No. Not THAT!

 There is no one who is insignificant in the purpose of God. –Alistair Begg 


We spend a lot of time talking and wondering about what (or who) God is. In Exodus, for example, God’s own self tells us: The LORD, the LORD, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness; maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness and sin. 

But have you ever stopped to recognize and ponder what God is not? This can be a tough place to wander. After all, from the time we are little, we learn that God is everything. So how can God not be something?

John’s epistle, for example, tells us the in God there is no darkness at all; yet within the darkness, we can find God. So to avoid the darkness limits our relationship with God. Confused?

Here are some other things God is not: 

God is not One who kills children through war, disease or famine. God is not a God of hatred and destruction. Or neglect. Or poverty. Or annihilation.

All those things—God may allow them, even as God’s very heart is breaking. As Creation evolves and influences itself, tragic things happen. And people allow (and make) awful things to happen. But God’s pure, loving nature is not any of those things.

Equally important: We are created in the image of God. So when we allow or commit such acts—nope. We are not acting as God created us to be. God is Love. Plain and simple. Amen.


Monday Days are beginning to grow shorter again in my neighborhood. Get up a bit early and enjoy watching the light emerge. Rest in the beauty. Song of Songs 2:8-13

Tuesday Look around you today with God’s eyes. Seek the beauty in the ordinary. Give thanks. Psalm 45:6-9

Wednesday A new month. Thirty fresh, new days we have never seen before! In the spirit of poet Mary Oliver: What will you do with this brand new, awesome day like no other? Deuteronomy 4:6-9

Thursday Leave the windows open this evening. Listen closely as night arrives and daylight disappears. Meditate on the eternity of Creator God and give thanks. James 1:17-20

Friday Offer a word of kindness to a stranger today. It’s the little things that make the biggest difference. Psalm 15

Saturday As you pray for yourself today, allow God into the darker corners you thought you had successfully hidden. Trust in the inherent goodness and mercy of the Most High God. James 1:21-27

Sunday Whether you are attending worship or not, allow your soul to receive God’s mercy and love. How will you respond? Mark 7:14-15

 

We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. God walks everywhere incognito. --C. S. Lewis

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