been hard work. I’ve never had that “light” or “fresh” feeling that runners talk about.

I initially just ran for the quick exercise, to maintain a large weight loss.  I didn’t have access to a gym. I kept running because it’s good for clearing my headspace.

I met some crazy runners in mid-2011. By that point, I had run a half marathon, so I distinguished “crazy runners” as people who ran more than 13.1 miles at a time. They asked me, Why don’t you consider a marathon?

I figured I’d pray about it.  
2 months later, God spoke. How about running for a cause?
By the time you read this, I will have (Lord-willing) ran 26.2 miles to trample on child sex trafficking.
It will not be easy or quick or painless.  But I will do it, for the kids.
Kids like Madel.
Who can compare to You, God? the psalmist wonders.
No one.
Not a single one.

Even when He allows us to suffer hardship, He restores us to life.  Even these young kids whose families often sell them into prostitution – God has something amazing for them.
Whatever depths you are in, there is a God who longs to rescue you.  Call on Him today.
If you’d like to give toward the cause for which I am willing to attempt a marathon, you can learn more here.

Freedom Friday: The Whole World Could Not Contain

Posted on by
Reply

I finished the gospel of John this week.  I didn’t know what to read after that.  I just wanted to sit there as I felt the weight of this final verse:

“Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25 (NLT)

The whole world could not contain…..

Can you imagine?
John wrote his gospel after Matthew, Mark and Luke had written their accounts.  He included several stories the others did not.
And yet still, the whole world could not contain the accounts of all that Jesus had done.
I’m stumped, as my five year-old loves to say.
I’m stuck on that verse.
I want to go back and read the four gospels again, gently processing all the miracles Jesus performed, all the words He spoke, the encouragement He gave to the outcasts, the harsh words for the pharisees and teachers of the law, the commands He shared to take up my cross, the warnings He gave to count the cost and not enter into following Him without careful consideration, the passion He possessed for the lost and for His followers, the perseverance He demonstrated at the temptation and on the cross, all the many things that I can read and imagine and almost touch.
And yet, the whole world could not contain.

I make Him so small.  With my fear, my doubt, my worry.

My striving.

I need to choose to trust.
I need to stop worrying.
I need to follow His call to the lost and the broken.
I need to follow as He beckons me to take His hand and step out on the water.
I need to be more like Him.  
The Earth seen from Apollo 17
from Wikipedia
I invite you to stop for a minute.  Imagine the whole world, the earth, covered in books.  The books are so numerous that they are literally falling off (let’s suspend gravity for a minute).  These books are overflowing with stories of all that Jesus did.
For you. For me.  For people like us.
So that we may know Him and be like Him.
So that we may know how He interacted with broken people like ourselves.
So that we could see His heart, His love, His power, His strength.
So that we could feel the declaration of our worth as He hung from the cross.

“Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25 (NLT)

Imagine, and give Him thanks.

Monday Morning Meditation: God’s Protection from the Enemy (Psalm 71 series)

Posted on by
Reply

We are continuing the series on Psalm 71. I encourage you to read the whole psalm here.

Last week, I talked about how David, the author of the psalm, intertwines prayer requests with truth about God, as if to remind himself that despite his trials, despite the hopelessness he may feel at times, God’s character has not changed. He is still good, He is still faithful, and He is still able to rescue and set free.

Let’s look at today’s verses (v.3-4)

Be to me a protecting rock of safety, where I am always welcome.
Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of cruel oppressors.

This psalm is full of beautiful and challenging pictures of God’s character and steadfastness.

I especially love the imagery of God as a welcoming rock of safety. It’s a picture of God’s solidity, coupled with His always open arms. The NASB translation further illuminates this truth: “Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come.” We can come to God, as we are, with all our fears and doubts and sorrows, and He is always willing to welcome us in.

David repeats a lot of the same prayers and promises of the first 2 verses. Like the persistent widow, he asks again, Save me, protect me, rescue me.

He also recognizes that the wicked do have some level of power. Jesus recognized this truth as well when He said that Satan came to steal, kill and destroy, but He came so that we might have an abundant life (John 10:10). When Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus told him that He was sending him to “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26:18)

So while we have a real enemy (in Satan) and other enemies (in people), Jesus makes it clear, as does David in this psalm, that’s not the end of the story.

God is our fortress. He is sufficient protection against any enemy. A rock of safety, where we are always welcome. Not only did Jesus defeat Satan’s power on the cross (Hebrews 2:14-15), we have a God who able to protect us.

In what area of your life do you need God’s protection today?

Monday Morning Meditation: Receive God’s Unfailing Love

Posted on by
Reply

Good morning, Monday Morning Meditation readers!

I feel a few more Psalms series coming on in the near future. For now, I’ll share with you these verses.

Psalm 33:3-4:

For the word of the Lord holds true,
and everything he does is worthy of our trust.
He loves whatever is just and good,
and his unfailing love fills the earth.

I had the privilege of leading the church I attend in the song portion of the worship service yesterday. The pastor who heads up the worship schedule requested that I teach the congregation “How He Loves.” I written about this song before on the blog.

As we sang this song, I pondered the love of our Father God. What does it mean for His love to be “unfailing?” I imagine it is so much more than we could even imagine.

Then, I came across these verses.

His unfailing love fills the earth. That’s how expansive it is.

There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. And there is nothing we can do to make Him love us any less.

God is love. It is the core of who He is.

And everything He does is worthy of our trust.

I prayed as we sang yesterday that the congregation would be able to fully receive God’s love. I pray the same thing for you today. Stop for a moment before continuing on in your day, and pray that for yourself, as Paul prayed for the Ephesians (ch. 3):

I pray….may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be fillws with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Amen.

Have a good week! See you Friday 🙂

Note to readers: I am currently reading the Life Recovery Bible. The NLT seems to have slight differences there when compared to the NLT at Biblegateway.com.

Monday Morning Meditation: I Call, I Seek, God Answers (Psalm 34 series)

Posted on by
Reply

This is part of the Monday Morning Meditation Psalm 34 series.

In a Freedom Friday from a few weeks back, “You Have Not Because You Ask Not”, I highlighted the song “Came to My Rescue“. I sang this with a group of people recently and could not help but think of these verses from Psalm 34.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

Wow. This is what our Lord is capable of, if we ask.

Remember last week’s post, The Power of Together. This is being spoken to someone or a group of people. Read these verses out loud and ask God to allow faith and trust in rise up in your soul. Pray them with someone, for yourself, for a person in your life who is paralyzed, for the person you are praying with.

God is with you, Look to Him this week. Seek Him. Trust Him. Call on Him; He answers.

Freedom Friday: The God Who Protects

Posted on by
3



I’ve written a couple of blog posts on the character of God. I’ve also done 2 posts on the theme of “The God Who” (bends & sustains are past favorites) and will continue that today with The God Who Protects.

I wrote in the Monday Morning Meditation this week about the following verse:
“He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”
Psalm 91:4
Before we dive any more into the concept of God as protector, let’s revisit some questions I asked in Monday’s blog post.

What do you wear as armor?

Do you self-protect, or allow God to be your refuge and tower of safety?

I tried to protect myself for much of my life. I thought I could be safe if I were skinny. When that garnered too much attention, I gained 50 pounds. That didn’t work either. Pushing people away with my behavior only left me hurt and desperately lonely.

“The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.” Psalm 116:6 (NIV1984)

I tried to protect myself by hiding. Hiding my feelings, my fears, my struggles and insecurities. This would eventually backfire, as I’m an external processor and everything I tried to keep in would burst forth like a beach ball held under water.

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7
(NIV1984)

I continued to try to self-protect while following Jesus. I thought, “I can’t tell anyone about same-sex attraction, the fact that I self-injure, or that I hate myself on a regular basis. I’ll project the image that I have it all together so no one questions me.” This facade is not something that I could maintain healthily for lots of reasons, the bottom line being that God didn’t want me to protect or trust in myself.

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.” Psalm 91:15 (NLT)

How have you self-protected? Maybe more importantly, why?

Stop and think about your fears. What would happen if you chose to allow God into all areas of your life?


Grab your Bible and look up some of these psalms I’ve quoted. Consider what they have to say about God’s protection. Ask Him to reveal the ways you have tried to protect yourself, and be willing to lay those down. Ask God’s forgiveness for your unwillingness to believe He is able to preserve and protect you, and trust Him to care for you in the area of protection.

“He is my loving ally and my fortress,
My tower of safety, my deliverer.
He stands before me as a shield and I take refuge in Him.” Psalm 144:2

The God who protects.

Monday Morning Meditation: He Stands before me as a Shield

Posted on by
1
Psalm 144 begins:

Bless the Lord who is my rock.
He gives me strength for war & skill for battle.
He is my loving ally and my fortress,
My tower of safety, my deliverer.
He stands before me as a shield and I take refuge in Him.

I’ll be honest. This former pacifist used to shudder at some of the war imagery in the Bible. Now I realize that much of life is a battle. We are bombarded on every side with temptation, challenges, stress and trials. And if all the external struggles weren’t enough, the Bible describes the battle that is raging in our minds in 2 Corinthians 10:

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

This psalm says that God, our rock, gives us strength for war (big picture) and the skills we need for each battle (little picture). He doesn’t leave us unarmed and unaided to fight in this life alone. Not only does He gave us strength & skills, He serves as our ally, our fortress, and a tower of safety. He alone is our deliverer.
But possibly the most powerful imagery for me in this passage is of God standing before me as a shield.
I’m more apt to be found stepping out in front of God rather than allowing Him to shield me, or running around, aimlessly, without direction.
That is not how God wants us to react to battles. God’s desire is to protect me. But in order for Him to do that, I need to choose to take refuge in Him.
We may be at war at times, but we have a mighty deliverer who has called us by name and said, “You are mine.” He desires to serve us our ally, a place of safety.
Choose to take refuge in Him today.
Note to readers: I am currently reading the Life Recovery Bible. This Bible’s NLT seems to have slight differences there when compared to the NLT at Biblegateway.com.

Monday Morning Meditation: Remind God of His Promises

Posted on by
5

Good morning, Living Unveiled readers! Welcome to our first full installment of Monday Morning Meditation.

Let’s dive right in.

Psalm 138:2 says:

I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.

His promises are backed by all the honor of His name.

My kids watch TV almost every weekday from 3-4. Since they can’t tell time, they may periodically ask me about the shows, and if we will be home at that time. When they wake from nap, they ask if they woke up in time to watch their shows.

In other words, they have no trouble reminding me about the fact that I said they could watch TV because they naturally take me at my word.

Is that how we treat God’s promises, which this psalm says are backed by all the honor of His name?

Rather, how often do we go timidly before God, as if we somehow have to beg Him to keep His Word? Or we don’t even believe His promises at all, or don’t live in a way that reflects that they are for us, His children?

This is certainly something I’ve struggled with. Reminding God of His promises almost feels presumptuous. First of all, doesn’t He already know them? Second, isn’t it kind of forward and demanding?

I’m reminded of Luke 18 & the example of the persistent widow. Or Matthew 7, where Jesus commands that we “keep on asking.”

As I read through the Old Testament, I cannot help but see the examples of people, including prophets, kings and ordinary folks, who repeatedly reminded God of His Word and what He said He would do.His promises for us include love, acceptance, hope, prosperity, sustenance, security, hope, protection, freedom, abundant life, and did I mention hope? Jeremiah 29 says God’s plans for us with give us a future and a hope.

As you read the Bible this week, notice who God says He is, and what He has said He will do. Ask God to breathe life into His Word, and listen as He makes it come alive in you.
Remind Him of His promises. They are backed by all the honor of His name.

Note to readers: I am currently reading the Life Recovery Bible. This Bible’s NLT seems to have slight differences there when compared to the NLT at Biblegateway.com.