BELIEVE: Who do you believe God is?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 1: Believe in God!”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
This video is telling. Take a look: https://vimeo.com/116967898
How would you define God?
I have observed something. Every definition or description of God that mankind comes up with are the same…or at lease very similar. They fall into one of three categories:
- Something to do with nature (i.e. sun god, moon god, fertility god, etc.)
- Something to do with conscience (i.e. angry god, god who wants us to do good, etc.)
- Something to do with our soul (i.e. a feeling, a force, an energy, etc.)
Why this makes sense is because the true God instilled all those aspects around us so that we might perhaps reach out and find him.
Acts 17:26-28 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
As we looked at yesterday, nature testifies to the glory and power of God. Our conscience testifies to the justice and accountability to God. Our soul yearns for a connection with the divine.
So without the revealed knowledge of God we find in the Bible, it would make sense that every iteration of God found around the world comes from one or more of these inner realities God put in us.
But all that which is called god and not based on how God reveals himself in the pages of Scripture will fall short of a full definition and understanding of God.
That’s why we need the Bible to build on what our natural knowledge tells us to fill out the reality of who God is.
God is not just known from the glories of nature, he is the Almighty Father in heaven who designed, ordered and created all of nature…including us, as the ancients said, “We are his offspring.”
God is not just known for his justice and the one to whom we are accountable, but the one who came as a person into this world, Jesus, to appease the justice and give forgiveness for a clean conscience.
God is not just an impersonal force found in the universe around us, he is the power of his Holy Spirit who is found in the hearts of people like you and me.
As God who is one and yet three persons, he desires us to know him as he is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Nature, our conscience and our soul get us close…the very words of God reveal who he really is.
Apply: Consider other religions or definitions of God. Do you notice which category it falls into?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for revealing yourself in the pages of Scripture so we may know you more fully than just what nature, our conscience and our soul reveal. AMEN.
BELIEVE: Do you believe in God?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 1: Believe in God!”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Did anyone ever stop and ask nature if it believes in God?
What would a star or a bee or a prickly pear cactus say about its origin?
I wonder what nature would say to the theory that predominates the “science” field that says everything has evolved over billions of years and by a series of random and natural selective processes.
Would the heavens agree that they are billions of years old?
Would the earth and all that lives on it affirm those that propose evolutionary beginnings?
Not at all. Here’s what they do in their own way:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)
All creation knows its Creator. All creation, if it could, believes in the God who is introduced in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Creation’s statement of God’s existence were not just inventions of primitive man, but observations of every man. Creation’s testimony hasn’t changed. Man’s willingness to hear it has.
Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
The testimony of creation about God is what is called the “natural knowledge of God.” It’s one way apart from the revealed knowledge of God in the Bible that people can know a) that there is a God and b) that that God is a God of power, order, and simply God. This leaves people without excuse. Evolution is not the end of God, it is merely man’s “excuse” to have a need for God.
The Bible puts it pretty bluntly: Psalm 14:1 “The fool says in their heart there is no god.”
To be clear, creation won’t tell us fully who the true God is, that is why we need all the pages that follow Genesis 1:1 as God interacts with people and reveals himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
But if we are simply wrestling with the question, “Does God exist?” or “Do I believe there is a God?” Perhaps the answer isn’t to go outside and get “in touch with” nature, but to go outside and hear the testimony of nature. Perhaps you would hear God say to you similar to the words he confronted Job:
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’? (Job 38:4-11)
There was only one that was there: God himself. All creation testifies to it.
Apply: Read Job 38-39. As Job questions God’s ways, God answers with his resume of creative and directive acts. Consider ALL the ways God created, ordered and orchestrates nature to work. All of it testifies to his existence!
Prayer: Lord, Creator of all, let me hear the testimony of the world you created speak to your power and glory. Let this testimony strengthen my conviction and confidence of who you are and your love for me. AMEN.
Getting Rid of Counterfeit Gods…Part 5
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Counterfeit Gods: Getting Rid of Counterfeit Gods”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Tim Keller entitled, Counterfeit Gods.
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
I like to try to do my own repairs on my vehicle.
For the most part this goes OK. However, there are few times where I really struggle to get a part off. It is rusted, frozen, or I just cannot get any leverage. I can struggle sometimes for hours to get the part off. I scrape my arms, bump my head, and have to get a few band aids.
No joke, when I get to this point I have often remembered to ask God to help. A simple prayer of “I give up God” followed by, “Will you help me?” ironically has worked pretty well. The bolt I was struggling to loose, frees up on the next try. The electric connector I could not get off, slides right off. The part I could not get out of the way, comes right out.
Thank you God.
In life, we can struggle with many things on our own. We expend emotional energy, physical energy and hours of time trying to gain what we think we want, need, or should have. The path is filled with scrapes, bruises, headaches and more.
When we stop and think, we probably are expending all this energy struggling after counterfeit gods, trying to make something fit, hoping it will fill a void, or seeking meaning and significance somewhere other than God.
How has this worked for you? It has not for me.
When will you give up struggling/contending with the wrong things, the wrong people, the wrong objectives and surrender and say, “I give up God.” “Will you help me?”
Here’s the truth: Counterfeit gods end when I seek blessing from God!
The irony is we contend in life for the powerful, the influential, the material things to fill voids of love, value and acceptance. The Apostle Paul reminds us, “This isn’t where God chose to bring blessing. Rather he chose the weak, the shameful, and the lowly things to bring joy, hope and love to our hearts.
1 Corinthians 1:26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.
When we give up the struggle of doing life on our own, we can experience the blessing God loves to give!
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
The irony in all of this, is we work so hard to get what we think is so important from counterfeit gods and yet all along our Savior is inviting us to give up that struggle and give our focus, attention, trust to him. He will end the struggle and fill our voids with everything true and everything we need. Here’s the summary truth of this sere
When I have Christ, I have everything I need.
When I have everything I need in Christ,
I have no more need for counterfeit gods.
PRAYER: Lord, as you have exposed counterfeit gods in my heart, remove them by the power of your Spirit and fill them with every good blessing you love to give. AMEN.
NOTE to all email devotion readers who also watch our Sunday worship live online…
We are changing our schedule as of THIS Sunday to ONE service at 10am. Look forward to “seeing” you there!
Getting Rid of Counterfeit Gods…Part 4
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Counterfeit Gods: Getting Rid of Counterfeit Gods”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Tim Keller entitled, Counterfeit Gods.
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Sometimes we need help knowing where to look.
Has your child ever asked, “Have you seen my shoes?” “Have you seen my jersey?” “Have you seen my Chromebook?”
To which you as a parent respond, “Have you looked in the bin by the door?” “Is it in your hamper?” Or “Is it next to the chair you were sitting in last night?”
Parents make brownie points with their kids when their “all knowing parent sense” is able to help their child locate something they are missing.
What if we would ask God a similar question, “God, have you seen counterfeit gods in my life?”
What do you think God would say?
His words might start with the phrase, “Have you looked…”
And then followed by these four areas to look and discover if counterfeit gods lurk near by.
- Look at your imagination
- Look at the way you spend your money.
- Look at the times you felt disappointed with God
- Look at your uncontrolled emotions.
Any one of these places to look can yield one or more counterfeit gods. The connection between them all is that they all fill a void in life.
Imagination? What are you trying to escape from?
Money? What void does having wealth fill for you?
Disappointed in God? What expectation of God did you create that is not filled?
Emotions? What lurks in the iceberg of your heart that is an unresolved hurt that flares in uncontrolled emotion?
Each one of these voids must be removed and then replaced with Christ.
How does this happen? Set your hearts and minds on things above…on Jesus.
- Colossians 3:1-5 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
- 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
The voids that our imagination, our money, our lashing out at God, and our emotions fill are only going to be vacated and refilled by a counterfeit god unless those counterfeit gods are removed and replaced with Christ. And only when Christ fills those voids can we be confident to get rid of that was filling them and replace it with the heart, mind and truth of Christ.
Apply: Work through the four areas to look for counterfeit gods. Take one every other day for a week or so. What does God reveal to you?
Prayer: Lord expose my heart to your truth so that I never have another need for a counterfeit god. AMEN.
Getting Rid of Counterfeit Gods…Part 3
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Counterfeit Gods: Getting Rid of Counterfeit Gods”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Tim Keller entitled, Counterfeit Gods.
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Remove and replace.
This is key to getting rid of counterfeit gods.
Let me give you an example from our back yard. We had a tree that the canopy did not survive our Texas freeze in February of 2021. One afternoon a couple of months ago, I removed the dead branches and left the stump to have leverage to pull it out when it wasn’t so hot out. But, since I didn’t fully replace the tree, the roots still had life and started sending up saplings from the base. Pretty soon I had multiple little trees trying to make their presence fill the void from that which was removed.
Idols in our hearts not only have to be removed, but also replaced. If they are just removed, as we looked at yesterday, they will leave a void that soon another idol will fill if we are not intentional about filling those voids with the truth of God.
So what does that look like. Not to over simplify, but let me suggest two things that have worked for me.
First, remove idols through repentance.
When we understand that our heart has been set on something other than god, when we are made aware that a good thing has become an ultimate thing in our life, we must acknowledge it and repent of it. Repentance is having a change of mind toward that thing, to realize once again that even it if is a good thing, it must not be an ultimate thing. Here is God’s promise to us:
1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
When the Spirit leads us to repent and remove the counterfeit god, what fills the void?
Replace the void the counterfeit god left with the truth of the Spirit!
Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
We must fill our hearts and minds with the truths and promises of God. However, it is not an “overnight” thing. It is an ongoing and intentional practice of the Christian to allow God’s truth to replace the deceptions of Satan. Tim Keller in his book, Counterfeit Gods, puts it this way:
“This takes what are called “the spiritual disciplines,” such as private prayer, corporate worship, and meditation. The disciplines take cognitive knowledge and make it a life-shaping reality in our hearts and imaginations. Spiritual disciplines are basically forms of worship, and it is worship that is the final way to replace the idols of your heart. You cannot get relief simply by figuring out your idols intellectually. You have to actually get the peace that Jesus gives, and that only comes as you worship. Analysis can help you discover truths, but then you need to “pray them in” to your heart. That takes time. “ Keller p 175.
Let every void a counterfeit god creates on its way out be filled with the truth of God’s Spirit on the way in.
Apply: What discipline could you add to your daily/weekly routine that would give time for “private prayer, corporate worship, and meditation” to all God’s Spirit to work truth deep into your mind and heart?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving your Spirit to lead me to confess the counterfeit gods and fill my heart with your truth. AMEN.