Skip to main content

No.


Then Job replied to the LORD, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:1-2) 

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (Revelation 21:22)

            Job is believed to be the oldest book in the Bible. Genesis tells of the beginning, but Job was apparently written first. That means that from the first to the last, God has been known to be omnipotent or almighty. In ancient times, the gods were believed to "belong" to the people with whom they were associated. Many of the disasters with which God plagued Egypt were slap downs of the Egyptian gods. When the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and put it in the temple of Dagon, the idol fell over and broke. When Elijah and the 400 priests of Baal got together for their cage match, the first part of the battle was the question of which god could and would bring fire on the offered sacrifices. Jesus' death and resurrection is a similar proof. The book of Revelation describes the last of these battles. 
           Today, we have different gods. The Hindu religion has more than 330 million gods. I don't think we have as many in America, but given the number of people who consider themselves to gods, I wouldn't be surprised to learn we have at least 220 million but there are a few that seem to more popular. One is "the government." Another is "science." A third is "the universe." Whatever gods we serve, God is likely to call that god out, and show Himself to be the better, stronger god. He does this not just because He can, but because our reliance on the false gods is harmful to us. The day is coming when these gods will be defeated.
            The first thing that shows His omnipotence is His ability to defeat His enemies. The second is His ability to choose to say "No." One of the ways that some people want God to prove his omnipotence is by doing something that they tell Him to do - usually something silly or demeaning. That doesn't prove His omnipotence. It proves theirs. His not doing what they demand is proof that they aren't in control. As much as I would like God to do everything I want Him to do, I respect Him because His omnipotence includes the power to say, "No."
              A third thing that proves His omnipotence is announcement beforehand of things He is going to do. Jesus' birth and death were announced nearly 500 years before they happened. Read Daniel 9. Our future was announced about two thousand years ago. Read Daniel and Revelation then keep your eyes on the news. I'm grateful for God's omnipotence. I don't like being kept in my place, but I need it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more