The Creator and His Creation

As I sit here on the balcony at Navarre Beach, I cannot help but wonder how anybody can see the beach and question that there is a Creator.  How else would this jaw dropping phenomenon have come to be?  From up here I have watched waves crash to shore, dolphins jump and play along with many other various sea creatures, both on shore and in the water.  And the people!  Different accents and different personalities.  Big families and small.  All shapes and sizes.  Young and old.  It is quite amazing!

It breaks my heart to think about people who do not know God.  I know there are people groups who have never even seen a bible.  But there are people right here in America who do not know God, many of whom claim to not believe.  Romans 1 says, “For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse.”

People are without excuse!  What a scary thought!  What does that mean for me?  How can I convey to others the love of God when they refuse to believe it after seeing the ocean?  Or after seeing a tree change colors in the Fall?  Or after a beautiful snowfall?  He is EVERYWHERE.  His creation is awesome!

Not only is His creation proof of Him, He is such a personal God.  In my life, I have seen Him work in both big and little ways.  If people would take inventory of happenings in their life, they would see the same, I have no doubt. 

We like to take credit for things in our lives.  It gives us value.  It makes us feel in control.  It is a fake control.  Nobody has complete control of their life.  Nobody has any control.  It is all in God’s hands.  But He is a good, good Father.  He wants the best for His children. 

Does He work in such ways as to allow a close parking space at the store?  I totally believe He can.  I would rather give Him credit than just say it was good luck.  Many people do not believe He would care about such nonsense matters.  But if He cares enough to know the numbers of hairs on our heads, couldn’t He do something as simple as clear a parking space for us?

I believe God’s hand is in everything.  It is in creation.  It is in knowledge.  It is in memories.  It is in day to day tasks.  It is in the mundane.  It is in the celebrations.  It is in vacation at the beach.  It is in a normal day’s work.  It is in laughter.  It is in deep despair.  God cares.  And He is personal.

I think that is why I get so excited when I see the dolphins come up out of the water.  I am in awe that God would provide that incredible scene for us.  We could live in a total black and white world, both figuratively and literally.  God cares too much for us to be bland.  Our God is not bland.  He is not plain.  He is not vanilla.  He is a neapolitan ice cream sundae with colorful sprinkles and whipped cream and a cherry on top!  He wants to be King of your world.  Truth is, He already is.  He wants you to realize it.  And He’ll use any means necessary…creation, a close parking space, that personal thing that only you know about.

I still do not have answers how to fully convey to others the love and wonder of God, but I’m willing to be used by Him to try.  My heart’s desire is to help others know they have a loving and personal Creator who desires their heart in exchange for an heir to the Crown.

Praise be to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!! 

Things I Want My Tribe To Know- #4

Things I want my tribe to know…

4. God wins!

John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The main theme of the book of Revelation is God triumphs over evil.

These days, it so easy to live in fear.  I did not think that in my lifetime I would see the things that I have.  Things such as our society blatantly going against the bible and challenging Christians as not having tolerance.  Also, the senseless violence is outrageous that we see now.  Just this morning, we woke up to a mass shooting in Las Vegas with the loss of so much innocent lives.

We constantly question what this world is coming to.  Once we travel down that road of questioning, our hearts turn to fear and anxiety.  But Jesus says, “Take heart!”  What does take heart mean?  If you take heart, you are encouraged and made to feel optimistic about something.  I also think He is saying, “Do not be surprised.  Bad stuff is going to happen.  But never fear!  I am in control.  Victory is already mine!”

God does not want us living in a constant state of fear and worry.  In fact, He says, “Be anxious for nothing.”  He wants us to consistently pray and trust in Him.  God does not command us to do something that is impossible for us to do.  In fact, He equips us for His commands.  It excites me to think that He tells me not to be anxious because I know He has made it possible to be able to not be.

Jesus was a fitting example of this when He was sleeping on the boat during a storm.  When the disciples woke Him afraid of dying, He asked them, “Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?”  Then He got up and calmed the storm (Matthew 8:25-26).  Do you ever wonder if God looks down on us living in fear and anxiety and thinks, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?”  I wonder if He thinks, “Why don’t you trust that I’ve got this?  You claim to live for me yet you worry constantly over everything.  Be still.  Trust.  Take heart.

It is human to worry.  It is giving into the flesh and letting the feeling of being out of control that drives us to fear.  When we fully know who is in control, we live a life of being okay with not being in control.  We must accept and surrender.  

Accept and surrender.  

Two very difficult words.  

Words that, once we give in to, lead to a life of contentment and trust and hope in Jesus Christ.

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus came to save the world.  He overcame evil and He gave us all that is necessary to live a hope of faith and hope and not one of despair and mental anguish.  Praise be to God who has overcome evil and wins!

Things I Want My Tribe To Know- #3

Things I want my tribe to know…

3.  Don’t just believe IN God, BELIEVE God!

We serve a mighty God.  A God who created this magnificent universe.  A God who sent His only Son to die on the cross then raised Him from the dead.  A God who knows every single detail about each and every one of us down to the number of hairs on our head (which I find especially amazing because we are losing strands of hair constantly, yet at every second He knows).

A lot of people believe there is a God.  In other words, they believe IN God.  I do not know what the latest statistic is.  Sadly, it is probably lowering all the time, but I would venture to guess it is still a significant number.

But, how many people actually BELIEVE God?  Believing that there is a greater Being that created everything and is convenient to pray to every now and then is not as big a commitment as actually believing God.

I do not mean to say this is in a mean way towards these people.  I feel sad for them.  It’s like they are half way there but don’t truly get the full magnitude of God and how much He loves us and wants a relationship with us.

For a lot of people, it is not a matter of not wanting to; it is a matter of not knowing how.  Faith is a funny thing.  The very definition of faith is believing in something you cannot see or prove.  This is so hard in a society that is so in your face all the time with real tangible stuff.  It is hard in this fast paced world where the moment you are made to wait, you start to doubt.  Last week, I wrote about not always getting our way.  We live in a time that tells us not getting your way should be out of the question because we deserve or are entitled to all.

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  That is HARD!

There are so many promises in the bible from God.  He promises a plan for our life to make us prosper and not be harmed.  He promises good works for us to do that He has established ahead of time.  He promises us strength and wisdom and fruits of the spirit and a place at the table and a spirit of power and love and sound judgment.  He promises He is always faithful.  He promises all this and so much more.

He also promises that all things work together for those who love the Lord.  This one is one I think we possibly have the hardest time with.  In those hard moments, He whispers to our hearts, “Trust me.”  Sometimes it is really, really hard.  But He would not say to do it if it was not possible.

Maybe the problem is not fully with believing God, but the question I have struggled with for a while now is, will He?  I constantly say I believe God can do anything, but will He?  Recently, I have come to determine that that question is planted by the Enemy as a way to make me doubt God.  Or at least doubt His judgment and timing.  I am trying to take it out of my heart and out of my vocabulary.  I determine to believe Him.  Period.  End of story.  No matter what.  And I pray that my life and actions reflect that.

Believing in God is the easy part.  Believing God takes day after day, moment after moment, of intentional living.  But the outcome is so worth it!  It is beautiful.  It is surrender.  It is a lifetime of I am not in charge but I serve and glorify the One who is.  All is good because He is good.  I believe.