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Gleanings From The Word

Category: devotional

  • How Big? The Wrong Question

    How Big? The Wrong Question

    As I was pondering what to write, I rolled a piece of blue  kneadable eraser into a small ball. I often fidget with whatever is close at hand or doodle when I’m thinking. It used to get me in trouble in school, but now kids have fidget toys, and it’s pretty acceptable behavior.

    I looked down and realized that in my hands was a little blue ball, which reminded me of the planet Earth. My hand dwarfed it. Then I thought about how small the earth is in God’s hand. We say that the Lord holds the entire universe in his hand. He didn’t even have to roll some material up; He just spoke it all into existence.

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3 ESV

    In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2 ESV

    I thought about the immense size of the created world, all the galaxies known and yet to be discovered. The size of it all dwarfs my ability to comprehend. It’s safe to say the universe is greater than I can imagine.

    Then I wondered, “How big is God?” In some ways, He must be even bigger than all of that, so God is bigger than I can imagine as well.

    Yet, that also isn’t true. God is spirit, and as a non-material being, he has no size and takes up no space.

    How big is God? The question is nonsensical because God isn’t big. No material metric can measure him. God isn’t tall or short, heavy or light, large or small.

    God is undeniably great. He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (all-present). He is infinitely just, righteous, holy, loving, and merciful. He is perfect in his wrath.

    He is the eternally preexistent creator and sustainer of all things. He is without beginning or end.

    The Lord transcends space, time, and matter and can step into or out of them at will.

    Many terms can be used to describe the majesty of God, but big is not one of them.

    The question of “How big is God?” is unanswerable. The closest we can come is that He is big enough to have oversight over everything and small enough to know every detail.

    Even though we cannot answer the question, pondering it should give us plenty of reason to praise His holy name.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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  • Fear Factor and the forbidden fruit

    Fear Factor and the forbidden fruit

    Warnings against sexual sin

    Four of us sat around the campfire talking about skydiving and  bungee jumping. Two of the four of us have jumped out of a perfectly good aircraft, but none of us had been brave (foolish?) enough to jump off of a perfectly good structure while tied to a rubber band. 

    Neither of the two skydivers was particularly experienced. My friend had jumped once, and I have two jumps to my credit (one with a problem chute and the other a crash landing). We are far from experts.

    Of the two non-jumpers, one has taken advanced helicopter survival training, which involves jumping from a substantial height into the water while wearing a specially designed flotation suit. My friend is a non-swimmer, so this literally involved a great leap of faith. It was an experience that he will never forget, but prays he will never have to repeat.

    All of us agreed that there is a critical moment of no return. You realize, if only for a second, that you have crossed a fine line and there is no going back. You have up to that exact moment to say no. Afterwards, it is too late.

    The four of us “got to pontificating” about the myriad of ways that people seek to find that adrenaline rush that pushes you to the enjoyable edge of fear. Insert too much fear, and the experience becomes simply frightening. Not enough adrenaline, and it is a waste of time.

    Some people have pushed themselves so far and so often that they have become adrenaline junkies. They seek the rush no matter what the cost. Many have died in the pursuit of it. They keep pushing the fear factor, seeking more thrills. Like any other addiction, it soon takes more and more to satisfy the “need” for adrenaline.

    I will probably never again jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft. Yet, the adrenaline rush was enough that just seeing someone do it actually makes my heart race a little faster, and the adrenaline kicks in. It would not have taken much more to “hook me” into the “need for the rush”. I think that sin often functions the same way.

    Many things seem all the more exciting and inviting just because they are “forbidden” or there is a risk of some form involved in getting caught. Once a person falls into the trap, they keep going back again and again. It is no wonder that the writer of Proverbs tells us to exercise godly wisdom over sin.

    The verses I have chosen to illustrate this point deal specifically with the sin of adultery, but the precepts can be applied to any sinful temptation.

    My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding,that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.For the lips of a forbiddenwoman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol;she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless,lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” Proverbs 5:1-14 ESV

    Run away! Take off! Remove yourself from temptation.

    If you have fallen, Christ will forgive you, but you will always carry the scarring. All sin creates scars. It wounds relationships, destroys trust, and brings consequences that will follow you. 

    Perhaps in the end, you will be able to keep it secret from everyone except God, but even that secrecy will have cost you something.

    You are far better off to have run away in the first place.

    Until next time, resist the temptation to look over the precipice into sin. You never know when the ground will collapse and suddenly find yourself someplace that you will forever regret going.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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