Author: Reformed Baptista

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 35

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Day 35

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…and withall most just, and terrible in his judgments…”

Scripture Lookup

Nehemiah 9:32, 33.

Reflection

At first glance, learning that God is terrible in His judgements seems harsh. The notion of a stern, vindictive overseer who doesn’t understand our condition is thought of by many who view His law as stringent and His punishments as severe. Some recoil and want to crawl back to the loving, merciful God they envision, the one who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Both are incorrect views of God, and neither are to be desired. To ignore sin would cause God to not be good. And therefore His love and mercy would not be good, either.

God is never harsh. To be harsh implies that He goes beyond what is necessary in His judgments. Rather, He is most just. As such, He will never let sin off the hook. It must be punished. And sin is so repugnant to God that it requires a terrible punishment. Yet that punishment is ultimately fitting; no more than required, no less than required.

Often in our history people have been allowed to get around the law of the land, whether due to position or popularity. (Certain politicians immediately come to mind.) Yet there is no partiality with God. Every transgression is dealt with. And that is just as awesome and wonderful as His love and mercy.

Ascribe greatness to our God!

The Rock! His work is perfect,

For all His ways are just;

A God of faithfulness and without injustice,

Righteous and upright is He.                                -Deuteronomy 32:3,4 (NASB)

Questions to Consider

  • Does the fact that God is most just comfort you? Why or why not?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 34

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Day 34

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…most loving, gracious, merciful, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, the rewarder of them that diligently seek him,…”

Scripture Lookup

Exodus 34:6,7.

Hebrews 11:6.

Reflection

The way people drive gets on my nerves. “They should know better! What does he think he’s doing? I’m not a mind reader!” may or may not be heard when I’m behind the wheel, but it is what I think when on the road. I admit it: I get impatient with other people. I know I’m not alone in struggling with impatience. Ever wait in a long line at the grocery store? Or have a dawdling child? How about that annoying habit of your husband?

But God is long suffering. There is no impatience with a being outside of time and space. This patience is an attribute of a God who is also loving, gracious and merciful. Sometimes patience can be viewed as a weakness, like the kid who is pushed around by bullies and doesn’t stand up for himself. Yet God has no limits to His power, and this includes the power to restrain His wrath. Every sinful offense does not escape His notice, and He hates sin, yet still He is able and willing to forgive. This is a patience filled with strength.

Keeping this in mind, we should strive to be patient ourselves. This means checking my thoughts the next time I’m cut off on the highway. It means being ready to forgive others, and overlooking non-sinful offenses.  Not easy to do. In fact, it’s impossible on our own, so let’s ask our gracious God for the strength and ability only He can provide.

…to be patient is to be divine, and to show ourselves acquainted with the disposition of God. -Stephen Charnock

Questions to Consider

  • What causes you to lose your patience?
  • Are you trying to be patient in your own strength?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 33

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Day 33

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…for his own glory,…”

Scripture Lookup

Proverbs 16:4.

Romans 11:36.

Reflection

“Who made you?”

“God.”

“What else did God make?”

“All things.”

“Why did God make you and all things?”

“FOR HIS OWN GLORY!”

When going through the Children’s Catechism with my brood, this answer is always greatly emphasized. (Sometimes it’s even shouted.) But why shouldn’t it be shouted? Think about what the Confession has said so far about who God is, and the more you reflect upon it, praise should erupt!

God has created and ordered all things according to His will, which is unchangeable and righteous. If God were any less than He is, than it would seem selfish to work all things for His glory. But He is the best, most extraordinary, perfectly good God. There is none like Him. He created all things. Because of Him all things live and move and have their being. All things owe their allegiance to Him. Therefore, He shall have the glory forever. And justly so.

You are created for His glory. Do not lose sight of that!

To do all to the glory of God is to make a virtue of necessity; for all shall in the end be to him, whether we will or no. -Matthew Henry

I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever. -Psalm 86:2

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. -Matthew 5:6

For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. -1 Corinthians 6:20

Questions to Consider

  • How does knowing that God works all things for His own glory affect you? Does it change how you’re thinking? Does it change any of your actions?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 32

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Day 32

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…most wise, most free, most absolute, working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable, and most righteous will,…”

Scripture Lookup

Psalm 115:3.

Isaiah 46:10.

Reflection

Since God is “every way infinite”, it makes sense that He would be “most” holy, wise, free and absolute. His wisdom is essential to his being. He is unlimited and unconstrained. So having infinite wisdom and an unbridled power, He is never hindered in carrying out His will. And that will is ALWAYS good, and that will DOES NOT CHANGE.

Wisdom is the splendor and lustre of knowledge shining forth in operations, and is an act both of understanding and of will; understanding in counselling and contriving, will in resolving and executing: counsel and will are linked together. -Stephen Charnock

How often do we think otherwise, though? When we go through frustrating and difficult seasons of life, we are tempted to disavow these aspects of God’s nature. “God must not know what’s best for me”; “God must not be in control”; “God is not fair.” Or we think that somehow we can manipulate God into giving us the outcome we want. In those times we forget just which God we are dealing with! This is why it is imperative to keep reminding ourselves of who God is, so when those times come we can resist the temptation to mistrust Him.

Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! -Romans 11:33

Questions to Consider

  • Do you admit that God is most wise?
  • Are you willing to submit to His will, and trust that it is righteous?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 31

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Day 31

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…every way infinite, most holy…”

Scripture Lookup

Isaiah 6:3.

Reflection

God is absolutely holy.

What does that mean?

Thomas Vincent describes it this way:

The holiness of God is his essential property, whereby he is infinitely pure; loves and delights in his own purity, and in all the resemblances of it which any of his creatures have; and is perfectly free from all impurity, and hates it wherever he sees it.

That is both terrifying and awesome.

That God is absolutely holy is terrifying because this holiness sets Him apart from any other being. Terrifying because God is so holy that sinful beings cannot approach Him. If you attempt to come to God on your own terms, by your own strength, you will fail to know Him, because you cannot last in God’s presence with the stench of your sin still clinging to you. “I’m not that bad,” you may think. But any sin is an affront to God. What does darkness have to do with light? (2 Corinthians 6:14) “God is a perfectionist!” might be your next cry. Yes. Yes, He is. And He is perfectly good and just to set the standard of holiness, since He is most holy. How can we even begin to approach Him?

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ… -Ephesians 2: 4,5

That God is absolutely holy is awesome because this holiness is essential to God. There is no blemish upon His holiness whatsoever. Have you ever been outside after it has snowed, and the sun shines so that everything is blindingly white? Or have you seen polished metal that gleams? And yet those elements of snow and metal still have impurities in them. God is so holy that the seraphim have to cover their eyes. And yet He provides a mediator in Jesus Christ. He sends His Spirit to dwell in those who trust Christ, conforming us to the image of His Son, and He delights in that!

Question to Consider

  • Have you ever praised God for His holiness?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 30

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Day 30

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…incomprehensible, almighty…”

Scripture Lookup

Genesis 17:1.

Reflection

God is incomprehensible. We can’t fully understand Him. So there is no point in learning about Him, we should close up shop and head home. Right?

If you’re still reading this blog, you know the answer is no.

How do we learn about God in the first place? If we think back to Chapter 1 of the Confession, we have our answer. God reveals himself to us through His word. It is He that opens our eyes to the glorious truths about himself.The Holy Spirit works to guide us into all truth (John 16:13), and that includes learning about Himself.

While we are finite and cannot grasp fully all that an infinite God is, we know that He is able to do all His holy will. He is almighty, with no limitations to His power! “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”(Jeremiah 23:27)

So do not fear to dive into studying God, because you will never reach the bottom of the well of knowledge concerning Him. Do not fear that you cannot understand Him; He is incomprehensible, but He will enlighten you concerning Him. Do not think that you are not intelligent enough to learn about Him, for He is the Almighty, and what He has said, He is able to do and will do.

Question to Consider

  • Have you ever thanked God for revealing Himself to you?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 29

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Day 29

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…eternal,…”

Scripture Lookup

Psalm 90:2.

Reflection

Eternity. To our minds, it conjures up a very looooong time. For example, when my 4-month old cries before finally falling asleep at night, it “feels like an eternity” to my tortured Mommy heart. Or when sitting in a traffic jam. So often when we hear that something is eternal it has negative connotations. As we live in a constantly fast-paced world where even the movies of 40 years ago seem slow-moving compared to the quick and flashy films of today, it may be difficult to think of something eternal as desirable.

Likewise, when we hear that God is eternal, our first thoughts might be that He has existed a long time and is quite old, like Michelangelo’s erroneous depiction on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. However, that is far from the truth! Remember, God is not limited by time:

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. -2 Peter 3:8

To have had no beginning, to have had no end, but be in a constant state of existence, that is God. He is the great “I AM”, after all: not the great “I was” or “I will be.” For God to be eternal means that He is constant. As such, His promises are constant. His goodness is constant. Instead of being affected by age, He is always the same.

Time is fluid, but eternity is stable; and after many ages, the joys will be as savory and satisfying as if they had been but that moment first tasted by our hungry appetites. When the glory of the Lord shall rise upon you, it shall be so far from ever setting, that after millions of years are expired, as numerous as the sands on the sea-shore, the sun, in the light of whose countenance you shall live, shall be as bright as at the first appearance; he will be so far from ceasing to flow, that he will flow as strong, as full, as at the first communication of himself in glory to the creature. -Stephen Charnock

Eternity is not boring and doesn’t grow old. And neither does our eternal God. What a glorious God we serve!

Questions to Consider

  • Compare the duration things of this world to the eternity of God.
  • How does the eternity of God affect your interaction with the world?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 28

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Day 28

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…immense,…”

Scripture Lookup

1 Kings 8:27.

Jeremiah 23:23.

Reflection

You cannot escape God.

Why?

Because He is immense. He fills up every bit of time and space and beyond. He is far away in some distant realm, and also with you and with me. “for in Him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:28) Stephen Charnock writes:

He is everywhere, because no creature, body or spirit, can exclude the presence of his essence…Not absent from anything, but so present with them, that they live and move in him, and move more in God, than in the air or earth wherein they are; nearer to us than our flesh to our bones, than the air to our breath…

If God is present everywhere, does that mean we can worship trees and each other? That would be a no. God might be present everywhere, but that doesn’t mean that those things are God. Charnock again:

We live and move in God, so we live and move in the air; we are no more God by that, than we are mere air because we breathe in it, and it enters into all the pores of our body…

It is sobering, unsettling, yet ultimately comforting to think that God is immense. Sobering, for there is nowhere where He is not. That includes hell. There is no absence of God in Hell. No one can flee from God’s presence. Unsettling, for since God is everywhere, nothing (and I mean nothing) is hidden from his sight.Thankfully for us sinful creatures, He has provided provision through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of that, for those that trust in Him, knowing that God is so near to us always is a great comfort. Isaiah 41:10: “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.”

Questions to Consider

  • Does knowing that God is immense change how you act when no one’s around? Should it?
  • Take some time to read Psalm 139 and praise our immense God.

A Little Time With the 1689: Day 27

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Day 27

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…who is immutable…”

Scripture Lookup

Malachi 3:6.

Reflection

Everything changes.

You change. The cells in your body die and are replaced. The way you think, look and act is different at age 5 than at age 50. You dye your hair. You wear sweatpants one day, and dress up the next. You grow up.

Your relationships change. Best friends may have a falling out and drift away. A married couple grows closer together through the years. New neighbors move in next door, old ones move across the country. Loved ones die, and newly loved ones are born.

The world around you changes. Summer, winter, spring, fall. Sunny one day, snowy the next. Day and night.  The technology you use. The businesses and companies you utilize. All change, and at a seemingly faster pace every day.

Everything changes.

But God.

God does not change. Nothing will ever be added or taken away from God. Not one of his attributes change – He is always just, loving, merciful. His knowledge and power do not change. His existence does not change. His will does not change. Nothing we do can change Him.

Immutability gives us Christians comfort. How many times in life have you been excited about something or someone, only to be disappointed later? With God there is no disappointment, because He does not change. You can fully trust Him, for He is constant.  His word can be trusted, because it is true and does not change. His promises are sure because He is immutable!

Great is Thy faithfulness O God my father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee:

Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;

As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.  -Thomas Chisolm

Questions to Consider

  • Do you have trouble trusting God?
  • How does God’s immutability bring you comfort?

A Little Time With The 1689: Day 26

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Day 26

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light, which no man can approach unto,…”

Scripture Lookup

1 Timothy 1:17.

Deuteronomy 4:15,16.

Reflection

Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes…

There is a tendency in our culture to think of God as a being made in our own image. There are those who try to manipulate Him: Oh, God, if You do x, y, or z, I promise that I will follow You forever. There are those who think that we can hurt God’s feelings. But is God affected by us?

God does not change, and is infinite in perfection. In this God is remarkably uncomplicated. He is a Spirit, a “most pure Spirit.“If He is a Spirit, then would He have a body? Obviously not. If He is a Spirit, and has no matter, can we see Him? No. Can you dissect God into sections? No, God is not a composite of things. He simply is. He exists, and has always existed. He is the only one who has never had a beginning and will never have an end. To think that we could somehow affect God is essentially saying that we can hold some power over God. What a ludicrous and presumptuous idea! Yet how often do we, in our sinful state, try to negotiate with God?

Question to Consider

  • Have you ever thought that you could make God do something?