Theme of the Week: The Power of God

[Pat~]

Theme of the Week: The Power of God

Last week when I went into the kitchen for my morning coffee, I glanced outside and immediately noticed something was missing. A lawn chair, to be exact. And I thought to myself, now who would bother coming onto our property just to abscond with one lawn chair? So I took my coffee outside to investigate. And I found the lawn chair…lying on the bottom of the pool.

Fall is turning to winter in north Texas, and the winds have been valiant in their efforts to strip the last of the brilliant color off our trees these past two weeks. And the fact that we live on a hill makes it especially breezy on our property. About half the leaves are still clinging to the trees, but I knew that patio chair would need help. So, after my son fished it out of the pool, I popped a potted plant on it. The other chair had a swivel base and was a bit heavier, so it hadn’t moved.

Until two days ago. When we woke up, it was lying about 3 inches from the edge of the pool. So I put the potted plant on it, and found something heavier for the lighter chair—a 10 x 10 x 5” limestone rock left over from construction. I considered bringing the chairs in for the season, but we still sit out there daily with neighbors (the weather is still in the 60’s and 70’s down here), and besides, I’m really stubborn. I was going to put up a bit of a fight.

Well. Yesterday I was bested. The potted plant lay smashed on the patio, with pottery shards and dirt blowing into the pool. And on the bottom of the pool were two lawn chairs and one rather heavy limestone rock (which will probably stay there until next summer, as we’ve had no luck fishing it out with the pool net). :o

This morning I was praying about some concerns, and listening to the wind howl outside and the wind chimes going crazy. And I thought about how often in scripture God’s power is compared to the wind, and that thought was immediately comforting. There is no effort of man that can withstand His power and His will. And when Jesus’ disciples saw Him calm the storm that was threatening to capsize their boat, they said in awe, “Who is this, that even the wind and the waves obey Him?” Who indeed.

Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands?
Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and the name of his son?
Tell me if you know! (Proverbs 30:4, NIV)

He who forms the mountains,
creates the wind,
and reveals his thoughts to man,
he who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads the high places of the earth—
the LORD God Almighty is his name. (Amos 4:13, NIV)

[flutecrafter]

Ah yes, the calming of the storm.. that was the passage I spoke on during
my first sermon. :)

Talk about some memories you brought back, ma'am.. :)

In any case, yes, God's power controlled and truly awesome.
The storms, wind and otherwise are perfect examples to consider.

mark

[Pat~]

Sounds like an inspirational first sermon, Mark! :)

Can't resist posting another thought about God's power, which my mom sent me in an email this morning:

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Ephesians 1:18-21 (New International Version)

[AMCrenshaw]

And an additional metaphorical reading:

What-- oh I mean 'who-- else did Jesus calm?

[Pat~]

And an additional metaphorical reading:

What-- oh I mean 'who-- else did Jesus calm?

The demon-possessed man (when He healed him). Also, Martha? (When she came to Him with news of her brother's death)...

He probably calmed a lot of people we don't even know about. (Just being with Him tends to have that effect on people, except for maybe the Pharisees...)

[Inspiewriter]

Well I can say that He calmed me through several surgeries and other rather scary situations a few years ago. I definitely felt His power at that time.

[emandem]

Hmmm....God's power makes me feel very small, but at the same time very valuable. It's a strange paradox. Not many kings or rulers of our times have had the ability to wield immense power while simultaneously enabling their subjects to feel integral and treasured.

[AMCrenshaw]

"Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done."

AMC


eta: the people on the ship were calmed. it's as much the tempest within as the tempest without.

[callalily61]

Perhaps a derail, perhaps not (I'm typing this pre-coffee):

God's power is also in the little things, and sometimes it turns a blazing light on the littleness of my own faith. Ever since I surrendered to Jesus several years ago, I've been (usually) praying daily that He reveal Himself to the kids and the DH. The younger kid seems to have slipped quietly into belief, with which I don't mess. The older kid (17) has been in a rebellious "I'm an atheist" stage for awhile, which I haven't fought against, remembering my own ventures into pseudo-atheism at that age.

2 weeks ago, the older son went with some classmates to work at a soup kitchen for a day. This kitchen is run by a preacher. The kid was impressed by him, and said that he wanted to go to church on sunday. Cool; we have an awesome little church across the street from us run by one of the few pastors I've met who "get it" re: how the early church worked.

Now the kid is going to church, might paly in the worship band, and volunteering for more soup kitchen duty.

It took me a few days to realize that--duh--years of prayer have been answered. And that I doubted it would happen.

So much for my faith, yanno? And so much more for God's power. Amazing.

[Roger J Carlson]

In 1967, my brother (who believed he was thoroughly grounded in his faith) went to the University of Michigan (instead of attending the Christian college he'd originally planned) because he thought he could be a better witness. What happened was the radical atheism of that place and time blew him away. He came home declaring he was giving up our parent's "middle-class morality" and would never darken the door of a church again.

For the next 40 years, my parents prayed for my brother's faith. For many of those years, there was no change in my brother's life. He remained aggressively antagonistic to all things Christian. But gradually, God began to soften his heart. He started attending a church, then became a regular soloist (he has a terrific voice), then occasionally filled in the pulpit (he's also a great speaker), and finally, he quit his job of 35 years to go to seminary.

Last year (40 years after turning his back on Christ) he became an ordained minister of a small Methodist church.

The power of God is also shown in his promises:

"...the prayers of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:12
"Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven." Matthew 18:19

[Pat~]

Such an awesome God, Roger and Callalily.

And how glad I am that His power is not utterly dependent on anything strong about me...that even if my faith is as weak and small as a grain of mustard, He'll hear and answer. (Luke 17:6)

ETA: Hope this isn't too much of a derail, but I just had a wonderful heart-to-heart with my 16-yr. old daughter this morning about what we depend on as Christians, and feel compelled to add this passage:

Jeremiah 17:5-9 (New International Version)

5 This is what the LORD says:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.

7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

9 The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?

Our discussion this morning was in response to one she started last night while driving around looking at Christmas lights...one in which I gave her an incomplete (and easily misconstrued) response concerning the topic of marriage and fidelity. In trying to reassure her about her own mom and dad, I mentioned to her how much I loved her dad, and that I 'could never divorce him--I knew a good thing when I found it.' I winced when I woke up this morning, thinking--ack!! What have I communicated to her??! How could I say that, even flippantly, when I learned without a doubt 8 years ago that there is absolutely no security to be found in my feelings, my heart, or even my knowledge or my particular grasp of Bible doctrine and Christian belief! My feelings today could change tomorrow because the heart IS deceitful beyond cure--and my intellect and reasoning power is a thread held together by God alone (which I also learned memorably 8 years ago when I dealt with clinical depression).

No, my faith is not in any 'strength' of my own feelings or thoughts. If there is any hope, any cause for security to be found, it is found alone in the grace and power of God in a life...it is In Christ Alone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8welVgKX8Qo).

[Appalachian Writer]

Time for a testimony:
By the time my husband succumbed to the complications of Multiple Sclerosis, our savings were all but gone and my only income was from a part-time teaching position. Keeping my home seemed impossible. As I sat in the funeral home during his viewing, a man put his arm around my shoulder and asked if I'd walk with him to the casket. Operating on auto-pilot, I didn't even notice who the man was for a minute or two. It turned out to be the owner of a business where my husband had served as a consultant. As we stood looking down at Alan, the man whispered in my ear, "My wife and I have discussed this, and we see no reason that you should lose your house. Call my office when you feel up to it, and I'll take care of the mortgage."

Stunned, I walked back to the pew where I'd been sitting. I didn't know what to do. In the back of my mind I heard a voice, not my voice or my thoughts. The voice said, "You've been a good and faithful servant."

When others around me were encouraging me to send Alan to a nursing home rather than care for him myself, something inside me counseled against it. I listened to that something instead of the cacophony of voices around me. My mortgage payoff was nearly $98,000.00. The power of God moved inside my husband's former employer's heart and although a widow, I was never forced to become a homeless widow. That my friends is the power of God.

[Sean D. Schaffer]

Although this might seem trivial to a lot of people, I find the Power of G-d has really been transforming my own life as of late. When I accepted Christ, only a couple months ago, I had no direction and quickly was derailed from pursuing Him by my former GF, who told me she might be pregnant and I might have to marry her. She quickly told me not to get too involved in G-d. That really broke my heart, because I felt like I had been trapped by my past actions into doing something I knew fully well was wrong.

It turns out now that she's not pregnant, thankfully. But G-d's Power has really begun to manifest itself in my life since my former GF and I finally broke ties with each other.

For one thing, I have found out things about my heritage that, though they're still up in the air for me at the moment, have given me nonetheless a stronger focus on Him and how I show my love for Him. You might have noticed I'm calling Him 'G-d' again. This has nothing to do with getting away from Christ. In fact, it has a lot to do with my getting closer to Him. And that's where the Power of G-d comes into play in my own life.

You see, for years I've refused to do as He says to do, and I've also been very disrespectful of both His Word and His Name. I'm sure almost everyone knows the Scripture from Exodus, within the Ten Commandments, that says "Thou shalt not take the Name of the L-RD thy God in vain, for the L-RD will not hold him guiltless who taketh His Name in vain." Well, I've broken that particular commandment almost every day for the last 25-30 years.

And of course, I've been guilty of negating His Word on a constant basis as well. The Bible says in Psalm 138:2, "I will worship toward thy holy temple for thy lovingkindness and thy truth, for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy Name;" and it says further, in Proverbs, that "Every word of G-d is pure; He is a shield to them that put their trust in Him." Sadly, I've refused to put my trust in Him or in His Ways, thinking rather that this world system knows what's best for me better than the One Who made me knows.

I thank the L-rd Jesus that He has had mercy upon my soul, even after doing these disrespectful and outright arrogant things to Him. His Power, in my case, is the power to save a soul that He has every reason to condemn because of His Words that say He will not hold a person like me guiltless. If there is no other power of G-d, what I've seen in the last few days has been more than ample reason for me to love Him all the more. That a human being even has the opportunity to repent and change their ways so they can please the L-rd in any way, shape, or form, is something only the Power of G-d can afford us. Remember, He did not give that same opportunity to the devil or his angels. The very fact His Power worked mightily through His Love for Humanity to give us the chance to change that He did not give His own angels, is so immensely demonstrative of Himself, and Who He is, that I can only stand in awe of His wonders.

So now, I do as best I can to better respect His Name and obey His Word. But were it not for His Power to save me, all the changes in the universe would have no effect and I would still be on my way to a devil's Hell. He is an awesome G-d, and I for one am eternally grateful for His Power to, like John Newton wrote, "Save a wretch like me."

[oscuridad]

Please feel free to boot me in to touch if this is inappropriate, but some of the thoughts here have got me wondering:

is your God a vengeful God? I kind of get mixed messages on this one.

[Sean D. Schaffer]

Please feel free to boot me in to touch if this is inappropriate, but some of the thoughts here have got me wondering:

is your God a vengeful God? I kind of get mixed messages on this one.


He's vengeful toward sin, but he loves the people all the same. The only reason a lot of people can't grasp a loving G-d Who punishes wrong-doing, is IMO that they cannot equate someone who loves to someone who punishes.

But Jesus calls G-d 'Father,' and I believe He does this so that in our finite minds we can get some grasp of what G-d is like. A loving father, for instance, does not just let his son go out and play a ball game in the middle of a busy freeway. A lot of fathers will even go so far as to punish their children for such heinous disobedience, in an effort to get them to change their way of doing things.

So G-d loves us. He just does not love a lot of the things we do, and because He loves all Humanity, He cannot let people do wrong without punishing them for it in the end. Like the Bible tells us, "Whom G-d loves, he chasteneth, as a son in whom he delighteth."

[Pat~]

No need to boot, osc...I think it's a valid question. And I'm not sure if it was directed to Sean or all posters in this thread, but I'll stick my neck out a bit and offer a start of a response, hoping that Sean and/or others will add their two bits as well.

Personally I see 'vengeance' as a human trait--even though the Bible tells us that God says, "vengeance is mine," concerning our enemies (Romans 12:17-21) (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012:17-21;&version=31;). Read in context, I believe that the verse is saying for Christians to put aside anger and outrage at injustices done to us along with the very human feelings of wanting to 'get back' at those who've wronged us or those we love. God is telling us to set aside those feelings of wanting to settle the score, because He alone is the holy and just God who will settle it in the way it ought to be settled one day--with no personal human agenda or selfish or irrational cruelty attached to the vindication. In other words, God will deal with injustice not with the chief intent to assuage my smarting self-esteem concerning my enemies, but with the intent to address sin in a much bigger way, a holy and just way--to judge injustice as an affront against God (not simply against a particular human). Also, if you notice that passage, part of God's plan for putting off judgment is precisely so that mercy might be made available (see last verse), and good be allowed the chance to trump evil, instead.

Seeking vengeance to me means simply 'getting back' at your enemy, tit for tat, with sole intent being to hurt them the way they've hurt you. It's rooted in outrage that is often intensified by an exaggerated ego or self-love, and an obsessive need to 'right' things (eg. restore self to all-important center by forcing one's enemy to cower or feel pain). It isn't necessarily related to justice, though many might think that it springs from that sense. I believe only God is able to judge wrongs done by people with complete impartiality--without undue self-centered motive fueling the fire. That's because God is the only Being who is righteously indignant about sin--He alone is holy, so all sin is ultimately an affront to His person (in addition to causing pain to various humans along the way, who may or may not 'deserve' ill treatment). So He is an 'avenging' God in that He dispenses perfect Justice. But while I believe God is completely interested in Justice, I don't think He's interested in vengeance as we tend to think of it, for the simple reason that He does not love Himself more than us--for Him, self-love does not drive His actions. If He were mostly interested in vengeance, He would never have planned from all eternity to offer up His Son to redeem the humanity He loved. He would have instead laughed with glee as we all experienced the hell of separation from Him and His love that was our 'due.'

ETA: And now I see that Sean also addressed your post. :)

[gorgias of leontini]

The book, Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Wright, explains how God is a just entity, rather than a vengeful one; it could probably prove useful to all.

[Pat~]

Welcome, gorgias! And thanks for that book tip. :)

The Attributes of God (Arthur Pink) is also good; and there's another 'Attributes' book that's a favorite, but I'll have to get back to this thread with the title.

ETA: It a book by James Montgomery Boice containing that chapter on attributes--Foundations of the Christian Faith.

[oscuridad]

thanks for your thoughts - I'm not sure if I'm any clearer on this or not. I need to think about it a little. Ta.