Poignant statement: I prostrate in His presence in dust with awe but I also cling to Him as my Father. This is my God.
Subject: What God- The Lord and the Shepherd
Scripture: Psalm 23:1, Isaiah 40:10,11, Ps. 95:6,7
Mr. Patric Morley says: “There is a God we want and there is a God who is and they are not the same God. The turning point of our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and the start seeking the God who is.” This statement is both revealing and rebuking to us as Christians because many times we are guilty of imagining and seeking a God who we want to have rather than the God of the Bible.
In our part of the world we are always talking about God. Perhaps we are the most incorrigible religious people on earth as we have myriads of gods, gurus and spiritual teachers. All people have all sorts of ideas of gods from the lofty view of God as revealed from the Vedic times to the lowest forms of gods. As Christians we are surrounded by such people and many times we are inadvertently influenced by such ideas. So it is very important that we as Christians need to know the Biblical idea of God. If we do not have proper view of the God of the Bible then we will have faulty belief and hence faulty expectations as well.
It will be presumptuous on my part in this little portion to venture to say that this is all you need to know. My desire for you is to inspire you to know the God of the Bible. I would like to just bring two wonderful concepts on which hinges all the teaching of the Bible as far as God is concern.
First, we must know the transcending God of the Bible. I think the best definition of God is given by Himself when Moses asked God his name. IN Exodus 3:14 He said “I am that I am” This means He is just amazing to us and as Mr. Rudolf Otto describes God as ‘Mysterium Tremendum’. No one can fathom His Majesty.
In simple term we should know that God of the Bible is the God of the universe, the Most Holy God, the only Saviour of God and the mighty Judge of the world. All our human words and loftiest emotion cannot define God. He defies all definition.
Second, the most mystifying and wonderful thing is this that this God became a human being and lived among us. John says beautifully “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” No matter how much we try we will never understand this because the whole concept is beyond what we can ever perceive. The only thing we can do is believe in the Word of God and thank Him.
This great God is our God and He cares for us. Isaiah 40: “He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in His arms and carried them to his heart; He gently leads those that have young”
Again in Psalm 95 we have a very similar idea. The mighty God is equally our shepherd. In John 10 the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrates that He is the true Shepherd.
As we have entered 2009 let us fear Him as our Lord and Master and also love Him as our shepherd. Let us keep this divinely intended tension and equilibrium in our belief, faith and experience so that we will not only fear Him but love Him and not only see Him as Majestic God far away as the great I AM THAT I AM but also like a loving Savior who cares for even the most minutest detail of our lives. Yea, I worship Him as my God and love Him as my Father.
What a God we have and how we need to worship Him and love Him too! He is the Mighty God yet became a baby, creator of the universe yet held a baby in His hand, Holy God yet He was willing to be friend of the sinners, the Unseen One yet came as human and we behold His glory and Judge yet become a sacrificial lamb.
David was a shepherd boy who also became a great king. So in his experience he went through taking care of one of most vulnerable animals to ruling a great people. In his varied experience he could see the hand of God in His life both as a mighty God to God being a gentle shepherd. In the same way we too need to see that our God is not only a Mighty God with all majesty but also a God who can love and embrace us with great feelings. This great majestic span is the Biblical concept of our God. So it is not only a reverential exclamation ‘What majestic God we have’ but equally an intimate cry ‘What a loving Savior He is’ So beloved let us thirst for this God of the Bible and not just someone with whom we can bargain, bribe, cajole and force to do our bidding.
Let me end with the words of Martin Luther “…We are to fear God not with a servile fear like that of a prisoner before his tormentor but as children who do not wish to displease their beloved Father. We come to Him in confidence; we come to him in boldness; we have access. We have a holy peace.”
Poignant statement: I prostrate in His presence in dust with awe but I also cling to Him as my Father. This is my God.
Lord, I confess that many times I have not really understood your majesty but equally your intimate love for me. I worship you as my wonderful God and love you as my Father.
Republished in new layout on 8/19/2013
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