I finished with the Book of Ezekiel yesterday and in my morning prayers I sensed I was to jump over to 2 Corinthians again for another look at what the apostle might have to say to me.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3-9
Your comfort and your suffering are not just yours. Both benefit others. So who does your comfort benefit besides you? Who are you suffering for besides yourself? Who else benefits?
Today we are talking about the justice of God using Romans 1:20 as our spring board.
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Justice is one of the invisible qualities of God as described by A.W. Tozer in his book The Attributes of God.
I don’t think there is a better time to address this characteristic of God’s justice than as we begin Holy Week.
So just what is God’s justice?
We see the justice of God written into the very fabric of the universe. Newton’s third law teaches us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. That is justice. You reap what you sew.If you put garbage in you get garbage out. We get that in every other area of life. Why do we think it is different in the area of spirituality? God is just. Our only hope is that God’s character of mercy will work alongside His character of justice and that is the glory of the cross. God’s justice was satisfied in the mercy of Christ’s cross.
If you have missed any of our previous discussions on this topic they can all be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.
We have been exploring the Book Of Romans verse by verse for some time now and for the last 13 sessions in this series we have hovered over Romans 1:20 exploring the invisible qualities of God. We are using A.W. Tozer’s, The Attributes of God, as a jumping off point for our discussions. If you have missed any of the previous posts they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.
Today we are discussing God’s self-sufficiency. This is the idea that while we need God, God does not need us. He is everything He needs. The creation is dependent on the Creator but the Creator is not dependent on the creation.
This makes perfect sense and is reflected in nature by the relation of men to their own creations. If an artist paints a canvas, that canvas is entirely reliant upon the artist for what it becomes. If however the canvas is destroyed in a fire, its destruction does not change the artist into a non artist because it was destroyed. The art does not make the artist. The artist makes the art and the artists does not require anything from the art in order to remain artistic.
Some people think that God created us because he NEEDED worship or fellowship. But this is not true. God may find that an appealing attribute of His creation but He does not NEED worship to be God. He would be God still if not one angel or person ever lifted their voice in praise to Him again (I shudder to think what would happen to angels and people if that suddenly happened but God would have no worries).
That said we must realize that God alone is self-sufficient.Self-sufficiency is a quality of God and not man. We were made with limited sufficiency not all sufficiency. The idea of becoming totally self-sufficient is not a godly idea. It is not even a possibility. We were made to need God. We were made to seek God when we have a need not to try and figure it all out ourselves.
It’s Faithful Friday again. Faithful Friday is one of seven posts on Lillie-Put that helps create a culture of worship on the blogosphere. Will you join in crying out to the Lord to burn like a star in your heart? Add your own burning praise in the comments section below.
I am really on Rend Collective kick these last couple of days because of St. Patrick’s Day. Find the Irish Rock Worshippers HERE
We have been studying through the Book Of Romans verse by verse for a while now. We have come to verse 20 in chapter 1…
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Using this verse we are doing a study of God’s invisible qualities using A.W. Tozer’s list from The Attributes of God.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Today in honor of St. Patrick’s Day I bring you worship from Ireland. Join us in creating your own Irish culture of worship by adding your own song in the comments section below
Rend Collective is one of my favorite Irish worship bands. Find more on them HERE
When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed festivals, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate. Ez. 46:9
This passage is filled with symbolism. When you go to church this morning will you leave different than you came or will you come out the same way you went in?
In our study through the Book of Romans we have come to chapter 1 and verse 20.
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
In light of that verse we have been discussing the invisible attributes of God as described by A.W. Tozer in his book The Attributes of God.
Today we are discussing God’s quality of Omnipotence. These two videos help us to understand the incredible unlimited power of God and how that is expressed in creation.
In addition to all your other detestable practices, you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple while you offered me food, fat and blood, and you broke my covenant.8 Instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary.9 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites. Ezekiel 44:7-9
CHILD OF GOD, WHERE HAVE YOU LET THE WORLD’S VOICE IN TO DICTATE YOUR PATH IN PLACE OF GOD’S VOICE?
It is time to usher in a new day and to worship God as we do that. Join us in worshipping by adding your worship in the comments section below.
Rich Mullins has always been one of my favorite artists in worship. He has gone on to be with the Lord but his music still makes an impact beyond his passing.
I finished with the Book of Ezekiel yesterday and in my morning prayers I sensed I was to jump over to 2 Corinthians again for another look at what the apostle might have to say to me.
Lillie-Put 