confession

200 Words or Less: Not a Man

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God is not a man, so don’t try to compare Him to one. God and man live by different standards and live their lives in different ways. Unlike man, who lies to avoid shame and judgment, God finds no need for deception. He does not feel shame, for He is the embodiment and the arbiter of Truth. Nor does He fear retribution, because He is the First Cause for creation and for behavior. Others cannot and will not influence Him. To permit this would abdicate His position as First Cause. Even when God became flesh and dwelt among us, the change of venue did not persuade Him to change His character.

He is also not a son of man. People procrastinate and change their minds. God is a planner and a doer.  He is not wishy-washy. From the beginning, His voice has declared His purposes and His person, generating a continuous line of creating moments where He has permanently altered reality. From darkness becoming light to sinners becoming saved, God has been intentional. His promises are fulfilled, because He has spoken. He is not a man, nor a son of man. He is the continuously creating, truthful, immutable, redeeming God.

200 Words or Less: Ancient of Days

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God has always been and will always be. He created what we know as “beginning” and He will create what know as “end.” Bookending these two distinct periods in history is eternity, and He is there too. Nothing is beyond His reach, nor does anything exceed His understanding. As a result history is not out of control. He created night and day, and He will do away them. He establishes rulers and deposed them. He knits together children and numbers their days  before they are born. There is nothing outside of His grasp. No wonder He says that no one can take His children out of His hands. He alone gives permission for the world to spin and sets our lives in motion. He is the Alpha. He is the Omega. To trust any other would be not only fruitless but also ignorant.

200 Words or Less: God is Clean

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Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. But the priest shall be unclean until evening. (Numbers 19:7)

Humans vary between clean and unclean. But God is eternally clean. God does not EVER require improvement, polishing, or purifying. He does not need an intercessor. He does not need to be isolated so that others will not be infected with His uncleanness. He’s forever clean.

God is self-sufficiently clean. He is the source of His cleanness. He is His own fountain of living water. He is the First Cause of all creation and, consequently, of all holiness. God does not improve or evolve, as some suggest. Cleanness erupts but never dissolves within Him. His self-sufficiency sustains His holiness.

God is wholly clean. He is the perfect atoning sacrifice for our sins, because in all ways God is clean. His directions are clean (His Word is Truth). His judgments are clean (He’s righteous in all His ways). There are no inappropriate thoughts in His omniscience, no abuse of power in His omnipotence.  There is no vulnerability to wickedness in His omnipresence. He may witness a million sins but He commits none of them. His cleanness protects Him from being tempted and from tempting.  There is no blemish in Him. He is wholly, eternally, self-sufficiently clean!

Two Question Christianity

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Since childhood the idea of competing against myself has always propelled me farther than the act of competing against others. Can I read a thicker book this time than I did last time? Can I write a longer, or better, story than I did last time? Can I climb higher in the tree? Can I run farther or faster during this track meet? Each personal success pushed me to attempt the next level.

Therefore, when I began reading the Bible at age 14 Continue reading →

The Apologetic of Power

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When I was a teenager, I was the one my friends always sought out for advice. I do not know if this is because they sensed a wisdom in me they did not receive elsewhere, or if it was due to the brash self-confidence in my intellect, which masqueraded as blunt honesty. Either way, the more I talked to people the more I realized that I tried to pursue the “third side of the coin.” That unique perspective, or outlook, that made them reevaluate their situation and choices. In truth, it wasn’t discernment at all. It was only creativity impersonating as insight. And if I was creative enough, if I gave just the right analogy, I could talk almost anyone into my point of view.

This was a talent that I nurtured. One that I cherished and believed in.

And then I had kids. Continue reading →