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Gleanings From The Word

Category: Genesis

  • God is Closer Than You Think

    God is Closer Than You Think

    God is closer than you think

    Where do you think God is? It’s a simple question, but the answer is often surprising. A lot of people think God is somewhere way off in space, in heaven, wherever that is. The truth is that God is closer than you think.

    There is a sense in which that is true. God is transcendent. He is outside of time and space as we understand it.

    There is a sense in which he is internal. The Holy Spirit dwells with every believer.

    Yet at times, he can feel so far removed from us that we cannot even begin to sense his presence. Our prayers seem unanswered. We seek peace, but all we feel is turmoil. Everything is going wrong. We feel pressed, persecuted and beaten down.

    The world weighs heavily on our shoulders. Humanity is a mess, and the inmates seem to be running the asylum. Where is he?

    He is closer than you think.

    The Bible is full of verses to confirm the truth that outweighs our feelings.

    For Yahweh will not abandon His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance. Psalm 94:14

    Yahweh is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. Psalm 145:18

    He is often with us, and we fail to recognize Him. It happened to Jacob.

    … “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it.” Genesis 28:16

    Hagar did not recognize the Lord in the wilderness. Cleopas and his companion did not recognize Jesus on the Road to Emmaus. He walked for 30+ years in Israel, and most people could not see Him for who He was.

    In closing his instructions to the disciples after giving them the Great Commission, Jesus said, “… I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 18:20

    He hasn’t left you. He’s right there with you. God is closer than you think. He sees, He knows, and He cares.

    There will come a time when we see him in the New Jerusalem, but never forget He walks with you today in every situation.

    Hold fast, my friends.

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone) 

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    SUMMARY

    Despite our feelings of abandonment during hardship and unanswered prayer, God is never truly far — He is both transcendent and intimately present with every believer.

    KEY POINTS

    Throughout Scripture, people failed to recognize God’s presence even when He was right beside them — Jacob, Hagar, and the disciples on the road to Emmaus all missed Him in the moment. 

    God’s Word overrules our feelings: He will not abandon His people, He is near to all who call on Him, and Jesus promised to be with His followers always, to the end of the age. 

    Whatever you’re facing today — pressure, turmoil, unanswered prayer — He sees, He knows, and He cares. He hasn’t left you.

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

    You might also enjoy “Close to the Master,” “Is Christianity too narrow?” or “The best news you will ever hear!”

  • God’s Story

    God’s Story

    The Bible - God's Story

    I recently listened to a sermon that had so many personal anecdotes and unrelated attempts to be relevant to the pastor’s audience that it lost almost all relevance to the Bible. Instead of being God’s story and letting the Scripture speak, it became the preachers’ story.

    God works in us and through us, but He should always be the main event. It is, after all, God’s story. It often happens when we share our testimony, and it becomes all about us, rather than about what God has done.

    I’m sure every preacher has done it to some degree. I know I’ve done it at times with Gleanings. I’ve often heard it done in personal testimonies. We’ve all been guilty of doing that.

    The Bible is God’s story. It reveals Him to us and tells us of His expectations and plans for us. It doesn’t hide from the truth or embellish.

    The bible wasn’t written to us, but it was written for us. We have a place in God’s incredible story, but we are not the main characters. The world revolves around Him, not us.

    Now, please don’t think that I’m saying your story or mine is unimportant. Our Lord loves us, died for us and filled us with His Spirit. We matter far more than we can imagine. It just isn’t all about us.

    There is a sense in which we are like extras in an old-time epic movie. The movie wouldn’t be complete without the extras, but our roles are not the center of the story.

    From the opening scene,

    In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day Genesis 1:1-5

    To the closing credits,

    He who bears witness to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Revelation 22:20-21

    It’s about Him.

    We are blessed to have small but important parts, but the whole story is designed to bring attention and glory to God.

    Let’s try to keep that in mind, as we live under His blessings and tell our small parts.

    To God be the glory.

    Be blessed
    Kevin

    Faith Matters

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