GOD, THE ONE AND ONLY

"Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I even I am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior....therefore you are my witnesses that I am God.  Yea, before the day was, I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand....I am the Lord and there is none else, there is no God beside me....for I am God and there is none else; I am God and there is none like me."  Isaiah 43: 10, 13; 45: 5; 46: 9.

This past weekend I was on a long drive alone.  To keep myself awake I had a Mercy Me cd playing.  It was the Incredible Mr. Lovewell album and it has some cranking music on it!  I had listened to it there and most of the way home, when suddenly a line from one of the songs caught my attention.  The line said "you are the uncreated one."  Isn't it amazing how you can listen to a song over and over before you actually HEAR it?  

Anyway, that phrase "the uncreated one" has stuck in my mind.  God is so unique.  He is the only one who is uncreated.  Everything on earth, and for that matter above the earth and in the sea, the billions of stars and the entire universe was made....created by Him.  But, He, God was NOT created for He has always been.
Incredible thought!

He says He is the great "I AM"; not the I was or I will be.  Nope, He and He alone is the great I AM.   He has always been, He will always be.

Everything else had a beginning.

Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth."  They had a beginning and He was their creator.  He spoke and they were.  For man and woman, He touched them.  They were the only created things that God actually put his hands on.  He formed them with His very hands and breathed His life, His ETERNAL life into them and "they became a living soul".  More importantly they became eternal souls, for from that moment on they were eternal beings.  Though our outer man perishes and decays after death, our soul lives for eternity.  WE had a beginning, but will have no end.  God had neither a beginning nor will He have an end.  That makes Him unique over every other created being.

He is immortal, we are mortal.

He is perfect, we are sinful.

He is holy, we are unholy.

He is righteous, we are unrighteous.

He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent; we are none of those.

Yes, God is the one and only.  The creator  and sustainer of the universe.  The Master Designer.  Savior.  Redeemer.  Lover of our souls.  And amazingly HE loves us!!!  Can you grasp that?  God, the great I AM, the one and only God, loves YOU and ME?!!!  Think on that amazing fact today and be blessed!!

ADORATION ONLY

Too many days I find myself doing nothing in my prayer time but making requests. Yes, God tells us to come to Him and to ask. He even says "keep on asking...keep on knocking". But sadly, I find that I often forget the other elements of prayer such as adoration and confession, being thankful and seeking forgiveness.

Today I want to just bow at His feet and adore Him for WHO He is..........



Master

Savior

Redeemer

King of Kings

Lord of Lords

Alpha and Omega

Beginning and the End

Creator

Master Designer

Sustainer

Holy

Righteous

Infinite

All powerful

All knowing

Ever Present

Kind

Compassionate

Tender

Loving

Father

Priest

Judge

Rose of Sharon

Bright and Morning Star

Lily of the Valley

My Rock

My Fortress

My strong high tower

My shield and defender

The lifter up of my head


He is all this and more and yet He knows me by name. (Isaiah 40: 3).

His thoughts toward me are more than the sands of the sea (Psalm 139 : 17)

He is my hiding place, the one who will preserve me from trouble (Psalm 32: 7)

In Him I am abundantly satisfied (Psalm 36: 8)

He sets me before His face forever (Psalm 41:12)

He commands His lovingkindness toward me in the daytime and at night His song shall be with me (Psalm 42: 8)

He knows every tear that I cry...He records them in His book of remembrance (Psalm 56: 8)

He loads me with great blessings daily (Psalm 68: 19)

He has been my hope since I was a child (Psalm 71:5)

He is good, plenteous in mercy and always ready to forgive (Psalm 86:5)

He rejoices over ME with singing (Zephaniah 3:17)


I am one among millions on this planet Earth, yet my God knows me and loves me. I am precious in His sight. What an awesome thought!!!!!!!! Who am I that He...the great I AM...would love ME? Would care about ME? But, He does! Praise God...He does!!!!!!!!

Casting Crowns - Who Am I

From the album Casting Crowns

Who am I,

that the Lord of all the earth

Would care to know my name

Would care to feel my hurt

Who am I,

that the Bright and Morning Star

Would choose to light the way

For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am

But because of what You've done

Not because of what I've done

But because of who You are

Chorus:I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow

A wave tossed in the ocean

A vapor in the wind

Still You hear me when I'm calling

Lord, You catch me when I'm falling

And You've told me who I am

I am Yours,

I am Yours

Who Am I,

that the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love

and watch me rise again

Who Am I,

that the voice that calmed the sea

Would call out through the rain

And calm the storm in me

I am Yours

Whom shall I fear

Whom shall I fear

'Cause I am Yours

I am Yours

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

All my life I've heard when someone shows extraordinary patience that he or she has "the patience of Job". But, I've always taken issue with that. I don't think Job was particularly patient.

He questioned God. He grieved. He sought answers. And who could blame him? He lost everything near and dear to him (except for his wife and for all the good she did him, he probably grieved he DIDN'T lose her!)

He was considered "the greatest man in the east". (Job. 1: 3) God was proud of Job, saying "there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that fears God and eschews evil". He was in right standing with God and living an exemplary life before Him.

Then it all fell apart. God allowed Satan to attack him in every way except taking his life. He lost his entire family, except the wife; he lost his livestock...his livelihood and all his servants. Then on top of all that, he was struck with disease from head to toe. When his wife urged him to curse God and die, his reply was "Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? "

But though he did not ever curse God, he did curse the day he was born. He questioned why God allowed this to happen to him. What had he done?

When bad things happen in our lives, that is usually our reaction. Why God? What did I do or what did I fail to do that has caused you to allow this in my life?!

One thing I've learned is that God allows these things for many different reasons. One is that it causes us to press into Him. Another is it quickly gets things into perspective...shows us what is really important in life. Sometimes it is to get our attention...to wake us up to something that God is trying to teach us...maybe something we've been dragging our feet about. And sometimes God simply allows it so that in our suffering HE is glorified.

The most difficult part of being in circumstances of suffering is that we don't always know what God is up to...we can't see where it's leading. We pray and seek His face, but when we see nothing happening, it is easy to lose heart and to lose hope.

That is when we must be like Job and remember what we KNOW!!!

Job lamented to one of his so-called 'friends':

Know now that God has overthown me, and has compassed me with his net. Behold I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard. I cry aloud, but there is no judgment. He has fenced up my way that I cannot pass and he has set darkness in my paths. He has stripped me of my glory and taken the crown from my head. He has destroyed me on every side and I am gone and my hope has he removed like a tree. He has kindled his wrath against me and he counts me unto him as one of his enemies. He has put my brethren far from me and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me. My kinfolk have failed and my familiar friends have forgotten me." (Job 19:3-14)

But after this gut wrenching declaration, Job finishes by declaring:

"For I KNOW that my redeemer lives and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skin is destroyed by the worms, yet in my flesh I shall see GOD whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold!" Psalm 19: 25-27

Yes, dear friends, when we find ourselves in the dark places of our life...when all seems lost, we must remember what we KNOW....

We KNOW, like Job, that our REDEEMER lives!!!!!!!!!!!!

We KNOW that we shall see HIM face to face one day!!!

We KNOW that He does all things well....even when we see NO evidence that He is doing anything.

We KNOW that He has promised that ALL things work together for good to those who are the called according to HIS purpose.

These are just a few of the things we can KNOW. But the important thing is that the only way you are going to KNOW these things in the dark, is to be partaking of them in the light! You must be in the Word to KNOW the Word. For knowing the WORD is what will see you through those dark days, those days when all hope seems lost and no answers come. Then you must rely on what you KNOW and not what you SEE.

"For faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

If darkness comes your way today, what do you KNOW?