Tag: god

• G16b 26 for 2026 Remember our God of Wonders

  Remember Who God is, April #3,
  1 Chronicles 16:11-12

  Since we have two verses again this week, I’m looking at 1 Chronicles 16:12 in this second blog. He is a God of … wonders, miracles and…judgments.

  

  Remember His MARVELOUS WORKS,
       And
  (Remember) His MIRACLES.

  

  God’s miracles on behalf of Israel–from the 10 plagues on the Egyptians to effect their release, the parting of the Red Sea to escape the Egyptian army, the manna and water in the wilderness to provide for their needs, the destruction of the walls of Jericho–the list of God’s marvelous works in Israel’s history is long.

  However, human tendency is to forget what’s happened in the past and to ask, “What has God done for me lately?”

  

  Taking the time to remember and memorialize past miracles was essential for the Nation of Israel to maintain their faith and dependence on God, and provide motivation to continue to obey His laws. It is no less important for us today.

  So, what is the one aspect of God in this verse that is not like the other two?  His… judgments?

  

  Why might David elevate God’s past judgments to the same degree of importance as His past miracles?

  It’s easy to call up a litany of God’s miracles, but what about His judgments? I  couldn’t think of what David might be referring to at first until I remembered I had recently run across a statement by God that intrigued me. When 10 out of the 12 spies convinced Israel that trying to take possession of Cana would be impossible, God said, “…these ten times have tested Me…”  (Numbers 13 and 14)

  

  Hmm…, there were 10 plagues in Egypt,  there were 10 Commandments given by God to Israel, there were 10 rebellious spies, and there were 10 times when Israel responded by not believing God?  I had to find out what those 10 times were!

  

  God’s Judgment, Numbers 14:22-23

  As I was looking at the ten times, I realized that each time, in addition to the testing of God by an ungrateful nation of former slaves, God delivered a judgment and  even a miracle, showing how these two things were associated in Israel’s history. I also noticed that the key to the judgment of God being limited to the instigators, instead of affecting the whole Nation, was the faithful intercession for the Israelites by Moses. That was one of the most awesome parts of this study, how often God extended mercy, but ONLY IN RESPONSE TO PRAYER.

  Since walking through those 10 incidents in Exodus and Numbers would be extensive, I’m not going to present them in detail, but here’s the list if you’d like to go to the chapters and read about “these ten times,” when the Israelites grumbled, disobeyed, or doubted God’s power and provision after leaving Egypt, and then God’s acts of judgments in response.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  These ten events represented failures of Israel to trust God’s faithfulness, despite witnessing His miracles, ultimately leading to that generation being barred from entering the Promised Land, and instead wandering for 40 years in the wilderness until they were all dead and buried.

  

  After reading through those 10 instances of rebellion by Israel, the interceding prayers by Moses (NOW I see why he was such a great man of God and leader for God’s chosen people), and the 10 judgments of God, I had this reaction…

  

  Whew! There is some serious harshness displayed by God toward His chosen people when they rebelled against Him, even in what we would consider a small thing like grumbling and complaining. Yet, David placed God’s judgments on par with His miracles (smaller scale) and His mighty acts (larger scale) in this psalm of praise.

  

  I don’t think I would feel quite the same way if I suffered judgments from God like these, but remember, David was a “man after God’s own heart.”  Might that mean  David had a unique ability to appreciate God’s heart that maybe the rest of us lack?

  

  But I have to be honest here, I HAVE suffered one of those judgments and I DO feel the same as David about it, that God’s judgments are perfectly fair. He gave me plenty of time to repent and obey Him, decades in fact. However, as much as I tried, I seemed to be powerless. I have no complaints that He has afflicted me because now I’m in a better position in my life to serve Him in ministry, and that has been a lifelong desire I was never able to realize.

  

  Maybe remembering God’s past judgments is another way to be motivated to remember to OBEY God? Maybe if remembering His miracles and mighty works doesn’t generate enough “awe of God” to keep you “on the straight and narrow,” maybe remembering that He is also a God of judgment will inspire enough “fear of God” to do so?

  

  So, there always looms the possibility that if NOTHING keeps you on the path of obedience to God, you’ll get to experience one of those scary judgments yourself.  I think that might have been David’s point, if the Nation of Israel did NOT remember to obey God, for whatever reason, they could expect JUDGMENT from God…and that is EXACTLY what happened down the road in Israel’s history.

  So, whatever the explanation might be for David praising God for His judgments, as well as His miracles, this week let’s…,

  

  April 23, 2026

  bible, christianity, Exodus, faith, god, Judgments, Miracles, Remember

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• G16a 26 for 2026 Remember the God of Strength

  Remember Who God is #3.
  1 Chronicles 16:11-12 – He is a God of strength, wonders, miracles, and fairness, but most important of all, He is SEEKABLE.

  

  Since we have two verses again, let’s look at them in separate blogs.

  

  1 Chronicles 16:11 in some other versions:

  “Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.” (NIV)

  “Search for the LORD and for His strength; continually seek Him.” (NLT)

  “Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!” (NKJV)

  

  The context of 1 Chronicles 16 is the  installation of the Ark of the Covenant in a tent (tabernacle) in Jerusalem. These verses are part of a psalm of praise and thanksgiving written for the event by King David.

  The common Hebrew poetry technique of repeating a statement using different words is in evidence here.
  To SEEK Yahweh (the LORD)
  means the same as,
  To SEEK His prescence.

  The modifier is to seek ALWAYS, and then the thing Israel is to seek is God’s STRENGTH, and the implication is… INSTEAD of their own.

  The context helps us to understand that the mercy seat on the lid of the ark is where God can be sought AND FOUND by Israel, and where His strength can be obtained via prayer and supplication.

  The Ark of the Covenant was designed by God, but built by Israel. It was designed to be the place where a portion of God actually lived with the Nation as a continual sign of His Presence and His blessing.

  

  We have a similar privilege through Jesus Christ. The part of God that lives with each of us is His Holy Spirit and the ‘seat’ where He stays is the throne of our heart. As a result of the indwelling of God’s Spirit, Paul could write:

  

  Do we really believe that? Do we always take the time to seek God/Jesus Christ first and receive His strength to do the things that He wants us to do?

  

  A foundational verse about faith is Hebrews 11:6:

  

  There are several aspects of this verse that relate to seeking God. First we must come to Him in faith. If we don’t believe that He even exists, then we won’t bother coming to Him. Secondly, we must truly believe that God will grant our requests. In other words, our faith in Him pleases God, however, He rewards us because that is His nature–to love us as His children.

  That’s also what ‘waiting on the Lord’ is all about. When we’ve prayed and asked God/Jesus to do something that we realize we cannot do in our own strength, we have to TRUST that He will answer our prayer and wait for it.

  

  So, when you’re having a problem and don’t know how you’re going to deal with it, remember:

  

  April 19, 2026

  bible, christianity, faith, god, God’s Strength, jesus

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• G15a 26 for 2026, God Forgives our Sins

  Our theme for April is Remember Who God is. Our second verse is Psalm 103:2-3,

  

  The first Hebrew word in this Psalm, translated ‘Praise’ in this version, is classically translated “‘Bless’ the Lord, O My soul”, it means ‘to kneel’ at its root. It can mean, when used of people toward God, to kneel in honor of and to praise God as an act of worship.

  

  On the flip side, when used of God blessing people, it means to kneel in humility and receive a blessing–whether intrinsic, such as a word of approval or praise; or something more extrinsic, such as prosperity and success in our efforts.

  

  Benefits’ refers to good things we receive,  specifically in recompense for something done. In the case of the nation of Israel, these are benefits they have received as a result of their keeping the Mosaic covenant with Jehovah God.

  The benefits that David focuses on in verse 3 are forgiveness and healing. Let’s look more closely at these benefits that Israel received through the Law, and we as Christians receive through Jesus.  I’ll do this in two mini-blogs.

  

  2. Forgiveness (H5545) at its root, the Hebrew word means to spare from a deserved punishment, also translated to pardon. One interesting aspect of this word, it is ALWAYS used of God toward people. In other words, it is God’s gracious act of removing guilt and restoring fellowship with His covenant people.

  

  The first occurrence of this word is after Israel’s rebellion with the golden calf. After Moses chisels out replacements for the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments…

  

  …Then the LORD came down in a cloud and stood before Moses and proclaimed His name, ‘the LORD,’ as He passed in front of Moses,

  “The LORD, the LORD,
  the compassionate and gracious God,
  Slow to anger, 
  abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. 

  Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; 
  He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents
  to the third and fourth generation.”

  

  Moses then pleads with God, “O LORD, let the LORD go among us… and PARDON our iniquity and our sin” (Exodus 34:5-9, NIV).

  Moses’ plea for Divine forgiveness and continued Divine presence was based on God’s revealed character—”forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”

  Our own prayers for forgiveness are based on the Divine act of Jesus’ sacrifice and His presence within us as the Holy Spirit.

  

  We are counted as forgiven in God’s sight in Christ Jesus, but there is an experiential component to forgiveness in our lives.

  So, what is it we should confess to and repent from in our lives? Moses mentioned three things in this prayer–iniquity (wickedness), rebellion and sin. Rebellion (H6588), also translated ‘transgression,’ was what Israel had just done, specifically disobey the expressed command of God, although all three were in evidence. So, what exactly are the two general ones and how are they different?

  A. Iniquity, (H5771) also translated as fault, sin and wickedness. This is an inner state where we carry the blame for our actions against God and what is right, and we deserve to be punished for it. A modern equivalent would be LIABILITY.

  B. Sin (H2403) used to indicate the actual offence and its associated penalty. It is used for breaking general moral laws that God makes clear in our conscience and in Creation around us. Just like breaking the natural physical laws, what we think of as the laws of science, there are negative consequences. When we break the moral/spiritual laws, God requires a payment, sacrifice or expiation, to atone for the wrongdoing, sin, or crime, in order to remove guilt and make amends, often for restoring a relationship, especially WITH God Himself.

  As for Christians, Paul wrote about God’s forgiveness and it’s importance in our lives in two companion letters.

  

  

  These statements hearken directly back to the teachings of Jesus. For example, in the Lord’s Prayer:

  

  The interesting thing about the choice of words is that ‘sin‘ refers to the actual wrong act, and ‘debt‘ refers to what we owe–exactly the same meanings as ‘sin‘ and ‘iniquity‘ in the Old Testament.

  

  So, for us as Christians–followers of and beneficiaries of Christ’s atoning sacrifice–it is even more important for us to take time each day to remember that God, in Jesus Christ, forgives our sins.

  

  April 13, 2026

  bible, christianity, faith, forgiveness, god, jesus, Sin and iniquity

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• G14c 26 for 2026, Remember, God is…Our Stronghold

  Our theme for April is: Remember Who God Is and our first verse for April is Psalm 27:1

  

  The third quality of God that David lists here is Yahweh is my strength. The Hebrew noun here (H4481) is from the verb to prevail. The noun is variously interpreted as fortress, protection, refuge, strength and stronghold.

  In essence it means a place of safety that you can go to that provides protection when you are attacked, and from which you can counterattack at an opportune time, thus prevailing over your enemies. Here are some of the other verses where this concept of God as our refuge/stronghold is used.

  Since there are other, similar words often used together, the translation of this particular Hebrew word is capitalized in the paraphrase below the picture of some other verses that include this aspect of who God is.

  

  

  

  

  Yahweh, the LORD God, or Jehovah, however you want to say His name, was so much to the nation of Israel and now He is these things to us through Jesus Christ. So this week, take some time remembering,

  

  April 9, 2026

  bible, christianity, faith, god, jesus, Refuge, Stronghold

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• G14b 26 for 2026, Remember, God is…Savior

  Our theme for April is: Remember Who God Is and our first verse for April is Psalm 27:1

  

  For part b of the blog, we’ll look more closely at the second quality listed, God as our Savior.

  2. Yahweh is my salvation. Hebrew noun = yesha. (H3468)The noun is primarily used to mean physical rescue by God. It is from the verb yesha’ which is part of Jesus’ Name in Ancient Hebrew, Yahusha, or in Aramaic Hebrew, Yeshua, meaning “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh’s salvation.”

  

  Basically, anytime you see “The LORD is my salvation” or in some translations, “God my Savior,” in the Old Testament, that is Jesus’ Name! So, underneath each of the following verses where this phrase appears, I have paraphrased the verse and substituted Jesus’ Name for that phrase.

  

  

  

  

  

  WOW! Isn’t that awesome? It gives me a whole new view of Jesus in the Old Testament. I hope it does for you too.
  

  April 7, 2026

  bible, christianity, faith, god, jesus, Psalms

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• G14a 26 for 2026, Remember, God is…Light

  Our theme for April is: Remember Who God Is and our first verse for April is Psalm 27:1

  

  In Psalm 27:1, David declares Yahweh is our light (H216), our salvation (H3468), and our strength (H4481). I’ll look at some other verses that contain each of these qualities about the LORD God in three separate blogs.

  1. Yahweh is our Light. David uses a common word for ‘light’ here. Literally the Hebrew word means ‘illumination.’ It is used for anything that supplies a clear light to see by, such as the sun by day or the full moon at night. It is also used of a candle, a fire or a lamp.

  Used here figuratively of Yahweh as the source of illumination that allows us to see clearly in life, to pick a safe and right path, and to avoid pitfalls and other dangers.

  Yahweh יthe light’, as known to Israel, would be the revelation of His ways and His commands through the Law. Other places where the LORD (YHWH) is referred to as light:

  

  

  

  There are many more verses for the three qualities from Psalm 27:1. See blog b for some verses about God our Savior.

  April 7, 2026

  bible, christianity, faith, god, God is Light, Psalms

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• G12. 26 for 2026 Praise God for Redemption

  

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  March 24, 2026

  bible, christianity, faith, god, jesus, Praise, Psalms

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• G11. 26 for 2026 – Thank God for Abundance

  Continuing our theme for March, Be Thankful for Another Year, this week we hlook at Psalm 65:11 and Thank God for His Abundance.

  

  The concept of abundance from God follows a similar development in the Bible as the previously discussed concept of God’s help in battle–from physical, to psychological to spiritual–let’s follow that strand.

  In the Old Testament, we see that God’s abundant blessings have to do with material things:

  Psalm 66:12, remembers the Children of Israel leaving Egypt for the Promised Land, a place of great abundance, described as a land “flowing with milk and honey.”

  

  In Deuteronomy 28:12 God promises that IF the Israelites will obey God’s commands in their new land, THEN the Lord will “open the heavens” and bless them with an abundance of crops.

  

  Proverbs 3:9-10 is another if-then promise. IF the Israelites will honor God with their tithes and offerings,

  

  THEN He will continue to bless their crops so that they will continue to have an abundance.

  

  In Psalm 23, a metaphor for God as the Good Shepherd, the phrase “…my cup overflows…”, means God provides more than what is needed (an abundance), just as He has promised.

  

  But then in the New Testament, we see a move from a physical abundance to a psychological and spiritual abundance. In Luke 6:38, Jesus’ teaching about a generous measure in giving to others appears to be about physical things:

  

  But in a similar statement recorded in Matthew, we see Jesus also means how we measure out intangible things.

  

  So, in John 10:10 when Jesus says He came to give us an abundant life, is that an abundance of things, or of something less tangible?

  

  Actually there is a clue in the Old Testament. In Exodus 34:6, when God revealed Himself to Moses, one of His qualities was, “abounding in lovingkindness.” This speaks to the character of God.

  

  Since God’s character abounds with love, then it is natural that He gives generously of Himself and anything that it is within His power to give.

  As Providence, He provides for our physical needs. 2 Corinthians 9:8.

  

  But what our God truly wants to give us are the things our heart and spirit need inside. Such as joy, peace and hope.

  

  Also in 2 Corinthians, we see that there is a purpose for God’s generosity to us as Christians. We are given all that we need so that we can, “abound in every good work.” We’re supposed to be doing God’s good work!

  This point is made clearest in Ephesians 2:10.

  

  And that is why, a little later in the epistle, Paul says God is able to do more through us than we can ask or imagine.

  

  God’s abundance in our lives, both physical needs on the outside and psychological and spiritual needs on the inside, is not just for us, it is so He can touch those around us with the good news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, THROUGH us.

  So, look around and within–God has blessed you with an abundance. Remember to express thanks to Him for it and then GET BUSY!

  

  March 16, 2026

  Abundance, bible, christianity, faith, god, jesus

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• G10f. 26 for 2026 – Always Show Thanks – Thankfulness

  

  6. THANKFULNESS TO GOD: …and 17b, “…giving thanks to God the Father through (Jesus).”

  

  Paul points out that it is all about God. But for us as Christians, our reconciliation to God, our relationship with God and our responsibility to God as our Creator, all flow through Jesus Christ.

  

  And notice between verses 15 to 17, Paul mentions ‘thankfulness‘ three times–‘be thankful,’ ‘with gratitude,’ and ‘giving thanks.’ If God’s agape love is number 1 on the list of our responses to being saved, then thankfulness, being thankful, and giving thanks are 1b, 2b and 3b.

  So, looking at the three commands in this practical section in Colossians, we can put it all together this way:

  

  1. God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ; therefore, be thankful, and forgive one another, just as God has forgiven us.

  

  2. God is holy, Christ died to make us holy and to bring us to God; therefore, we are to give thanks for being redeemed, and strive to be holy, just as He is holy, in our words and deeds.

  

  3. God has loved us with an everlasting love; therefore, be grateful, and love one another, just as God has loved us.

  I really can’t say it any better than that.

  In conclusion we could say, as our verse this week says, Show thanks in everything you do!

  

  March 14, 2026

  bible, christianity, faith, god, jesus, Thankfulness

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• G10e. 26 for 2026 – Always Show Thanks – Peace

  

  5. GOD’S PEACE: In order to be united in one body, we have to be at peace within ourselves so that we can then live together in a peaceful way.

  

  Peace was very important to the Jews in Jesus’ day, maybe because of the Roman occupation, the Jews felt they didn’t have it. God had prophesied there would be times like that.

  

  Whenever two Israelites of Jesus’ day met, they would say, “Shalom” in greeting to each other, translated in the Bible as, “Peace be with you.” When they parted, they would say it again.

  

  The closest practice in our culture is in Hawaii where they say, “Aloha,” as both hello and goodbye.

  Notice that Paul specifies this as the “peace of God.”

  

  Jesus said something similar when He gave a gift of peace to His disciples instead of just wishing them peace. Since it was understood that Jesus was God, Paul is likely referring to this gift of God’s peace through Jesus.

  

  This gift of peace from God was so important to the New Testament writers that it was a frequent part of their opening benedictions, and often a part of the ending benediction of their letters too.

  Here’s a nice version of the chorus of a classic hymn about God’s peace done as a Christmas greeting on YouTube.

  

  Christmas wasn’t the only time when we received gifts from God. At the first Christmas, the world received the Savior sent from God.

  

  When in faith we committed ourselves to Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we received the gift of eternal life.

  

  And we can receive the incomprehensible peace of God every day. When something happens that causes you to be anxious…, and don’t try to pretend that doesn’t happen, it happens everyday for me! When it happens, we need to take the issue to God in prayer, WITH THANKSGIVING, and we can then do a ‘gift exchange.’ God will give us His peace if we will give Him our anxiety. What a great deal!

  Are you anxious about anything coming up in your life right now? Go ahead and give it a try, God is always there, He’s always faithful. Turn your concern over to God in prayer, thank Him for His gracious care, and go on your way. Test Him and see if God’s peace doesn’t replace your worries.

  

  March 13, 2026

  bible, christianity, faith, god, God’s peace, jesus

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