God Is My… (Psalms), 68

 ~ God Is My Provider, 3 ~

Introduction  ~  Previously from July 16, 2017 through January 6, 2019 ALN posted a series of 60 posts of “Jesus is…,” and now we look exclusively at who “God is…” from the Book of Psalms.  While not a complete list these posts occur are in the same order they are in the Psalms. 

Passage  ~  “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!  Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:1-5). 

Other Passages  ~  “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:5-6).

“Therefore the Lord heard this and was furious; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel, because they did not believe in God, and did not trust in His salvation.  Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven.  Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. 

“He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; and by His power He brought in the south wind.  He also rained meat on them like the dust, feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; and He let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.  So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them their own desire.  They were not deprived of their craving” (Psalm 78:21-30a).   

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Myth, 106

 ~ Just Be Yourself ~

Myth  ~  Many times people are encouraged to “just be themselves.”

Reality  ~  All humans are sinful and wicked.  “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Scripture  ~  “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.  They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.  Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes’” (Romans 3:10-18).

The Truth  ~  Rather than to be ourselves we are to be like Christ.  We are to continuously seek to become increasingly like Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

It starts with our thinking and our minds. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him” (Philippians 2:5-9a).

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).   

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Invisible God, 3of11

 ~ God Surrounds Men But Is Unseen ~

Introductory Quote  ~  “In the early days of space exploration one of the Russian cosmonauts returned from space and matter-of-factly stated that he hadn’t seen God! The essence of his comment was, ‘I’ve been there, done that, I didn’t see God — therefore there is no God.’

“Because God was not seen by Russian cosmonauts or our own astronauts, does that mean that God does not exist?  Does it mean that He is absent from outer space?  Or, is He present but invisible?

“We know that it is dark, very dark, in outer space.  We also are aware that outer space is full of light traveling from stars in all directions.  Only a tiny fraction of this light travels in a direction that causes it to reach our planet earth.  Space travelers do not see the light that is so abundant in space.

“The Scriptures tell us that the God who is light dwells in darkness!” (from the book: “GOD’S NATURE: Sonlight Sunlight”  by Robert Lloyd Russell).

Scripture  ~  “Look, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; when He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; when He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.  But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.  My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside.  I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:8-12).

Closing Quote  ~  “As we return to Einstein’s theory of relativity, we find that as an object reaches the speed of light, dimensions in the direction of travel become zero.  This means that objects traveling at the speed of light become invisible, no matter how large they are at slower speeds.  Light defies our normal constraints of spatial dimensions.

“Although light is invisible, it is capable of manifesting itself.  We can detect the presence of light as it reveals our surroundings, and we discern the effects of light such as feeling its warmth on our skin.  It is as if we can see the unseen.

“We can utilize the effects of light in many ways.  In our era with the use of lasers mankind has harnessed the power of light to perform many wonderful tasks — from supermarket checkout procedures to critical medical operations.

“In a similar manner we do not see God, but we see the manifestations of God.  The effects of the invisible God are clearly seen.  His presence can be known.

“The key to understanding either physical or spiritual light is found in observing what it can do.  Although no one has ever seen physical light, mankind has learned a great deal about its characteristics; we have applied our knowledge in useful ways.” (from the book: “GOD’S NATURE: Sonlight Sunlight”  by Robert Lloyd Russell).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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