DEVOTIONAL – Remember our study on “The Characteristics of God, his nature, his character, and his personality.” Remember we described God as being a “god of integrity.” If you recall, we mentioned “there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts” (II Chronicles 19:7), “God changes not” (Malachi 3:6), and “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18) as three traits that God had chosen to be part of “his nature, his character, and his personality.” For us, these three traits are “the standard of measure” by which all interpretations of scripture, as they pertain to the “nature, character, and personality” of God, are compared. There appears to be many misconceptions about the God that so many claim to serve. One of the biggest misconceptions is the belief that the God of the Old Testament is much different from the God of the New Testament. It appears that the God of the Old Testament is portrayed as “a God of wrath.” In stark contrast, the God of the New Testament is portrayed as “a God of love.” Is it possible that God is one way in the Old Testament and completely another way in the New Testament? Many have even stated that as you read through the events of the Bible and the relationships God had with people, God is progressively revealing himself to man. That appears to be great for man today, but what about all those back in the beginning. Did he leave them short in their understanding of who he was? Did he not impress upon them how he operates? Can it be true that God has progressively revealed himself to man over time? Is it possible that God left “any” of our prior ancestors short in their understanding of who he is? Do you really think that God did not impress upon those before us, how he operates? If this be the case, then God himself has given us an advantage over those who came before us. More importantly, God has shortchanged those who were back in the beginning by not giving them the same opportunity as us. And though it may not appear to be so, our “standard of measure” dictates that God had to reveal himself to those before us in similar or like fashion. If not, then he showed partiality or a preference to one over another, which totally contradicts what we see in our “standard of measure.” The one thing that we have learned, things are not always as they appear to be when it comes to the things and workings of God. In order for the man to understand what God wants of him, God has to reveal himself to man. In saying that, God had to reveal himself to the first man and then to all men following the first. He could not progressively introduce himself as time went by and not show partiality to those in a future time. This is important because once we know who God is, from the beginning, then we will forever know who God is, because God says, “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). This means that whatever God did in the beginning is the same thing that God is doing today, for he is unchanged. If God changes one thing, even in the slightest, that he did from the very beginning, then he lied because he did in fact change. And according to scripture, “there is absolutely no injustice, immorality, unrighteousness, or wrong doings with God” (II Chronicles 19:7). And we find in scripture that God “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), for “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18). We trust that you can see from this brief commentary how our “standard of measure” works. We pray that both the commentary and the inspirational message will be a blessing to you as well as informative. If blessed by this message, please share so that others may be blessed as well. Amen. - Kingdom Worker Ministries Was God A Bad Guy? aDevotion.org JAMES 1:17 NKJ 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Some people have the idea that God was a mean bully -- a bad guy -- during the Old Testament, but has changed in the New Testament period to being a nice guy. But Scripture reveals clearly that God never changes. What God was in the past, He is now, and He will be in the future. MALACHI 3:6 NKJ 6 For I am the LORD, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. HEBREWS 13:8 NKJ 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Then why are there verses in the Old Testament that seem to ascribe evil to God? This question is not easily or quickly answered. There are many reasons, and we can only touch on some briefly in this article. Here are a few key points. The Bible is progressive revelation. We know more about God and His ways now than we did in the past. JOHN 1:17 NKJ 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. In the NT (New Testament) God is dealing with people differently than in the OT (Old Testament). We have a new covenant. Until the death and resurrection of Jesus the most important goal for God was to preserve the Jewish people and get Jesus here to be our Substitute. Some things had to be done to protect the people of God so that could happen. Compare it to a surgeon who amputates an arm or a leg so that the persons life may be spared. It is not an act of hatred, but of love. No one would condemn the surgeon as being guilty of anything bad. Now under the new covenant, God is able to fully display His grace. Jesus has already arose victorious. The battle for man has been won, and Jesus is Lord! Another problem is our Bible translations. None are perfect. Some verses are wrongly translated in a causative sense instead of the correct sense of allowing something to happen. The truth is that God did not cause bad things to happen. The people and the devil were responsible. But sometimes our translations make it sound like God was at fault, when He was only allowing it. Also, the devil and demons are almost NEVER mentioned in the OT. Yet when Jesus began His ministry we see them everywhere. Did they just show up then? No! Demons were present in OT times also. It is just that God did not yet reveal all that was going on. Maybe the reason God did not reveal more was to prevent people from worshiping the devil. So God just kept quiet. (The one exception to this is the book of Job, which makes it clear that all the calamity was the result of the devils actions, not Gods actions.) Another key point is that Jesus Christ perfectly revealed God to us. Look at His life. Jesus never harmed anyone. ACTS 10:38 NKJ 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. JOHN 1:18 NLT 18 No one has ever seen God. But the one and only Son is himself God and is near to the Fathers heart. He has revealed God to us. COLOSSIANS 2:9 PHILLIPS 9 Yet it is in him that God gives a full and complete expression of himself in bodily form. JOHN 12:45 NKJ 45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 2 CORINTHIANS 4:4 NLT 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who dont believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They dont understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. SAY THIS: God never has been a bad guy. #KWMinistries #dailydevotional
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 05:36:54 +0000
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