God and the Holy Trinity

I wrote this poem with the intention of displaying God's character in an artful way. It is when we try to gaze into the face of God that we realize our true sinful state. And when we see our true sinfulness, it makes His grace all the more precious, glorious, and wonderful. God is so vast, He certainly cannot be described or contained in one poem. He could not be contained in all the books and libraries that exist either. In fact, He is infinite and cannot be contained in the cosmos! Yes, this is someone worth writing about, reading about, and living for!

The Lord is God. There is no other.
He's infinite in being and perfection.
He is not dependant on another.
His essence is beyond all comprehension.

He alone has immortality.
He is a most pure spirit invisible.
Immutable and most holy
He works all things according to his counsel.

A God most wise, infinite, and free
Who's dwelling is in light unapproachable
Who's full of splendor and of glory
Unending, without beginning, eternal

A patient God who's longsuffering
One who forgives and pardons iniquity
Who's merciful, good, and loving,

Yet just and will by no means clear the guilty.

A God who alone is all-knowing

There's nothing that is hidden from His sight.

The Lord is powerful, almighty.

He's immeasurable in strength and matchless in might.

The Lord is completely sovereign,

Most holy in all His works, counsels, and plans.

He has dominion over all creation.

He deserves our worship and obedience to His commands.

In this one God are three persons,

All one in power, attributes, and eternity.

There are three persons but no divisions.

Each with different roles but equal in divinity.

(I used the "1689 Baptist Confession of Faith" edited by Peter Masters as a guide for this poem. I do not, however, affirm the impassibility of God. Thus, I did not include this doctrine in my poem. I have not found this doctrine to be biblical. Wayne Grudem's "Systematic Theology" is very helpful on this subject. He explains were this doctrine came from and why it is not Biblical.)

What The Disabled Taught Me

Two of my sisters, my grandmother, and I were blessed to be able to serve at a camp for people with special needs called Joni and friends family camp a couple of weeks ago. I went with the intention of blessing others, but I was the one who was blessed by the experience. The lessons I learned while being there were priceless! 

Every Good Thing

One thing that I became increasingly aware of was the fact that everything we have is a gift from God!

I discovered that I had thought of my mental and physical abilities as things that were rightfully mine. I did not realize that God did not have to give me the abilities that He would be totally fair in not giving them to me. As I spent time with the blind, the crippled, and the mute I realized that the things I thought were my right were really a gift.  I did not earn them, and God had no obligation to me, but he gave me everything that I have. The only reason I can speak, see, reason, hear, walk, read, eat, breath, or do anything is because God has given me that gift. Some of the people had feeding tubes and had never eaten anything orally. I realized that even something as simple as eating an ice cream cone is a gift from God! James 1:17 says, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." God does not give us all the same gifts, but we are each given gifts. We must realize that they are from God and praise Him for them. I learned thankfulness.

Helpless

There were two twin brothers who were both in wheel chairs there. They had such bad seizures that they could not even be in a room with ceiling fans because the motion triggered their seizures. These two boys could do absolutely nothing for themselves and were dependant on others to everything for them. I thought, "How sad. They must feel so helpless!" It was then that I realized that all people are dependant on someone else for everything. We are all dependant on God For everything, some of us just do not know we need Him. Hebrews 1:3a says,"And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power." We are all helpless and our only hope is to call out to God for mercy.

No Room For Boasting

Over the week I was brought face to face with my ugly pride. I realized that if everything I had was a gift, then all the things my pride had stood on were crumbling. My academic achievements were only possible because God had given me a capable brain. My physical achievements were only  possible because God had given me a capable body. I can do nothing without Him! Romans 3:27a " Where then is boasting? It is excluded." I learned that there is simply no room for boasting. 

Valuable

There was one boy at camp who everybody knew and loved. His name was Judson, but everyone called him Juddy. His entire face was always absorbed in a smile. He could not do anything else, but his joy was contagious! I realized that I placed so much of my value and other's value in our abilities. I realized that I had been selfish in my relationships, seeking to gain rather than to give. True love is giving of ones self freely to benefit another. There were other children there who were moody and did not have pleasant dispositions. These children caused me to examine my own motives in serving. I had a choice to make, to love or not love. It is easy to love people with pleasant dispositions or people who are talented. The true test of our love is if we love those who have nothing to offer us back and who are not grateful. I learned that we should value people not because of what they can do or even who they are, but because they are valuable to God.

I hope to be able to serve at this camp again, and I am so thankful for the lessons God taught me! God used the disabled to enabled me to see my own disabilities and weaknesses. We are all disabled in some way or another, we all have special needs, and we all need a Savior! 

No Place Wither You May Flee

I do not really know who wrote this, but I thought It was worthy of being quoted. I read it in a book, and the author was not cited. It was actually a quote, of a quote, of a quote, of which I am now going to quote.

"When you wish to do something evil, you retire from the public into your house where no enemy may see you; from those places of your house which are open and visible to the eyes of men you remove yourself into your room; even in your room you fear some witness from another quarter; you retire into your heart, there you meditate: he is more inward than your heart. Wherever, therefore, you shall have fled, there he is. From yourself, whither will you flee? Will you not follow yourself wherever you shall flee? But since there is One more inward even than yourself, there is no place where you may flee from God angry but to God reconciled. There is no place at all wither you may flee. Will you flee from Him? Flee unto Him."

You can hide in your house, in your room, or in your thoughts. You cannot hide from yourself though, and you cannot hide from God. You will know what you have done, and God will too. The only way to flee from God's anger is to be reconciled to Him. Are you fleeing from God? Does your conscience bother you? Do you wish you could be at peace in your soul and at peace with God? "as though God were making an appeal through [me]; [I] beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20. Trust in Christ for your righteousness and turn from your sins! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."Colossians 2:13-14. Your debt can be canceled, and you can be set completely free! Will you flee from Him? Flee unto Him!

Too Bad for Heaven?

What About Them?
Did you ever wonder who you will see in heaven? Have you ever wondered if you will see that friend you have not talked to in years? What about your that person who died unexpectedly or the people you read about in history? Chances are you have wondered about this, but have you ever wondered if cereal killers, rapist, jihadist, murderers, thieves, drug addicts, child abusers, and abortion doctors will? Did you ever wonder if some of the past famous criminals will be in heaven?

Immoral and Impure
Ephesians 5:5 is an interesting verse :"For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."Does this verse mean that there will be no cereal killers, rapist, jihadist, murders, thieves, drug addicts, child abusers, or abortion doctors in heaven then? These would certainly be immoral and impure people would they not? Is there no hope then for these people? Are they too bad to go to heaven? I would like to make two points concerning this verse.

1. The only people who will be in heaven are immoral, impure, and covetous people. 
2. Every person who has ever lived is immoral, impure, and covetous (Rom 3:23).

In Context
What then? Do I stand opposed to the word of God? By no means! We must not pull scripture out of context. By reading the surrounding verses and chapters, we can understand what Paul meant. The next three verse say. "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord."

1. One thing we see in this passage is that these people are sons of disobedience. These are people who habitually disobey. In 1 John 3:10 we read, "By this the children of God and the children of the Devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God." Christians do disobey, but they are not sons of disobedience. This passage in Ephesians is not saying that people must be perfect to go to heaven. It is saying only those who have been born again and are no longer sons of disobedience will be in heaven. We are all sinners and if we had to be perfect no one could go to heaven. 
2. The next thing we see is that Christians all formerly live in darkness, but after salvation are light in the Lord. All Christians used to walk in darkness. No one is born a Christian. The only people who will be in heaven are immoral and impure people; however, they do not continue to live in darkness after salvation. They become light in the Lord.

The "Too Bad Myth"
The truth is we are all too bad to go to heaven, but no one is too bad to be forgiven. Most people have the idea that there are degrees of sinfulness; however, there are degrees of sinning but not of sinfulness. What do I mean by this statement? I mean that one may not sin as much as another, but they are no less sinful. Adam and Eve were separated from God after their first sin. All they did was eat a piece of fruit. James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." If you break one law, you are a law breaker. You can break more laws, but you were already a law breaker the first time you broke the law.

By Grace Through Faith
In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works so that no one may boast."We are not saved by works but by grace through faith. It is all a gift. Even the faith we have is a gift from God. We cannot even trust in Christ unless we are born again by the spirit. (Eph 2:1-7) We are all just as lost as the worst man who ever lived, and we are all saved by grace exactly like everyone else who is saved.

The Only People
I do not know the list of names in the book of life; however, I do know who the only people who will be in  heaven are. Only sinners who have been saved by grace through faith.

The Word of God

I wrote this poem with the intentions of encapsulating all the main points that the first article of the "1689 Baptist Confession of Faith" makes. I wanted to exhibit the rich doctrine in the article in a beautiful and poetic way. I hope this blesses you!

The word of God is  complete.
No other book can compete.
The Holy Scriptures do suffice
For salvation, doctrine, and daily life.

God's existence is proved by nature,
But nature is quite a limited teacher.
God's plan of salvation and will for man,
Aren't understood by the works of His hand.

Before He spoke in many ways,
But scripture is His method today.
Sixty six books do compose

The entire cannon that is now closed.

Scripture needs not explanation,

Nor man's approval or recommendation.

God's Word makes the simple prudent.

Every believer should be it's student.

It doesn't matter what churches say. 

It's God's word we're bound to obey.

If any man's teachings contradict,

We must follow scripture, holding fast to it.

The Bible is God breathed.

It's contents to pure to be man conceived.

Nature is in one accord

With the testimony of God's word.

The proofs without and proofs within,

Can't convince minds darkened by sin.

Unless a man be born again,

God's kingdom he can not enter in.

Not all things are equally plain,

But essential things need not be explained.

Whenever things are hard to grasp,

We must read scripture in light of the rest.

When controversies o'er doctrines arise

Scripture is to be our guide.

While others turn to their opinions,

We will trust in God's declarations.

Out of Comfort Zones

"You're really making me feel uncomfortable right now. Can we please just not talk about this any more?"

Walking on Eggshells
I had been sharing my faith with a group of people around my age. This girl had already told me she was an atheist, and I must admit to you, I was a bit out of my own comfort zone. I was not intimidated by her beliefs, but I just don't like to make people feel discomfort. I like people to think I am "Such a nice girl" and that I am "So sweet". We can come up with many different reasons not to share the gospel. Sometimes we just do not want to make others feel uncomfortable though, and we feel like we are walking on eggshells. Whatever our reasons are, we must put them aside. We do not have to feel comfortable or make others comfortable; we just have to be obedient and share the gospel.

Time
I had one evening to spend with these strangers, most of which was quite interrupted. There was only a  short window of time that I could actually talk to these people. As I prepared my mind for the evening, I thought about what I wanted to say to them. I was determined that I would not let my opportunities slip through my fingers. I knew that I would probably never see these people again. Ephesians 5:16 says to "[make] the most of your time because the days are evil." One reason we must not be too concerned with  others' momentary comfort, is because we have limited time with them. We may not ever get another chance to share the gospel, and we cannot count on tomorrow. We must have eternity in view, not just the moment.

Loving Your Neighbors!
Christ did not command us to make others feel comfortable; He commanded us to love others. The most loving thing we can do for another person is to share the gospel with them. We must love them more than we love ourselves, our popularity, and even their opinion of us. Love for others must drive us to share the gospel. If we aren't sharing the gospel, then we do not truly love others.

Our God-given Ministry
What is a Christian's ministry? Are we supposed to end world hunger, lessen poverty levels, care for the sick and the elderly? Yes, we are supposed to do all of these things, but that is not our primary ministry. These causes cannot replace our main ministry. According to scripture Christ, "gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation." Our ministry is to share the gospel! This takes effort and we might not always feel comfortable doing it, but this is the work that God has given us to do.

Squirmy Syndrome
I replied to the girl,"Sure we don't have to talk about this anymore, but please think about what I said, because it doesn't matter what I believe if it's not true. If I didn't believe in gravity and jumped of a building, I'd still have to face the law of gravity. I guess if I die and I'm dead, then I won't even know it. But if I'm right, and you die then you will have to face God on judgement day."OF COURSE SHE WAS UNCOMFORTABLE! She was uncomfortable because her conscience told her that there was a God and she had been suppressing the truth (Romans 1). She knew there was a God but she didn't want there to be one. She was uncomfortable because deep inside she wasn't convinced of her own beliefs. Truly, if I had tried to explain to her that I had a little man who was one inch tall that lived in my pocket she would have laughed. She would not feel uncomfortable at all. She was uncomfortable because she thought she might be wrong and she didn't want what I said to be true. In fact she went to the restroom three times during the fifteen minute period I was sharing the gospel. She literally couldn't stay still.

Do not be surprised if no one claps for you, shouts encore, or ask for your autograph after you share the gospel. Others will probably be uncomfortable, and you may be uncomfortable too. If you share the gospel though, you have been successful! Your job is just to share the gospel faithfully. For some of us, that may be out of our comfort zones. Sometimes Jesus calls us to walk on raging seas though. The key is to fix our eyes on Jesus not the waves. It is outside our comfort zones that miracles happen, and if we fall Jesus is faithful and will pull us up when we call out to Him.

Stand in Awe

Have you ever looked at a small thing that God created, such as a seed, that made you realize the vastness of God? Have you ever marveled at how the seasons take place in order year after year, or have you ever tried to wrap your mind around how a small egg and sperm contain every bit of information for an individual human being? Do you wonder how their are no exact repetitions in snowflake designs or human DNA codes? Have you ever looked at your eye and thought about all that it does? Your eyes are constantly transferring information to your brain and interpreting it! You have to trust your eyes whenever you drive. If they relayed incorrect information to your brain, or if they were too slow at relaying it, you could wreck! Your eyes interpret so much information almost instantaneously! No one has a pair eyes exactly yours! Do you ever consider why your body can repair itself, why your heart beats rhythmically, or why you can remember?

 It amazes me to look at creation, yet how much greater, and complex is The Creator of all things! His ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours we can not even begin to grasp who He is.

Have you ever contemplated the awesomeness of God? Has His infinite power ever baffled you? Did you ever feel as though your brain would explode when you considered that God has always been and will always be? Think about who He is and stand in Awe!

The Power of God

*Hebrews 12:29 "our God is a consuming fire."

*Jeremiah 10:12 "It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;

¹³ He makes lightning for the rain, and brings out the wind from His storehouses."

*Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

*Hebrews 10:31 "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

The Wisdom of God

*1 Corinthians 1:25 "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

*1 Corinthians 3:19 "For the wisdom of the world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ' He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE  WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS'";

*Isaiah 55:8-9 "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord.'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'"

The Holiness of God

*1 Peter 1:6 "For it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.' "

*Isaiah 6:3 "And one called out to the another and said, ' Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of host, the whole earth is full of His glory."

The Goodness of God

*Psalm 38:4 "O taste and see that the LORD is good: how blessed is the man who takes refuge in him."

*Psalm 107:1 "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, For His loving kindness is everlasting.

The Kindness, Love, and Mercy of God

*Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

*Romans 2:4 "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of god leads you to repentance?"

*John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Stand in awe of this AWESOME GOD with me! Praise His name for His wonderful works! Fear the LORD and tremble before him! He is worthy to be praised! (Originally posted on 1/22/13)