Sanctification and Reformation

Part 2 (of 2) In part 1 of this post we covered the first four characteristics of the omniscience of God. We covered how God has perfect self-knowledge, perfect knowledge outside of Himself, that His knowledge is eternal, and that His knowledge is immediate and instantaneous. Today, we'll cover four more aspects of this amazing attribute of God. 5) His knowledge is exhaustive . He numbers and names all of the stars (which are incalculable). Not even a sparrow falls without His knowledge. He numbers every hair on your head. These are excerpted from verses which all use this language to help the reader grasp how complete His knowledge is. A sparrow was worthless in that day – yet God does not allow even one to fall to the ground without His complete knowledge. He has numbered the hair follicles on your head – which isn’t a particularly useful thing to know.  So if He perfectly knows these things which are not valuable, then He definitely knows what going on with and in y...

Have you ever made a mistake or been caught in a lie? It’s unnerving to know that someone else knows your sin.  But have you had that experience and then thought, “If they only knew the half of my sin they’d disown me.” If someone were to look into my heart or watch a film of my secret decisions, motives, and desires, they’d most definitely run from me. But I imagine I would run from you too because we’re not that different from each other. Sin has infected us like the worst type of spreading cancer; affecting every thought we have. So this attribute of God can be a little unnerving. It can actually cause us to try and block it out as silly and ironic as that is.  God’s omniscience means that he is all-knowing. So in running we quickly resemble Jonah who ran from the Lord and found Himself being held against his will in the belly of a whale. I encourage you, as I study and share my thoughts with you, to think like a follower of Christ. This attribute is incredibly en...

Many of us are frustrated by our kids or friends of ours who check their phones at dinner time.   They’re physically present but they’re mentally somewhere else. My wife lovingly points this out to me when I check Facebook or text messages and I’m supposed to be giving her my attention instead of my social media notifications. But unlike my easily distracted mind, God is laser-focused on everything and everyone, everywhere, at all times and in all places. That’s a hard thing to comprehend… This attribute of God, if I’m honest, was the biggest surprise to me as I studied. I knew God was everywhere but I’m not sure how much time I’ve spent dwelling on it, especially the implications of it.   In other words, God is omnipresent but why does it matter? I hope to whet your appetite so that you will look into this more.   Maybe pick a morning, go for a hike, and meditate on these passages of scripture and what they mean for the believer’s life. The puritan R...

“Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you — majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders" Exodus 15:11 The throne room of heaven is a fantastic scene. It is richly depicted in Revelation 4 and Isaiah 6. The visions give a glimpse of God in a light that is critical if we are to understand Who He is in a right way. Today, that attribute is God’s holiness. In these scenes of the Old and New Testaments, we are treated to imagery of creatures that declare God’s glory without ceasing. But there is only one attribute that is being eternally declared around that throne in heaven: God’s holiness. They are not crying out ‘ love, love, love’ or ‘ truth, truth truth’ despite being good and right attributes of God’s character. Holiness, however, is the attribute that proceeds from the mouths of those beings which were created for the express purpose of glorifying God for all eternity. Ask yourself when the last time you heard a pastor called his...

Here's an attribute that you rarely hear about with any careful study. It's the single-most misunderstood quality, the one that angers and divides believers, and splits up denominations. Rather than tackle the arguments or play the debating game, I simply want to let the magnitude of what God says about Himself to shape our understanding. It is also likely to be the single most important attribute for the comfort and hope of God's own people. Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “ There is no attribute more comforting to his children than that of God’s sovereignty. In the most adverse circumstances, through the most severe trials, they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. ” We talk about trusting God all the time but if He is not sovereign over everything, then we are left with God who is limited and finite.  There can be nothing that operates independent of God's almigh...

Some time ago I attended a worship service and they administered communion toward the end. As I approached the table an elder stood behind it and held the plate of bread out to me. We took the broken piece of bread but there was no cup to drink from. We were to dip the bread in the juice and consume them together. As I took the bread the elder said, “This is Jesus’ body, broken for you.” This is a unique ceremony where we recall our sin which necessitated the Savior to die. We communally eat the bread remembering the immense sacrifice He gave. We drink the wine/juice celebrating the new covenant Christ has made. Two things stood out to me and I do not make mention of this in judgement of anyone but simply as something to consider being followers of Christ.   Dipping the bread in the juice rather than taking them separately; and referring to Christ’s body as ‘broken’. Intinction The Doctrine: Communion is a sacred thing. It is more than ritual, although...

Perhaps the most impactful spiritual undertaking I’ve ever encountered was a deep study of God’s attributes. I did not expect how transformative it would be.  After all, we already know God’s love is great, He is eternal, He is powerful, He is merciful, He is just, He is great. But I was wrong about thinking I understood Him. As I studied these attributes in a more meaningful way – I was compelled to worship God. The music I sang seemed insufficient to give God the praise and glory He deserves. Below, and for the next few posts, I will give you a few of the highlights. However, I highly recommend reading A.W. Pink’s book entitled “The Attributes of God.”   It will walk you through most or all of these in a far better fashion than I can. You can do yourself no greater favor than to study and know God; His attributes in detail will thoroughly overwhelm that process. Doctrine (truth): “In the beginning, God…”   Genesis 1:1 “…You [God] are from everlasting.” Ps...

I'm embarking on a second Masters degree but this time it's not secular - it's seminary.  I realized that after my first Masters I left with a bunch of papers I had written, and books I had purchased, but when I looked back at my classes there were certain ones I couldn't really recall very well. I knew about them, and the books I'd read, but no 'A-Ha' moments came flooding back.  I know they were there but I've never been consistent at journaling so some of those moments got lost in the flood of more books, papers, and busywork. So, I decided to start a blog to record the things I'm learning, struggling through, and spiritually trying to process.  Sanctification and reformation is an ongoing process in the life of the believer. Sanctification is God's process within us to make us more holy and conformed to his Son's image. Reformation is a more drastic work that typically characterizes the church or larger movements in a person's lif...