Supremacy Of Christ

Alex Bangle on February 1, 2011

It is important and healthy for us to wrestle with big thoughts about God. One of these being Christ ‘s Supremacy over all things. “Psalms 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. ” Here we see evidence of Christ ‘s Supremacy, that He does what pleases Him in all creation. I am humbled by this passage and I am very encouraged by it. Since God is Good, Holy and Just then He has all rights to do as he pleases and we should rejoice in this.

“Isaiah 46:10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose “. I love the power of this verse. Christ declares from the start, the things that would be done. This assures me of God ‘s control over everyday, but even more of the Trinity ‘s power and eternal presence. The statement God makes is an absolute assurance “shall stand ” and “I will ” and that should comfort us that we don ‘t live in chaos but in God ‘s control.

Joy of the Lord

Alex Bangle on January 30, 2011

Psalm 51:12 “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. ” It is hard to maintain joy during at all times everyday. There are days when things may not go as planned or we encounter negative circumstances. I am learning that in all things let the joy of my salvation overcome all sin and strife. That Joy being Jesus Christ, Son of God.

I struggled with how that works, and it was so fitting yesterday on what our pastor preached on. I realized that this joy comes and is rooted in Christ and our salvation. Which means we must abide in Him at all times. The daily joy is available for those that will let go of worldly things and their pride and let God be the center and focus of their every moment.

The Trinity

Alex Bangle on January 27, 2011

Introduction

“God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God ” – Definition by Wayne Grudem. Even though the bible never states the word Trinity, we see from scripture overwhelming evidence of a triune God. It is often easy for us to miss the importance of this in our everyday life. Realizing that God is 3 persons yet still one God is an amazing truth that can radically change the way we live and pray. I do not plan to explain the trinity but simple put it out there as truth and pray that we all may seek God in honesty and truth. Please pardon me for lack of explanation or reference as this cannot be contained into 5 simple blogs. Yet the daily joy it brings to even glimpse the Triune God as He is overwhelms and challenges me and I hope to share a part of that.

God the Father

The Father is a member of the Trinity and is fully God. Gen 1:1&3 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…And God said,… ” We see in the opening of the bible the evidence of the Father, in creation by speaking and ordering the creation of the World. John 6:38&40 “For I (Jesus the Son) have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me…For this is the will of my Father,… “. We here bridge the connection of Father and Son, God who sent the Son and the Son doing the will of the Father, mind you both the One God.

God the Son

The Son is a member of the Trinity and is fully God. Heb 1:2 “…He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world ” We now see that Jesus the Son was involved during creation, we see here clearly the Son ‘s involvement during creation. The son is fully God “Col 2:9 “In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily ” this destroys any false teaching that Jesus was only a man who God brought into heaven. Scripture shows and reveals the truth of Jesus Christ, that He is God and this is a amazing truth since Jesus Christ humbled himself to our condition enduring all that we endure and being faithful even to death on the cross.

God the Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity and is fully God. Gen 1:2 “…And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters “. I ‘ve read the opening of Genesis many times and never caught this connection of the presence of the Trinity even in the beginning. This only confirms the eternality of all members of the Trinity as God. We also see in the new testament Jesus in Acts 1:5 “…you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit… ” The trinity of God paints a wonderful and beautiful picture of the most supreme being. A picture we cannot fully understand but just stand in awe of.

Conclusion

Gen 1:26 “Then God said, Let us make man in our image… ” It is a beautiful thing to look at the 3 members of the trinity and read the verses and see the seamless interaction of the 3 members at creation, during salvation and caring out the will of God each in their own way. Although we may not understand it all it is clear that God as the Trinity is telling a wonderful story about His glory. It amazes me even more to know that if we accept and trust in Jesus Christ that we are adopted into His family, into the family of God. We don ‘t think on that as we should, that the human race which rebelled against God has been given a chance to join in communion with God as adopted sons and daughters, and that is a huge deal!

Children of God

Alex Bangle on January 20, 2011

I don’t know if that title has a beautiful sound to you, but it sure does to me. It’s been a while since I shared a song that has touch my heart so, these song lyrics are by Third Day and truly provide joy in my heart when I reflect on them. Just for me to realize that God loved me enough to adopt me as Child is amazing. “Children of God, sing your song and rejoice, For the love that He has given us all, Children of God, by the blood of His Son, We have been redeemed and we can be called Children of God…A mystery is revealed to the universe, The Father above has proven His love, Now we are free from the judgment that we deserve, And so we are called the children of God” – Children of God – Third Day.

Place God First

Alex Bangle on January 19, 2011

Such an easy concept but so hard to put into action. Placing God first in our life is a challenge because it requires self sacrifice on our part. I think we should look at the cross and realize the example that God made when sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross. Each and everyday we have opportunities to place God first, we need to change our mindset on things and let God transform us.

Glory of God

Alex Bangle on January 17, 2011

“God’s glory is the created brightness that surrounds God’s revelation of himself” – Wayne Grudem. Also described as the visible manifestation of the excellence of God’s character. Now while in day-to-day life we may not all experience this heaven meets each encounter with God, we can see His glory around us. We only need to look at God’s revelation, which does surround us in His own creation. And those who trust and follow Jesus Christ will view His fully glory in heaven (Rev 21:23)

But even now we should seek to be people that reflect His Glory “…being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another…” (2 Cor 3:18). This same idea also repeated in Matt 5:16 & Phil 2:15. Clearly showing that we reflect the Glory of God, maybe not in a visible light but in great splendor by how we serve and love our God.

God is Everything

Alex Bangle on January 17, 2011

How great is our God, how majestic is everything He does. We cannot escape his Presence and we cannot reach his Holiness. He loves us without any condition and His common grace covers everyone in every situation. His Wrath will be seen and His name will be Glorified above all. He will never run out of Love or Mercy and all we see Him for who He is. And we can rest assured we will bow before Him in His splendor and His Justice will be exercised in the end.

We are people under a great and Sovereign God, please don’t miss that today. Don’t miss the opportunity to love the least as Christ commanded, don’t forget about the lost and the hungry. Rather in every situation put aside our selfish desire and place God first and maybe just maybe we’ll get the chance through Him to reach out to someone.

God Infinite and Personal

Alex Bangle on January 16, 2011

If we ever stop to think about God and answer the hard questions we will often find ourselves struggling with balance. In our minds it is hard to grasp how big God is yet how personal He can be to each one of us. On one side He is not limited by anything that is or could exists, yet He can be very personal in our lives to where we experience His love and comfort.

Think on this though of God. Because here’s the hard part, we know by scripture God is infinite in all things, which would mean He does not need anything, including us. Yet by scripture we see He is personal to us and many of us have experienced that. And if even for a moment God needed that personal attention, He would loose His being infinite, so He is both. This truth is not a contradiction but to me an amazing view of our creator and how wonderful He is in all that He is.

Relationship with God

Alex Bangle on January 13, 2011

Through all science or doctrine or evidence there is nothing greater to our hearts then the relationship we can enjoy with God. And the wonderful thing is God is the pursuer in the relationship, He will actually come after us and reveal who He is to us. “… and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Matthew 11:27 ESV) “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.” (Romans 1:19 ESV)

These verse bring humility to my mind as I realize that I am not the one who initiates the relationship with God. But then we are relived to know that God in all power initiates it. “the Son chooses” and “God has shown it” both confirm this idea of God’s pursuit of us in His Love and Grace.

Existence of God

Alex Bangle on January 12, 2011

I’m really torn on what to write on tonight, so many big thoughts that I can ‘t put into a paragraph. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. ” (Psalm 19:1 ESV). It ‘s a beautiful thing to marvel at the existence of God. I realize that it is only us that we have been blinded from seeing it, that we suppress the truth. Because once opened to the universe around us it is astounding how everything points back to God.

All things have a cause, therefore must have been caused. There is harmony, order and design in our word, so it has to be set that way. We have a sense of right and wrong as God will cast justice one day. We all deep within cannot shake the fact that there is a God and when you stop to think and reflect on that it is truly amazing. I realize many people would argue many of those truths but again it comes back to we are so depraved from God that we naturally reject Him.