When The Lord Holds Back The Water

Posted on November 15, 2024 by heatonkent

And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

When The Lord Holds Back The Water

The Hebrews rejoiced as they prepared to leave the land they had called home for nearly four centuries. Life had become a bitter struggle as the Egyptians enslaved the people and made their lives hard with severe labor. Through the grace of God’s love, Moses had come to deliver the descendants of Abraham to fulfill a promise made many centuries before. The land of promise was near where the Hebrews lived in Goshen. If the people took the route by the sea, they could quickly arrive at the border of Canaan. When the time came for Moses to lead the people out of Egypt, the Lord led them roundabout through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. He told Moses to have the people camp by Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea along the shore, across from Baal-zephon.

Pharaoh heard where the Hebrews had gone and thought they had gotten lost in the wilderness. He mustered his army, took all his horses and chariots, charioteers, and troops, and caught up with the people of Israel as they were camped beside the shore near Pi-hahiroth, across from Baal-zephon. When the people saw the Egyptian army, they panicked and cried out to the Lord. Moses was not fearful because He knew God would deliver them. The plagues the Lord brought upon Egypt should have taught the Hebrews to trust in the power of God.  They would see another example of God’s power as they leave Egypt for the last time.

The Lord tells Moses to take his rod and raise it over the Red Sea. By the power of God, the sea was opened by a strong east wind that blew all night. A path through the water opened, allowing the more than two million souls to walk through the middle of the sea on dry land, with walls of water on each side. The parting of the Red Sea was a miracle matched only by the flood of Noah. God held the waters up to let His people pass. The Egyptians did not learn from the plagues that devasted their nation. They should have been warned against trying to destroy the Hebrews, especially having recently buried all their firstborn. Emboldened by rage and pride, Pharaoh sent his army into the sea where the people had walked. Just before dawn, the Lord confused the army, creating panic among the soldiers. As the day dawned, Moses held his rod above the waters and the waters returned and covered all the army of Pharaoh. All the Egyptians that chased the Hebrews into the sea perished. No one survived.

God held the waters back, allowing the faithful to walk safely to the other side. The same hand that held the waters back for the Hebrews let loose the waters upon the Egyptians to destroy them. All the Hebrews passed in safety, and all of the Egyptian army perished in the flood. God’s power saved, and His power destroyed. The Hebrews were rescued because of their faithfulness and trust in the word of the Lord. They had to have great faith to walk in the midst of the sea with waters abounding on both sides. There was no hesitation. They obeyed and were saved. The Egyptians believed they could find salvation like the Hebrews, not knowing the hand of the Lord would not save them but kill them.

The story of the Red Sea crossing declares the power of God and the need for faithful hearts to believe the word of the Lord. When the Hebrews came to the Red Sea, they thought they were trapped, and there was no hope. God brought them the way of the sea to test them and show His power. There was no hope to evade the Egyptian army as the people stood on the seashore. Moses told the people to wait and see the power of God; and they did. God held back the waters of the sea, and the people walked through. His power can do the impossible when it seems impossible because it is impossible for God to fail. The people believed, and they were saved by the hand of God.

There are times in life when the world seems like an impossible place. It can be like the people standing before the sea with no escape and the army of doubt coming to destroy. Waiting on the Lord and letting His power save in the day of darkness will allow the soul to walk on dry ground in the midst of a sea. God can deliver His people. Sometimes, He does it quickly; sometimes, it takes a wind blowing all night. He will never leave His people and leave them defenseless. The people trusted in the hand of the Lord to keep the waters away, and God did. When you trust in the Lord to keep the fears of the world at bay, you will find the peace that passes understanding as you walk on dry land. God does not lie. His hand will hold back the waters. He knows and cares. Let Him take away your fear. He can do some awesome things.

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Never Retire

Posted on November 14, 2024 by heatonkent

Now also when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come (Psalm 71:18).

Never Retire

General Douglas MacArthur wrote, “People grow old by deserting their ideas. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubts; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fears; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.” Age is a number that should never define the character of the man. The Bible says that with the increase of age, the body’s development is slowing down and changing. This does not mean that the mind must quit using its faculties to learn more about the word of God and share the gospel of Christ.

Retirement for the masses is an idea that has only been possible in recent history and only in certain parts of the world. The hope of reaching a time when there are few responsibilities is appealing. It can be a wonderful time, but it can also be a dangerous period of waste. A person wants to work for forty years, retire with a gold watch, and spend the remaining years watching the sunrise and sunset leisurely. There is so much more to do. Ideas do not age. Knowledge does not come with wrinkles. Faith is not something that should be retired from. When faith is retired, it dies.

While the body goes through many changes with increasing years, the spirit of hope should increase. There is so much work to be done for the Lord. First, God does not give up on old people. The world may think the older generation is out of touch, but the opposite is true. When a man and woman spend their lives searching the word of God, learning all the nuggets of divine truth to help and guide them; they have an infinite storehouse of knowledge to share.

Retiring from a job is a privilege well deserved and well rewarded. There are no retirees in the kingdom of God because the work never ends. Few people would want to retire and then work again. The joy of working in the kingdom of God as an older person is it brings in so many dividends. There is knowledge to share from a lifetime of experience. Learning from the younger generations increases the capital of knowledge that must be shared.

As a Christian, the heart must be willing to work in the vineyard of the Lord until the eternal retirement in the presence of God. Then, and only then, will the labor be done. Until then, there is so much more to do, to learn, and to share.

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Come Out From The World

Posted on November 13, 2024 by heatonkent

Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,” says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

Come Out From The World

God the Father is very strict concerning His relationship with His children. Jesus Christ came to offer salvation to the world through His blood and establish the covenant between the saved and His Father. When the heart obeys the gospel, and a covenant of grace is established between God and man, there are conditions of that grace required by the Father that must be kept. Obeying the gospel and never leaving the trappings of the world cannot be done. To be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of the Lord. The two are never compatible. God has always been clear of what He expects from His people, as He demanded the Israelites not to mingle with the inhabitants of the land. What brought the nation of Israel to destruction is trying to serve God and man.

The Lord prohibited the Jews from marrying the people of the land. They refused the word of the Lord. God warned the people about having friendships with the nations around them. They refused to remain separate from the nations. The destruction of Israel came because the Hebrews could not keep themselves apart from the influences of the world around them. Paul warned the Corinthian church of the influences surrounding them and the impact of that influence upon their lives. Corinth was an ungodly and immoral city. To act in the “Corinthian way” was to behave in the most vile and immoral manner known to a corrupt world. The church in Corinth needed to hear the lessons about influence to help protect the body of Christ.

Paul’s admonition is twofold. First, the Christians needed to come out from among the people of Corinth. There was nothing good that was going to come from friendships in the pagan world. The apostle was not suggesting a monastic life but rather for the Christians to remove the influences of their immoral friends and families. Coming out of the world was an action of devotion to the cause of Christ. They may have to make difficult decisions about who would be included in their lives and how much influence others would have on their families. The cause of Christ must always be the priority. There can be nothing that changes the moral compass of the Christian relationship with the Father. Jesus said He came to bring fathers against sons, mothers against daughters, children against parents, and foes will be from one’s own household. The Lord is showing the cost of coming out of the world.

Secondly, when people remove themselves from ungodly influences, they must remain in that place. Coming out or removing oneself from the influences of the world can be difficult, but it will have no value if separation is not maintained. God wants His children to be separate. This is a severance or division from the influences of the world. Standing for Christ could mean friends and families are removed from the sphere of influence. The cost of losing friends and family can be high, but losing eternal life is much higher. Being separate requires being different from the crowd. When a Christian lives in such a manner that he blends in with the world, he has become the world. God demands separation.

Unclean hearts cannot approach the throne of God. The child of God that wallows in the mire of the world is not clean before the Father. God will only receive those who have come out of the world to be separate and have cleansed themselves from the world’s influences. The sons and daughters of God are separated souls longing to be in the presence of the Father. They know the need to be found clean in the eyes of the Lord. Purity comes by separation from the world. The world is a place of filth because it does not love God. Satan rules over a defiled and perverse world. Christians live in the world, but they do not become like the world. Living separate from the world will unite the Christian in eternal life to the presence of the Father. Come out from among the world and be separate.

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Seeing And Not Believing

Posted on November 12, 2024 by heatonkent

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.” (John 10:22-25)

Seeing And Not Believing

After more than two years of the ministry of Jesus, the Jews demanded Jesus declare publicly if He was the Christ, the Anointed One. The prophets had promised the coming of the Christ centuries earlier, and there had been many false men who claimed to be the chosen ones of God. Jesus began His ministry a few years earlier, teaching the multitudes the will of the Father. Throughout His ministry, Jesus had performed miracles to show the world He was the Son of God. Every miracle provided infallible proof that Jesus of Nazareth was Christ. They also established that God was with Jesus.

In the short time of the ministry of Jesus, He changed water into wine, fed more than nine thousand people with food left over, calmed a storm in the middle of the sea, walked on water, healed thousands of sick people, restored sight to the blind, cured leprosy, and cast out numerous demons from the possessed. Jesus brought Lazarus from the dead, raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, and had compassion on a widow from Nain by raising her son from the dead as they took him to his burial. There would be more miracles before His ministry is completed.

The Jews doubted Jesus, not because of what they saw but of what they felt. There was never a time when the critics of Jesus doubted a miracle had been done. They never challenged the miracle and sometimes tried to doubt the person to whom the miracle was done, but there was never an occasion the Jews could find a miracle of Jesus failed. It seems incredulous that after nearly two years of teaching and miracles, the Jews demanded Jesus prove He was the promised Christ. They demanded that Jesus tell them in plain language that He was Christ.

Doubt filled the hearts of the Jews because they did not want to see the miracles of Jesus as proof. Watching Jesus heal a man with a withered hand in their presence did not move the needle toward belief. Because of their hardened hearts of unbelief, they could witness Lazarus walking out of the tomb dressed in a burial garb, and leave trying to find a way to kill Jesus. If Jesus was not the Christ, how could He have raised Lazarus from the dead? All the proof they needed stared them in the face, yet they denied the power of God. It may seem improbable for something like that to happen today, but it does.

Jesus returned to the Father after His resurrection. He gave instructions to the eleven to return to Jerusalem. On the Day of Pentecost, the kingdom of God began with great power and demonstration of the grace of God. From those humble beginnings, the gospel spread throughout the world. Shortly after the establishment of the church, the final canon of truth was found in what would become the Old Testament and the New Testament. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, sixty-six books are contained in a book called “The Bible.” Contained within the pages of the Bible is the proof that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. From Genesis to John’s final revelation, the Bible’s message points toward the kingship of Jesus Christ. Taking anything away from the Bible will bring the wrath of God. Adding more than what God has contained in the Bible will also bring the wrath of God. Everything a man needs to know about Jesus Christ is found in the Bible. Skeptics, like the Jews of Jesus’ day, will say, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If Jesus is the Christ, tell us plainly.” The answer is the same as Jesus when He said, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.”

John signified in his gospel that the signs Jesus did in the presence of His disciples were done to convince the reader that Jesus is Christ, the Son of God, and that believing a man can have life in the name of Jesus. The gospels do not contain all the miracles of Jesus, yet many are recorded in the gospels that prove Jesus of Nazareth was God. Like the Jews in the days of Jesus, many deny what they read. No other revelations, testimonies, or witnesses will be given about Jesus. The Bible is the message of God to those who will read and understand His will. If you do not believe Jesus is the Christ through the testimony of the Bible, you will die in your sins. There is no other proof or evidence that will be given.

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Abraham – Faith Offers Everything To God

Posted on November 10, 2024 by heatonkent

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR SEED SHALL BE CALLED,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

Abraham – Faith Offers Everything To God

Abraham and Sarah were blessed with a child in their old age. There can be no language to adequately describe the incredible joy of aged parents looking into the face of their promised son who could not have been born without the divine power of God. The miracle of birth was only made possible through the faith of Abraham and Sarah and the will of the Lord. What an incredible experience. Every day, watching Isaac grow into an adolescent and young man would be an amazing experience. There could never be a day that was not a day of wonder. Abraham and Sarah had a son who was beyond exceptional because he was a son of promise made by the grace of God. Life for the aged couple was full of caring for Isaac.

The faith of Abraham had been proven time and again. There was a deep devotion evident in the life of this man of God that no one could doubt, and yet there was another test God would put before Abraham. The Lord came to Abraham and told him to do the most remarkable thing. What God asked of Abraham made no sense compared to the righteousness of a holy God. Abraham was told to kill the boy for whom he had waited 25 years. Despite how confusing that order was and how senseless it seemed on its face, Abraham acted like a man who believed that God was right.

Early in the morning, following the word of the Lord, Abraham took Isaac and two servants for the three-day journey as God prescribed. Arriving at the place, Abraham told the young men to remain with the animals while he and Isaac went to the mountain to worship before returning. Abraham alone knew what he planned on doing. According to the word of the Lord, he was to take the son of his old age, his promised son, and his beloved son and offer him as a burnt offering. This was the fulfillment of the plan of God that through Isaac, his seed would be blessed. Abraham knew the promise of God that in Isaac, his seed would be called and that God never lied. He obeyed.

The spirit of Abraham did not doubt the power and word of God. He did not argue with the Lord about what was commanded or try to dissuade the Lord from requiring such an incredible sacrifice. God tested Abraham to see if he was willing to give all to please the will of the Lord. It made no sense to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. But Abraham obeyed because he trusted in the providence of God to make things possible.

Abraham took Isaac to the place appointed by God, bound him upon the altar, stretched out his, and took the knife to slay his son. The Angel of the Lord stayed the hand of Abraham from killing his only begotten son. Abraham obeyed because he believed that killing Isaac was of no consequence. After all, if God had the power to create Isaac in the dead womb of Sarah, the Lord would have been able to raise Isaac from the womb of death. There was nothing that Abraham would not do for the Lord. His faith was affirmed through his works.

God does not require parents to offer their children as burnt offerings. He does require obedience like that of Abraham, who, when instructed to do the impossible, never hesitated. Too often, people want to argue with God instead of acting in faith. The test of Abraham showed he was willing to give all for God. Are we willing to give all for Christ? Faithfulness requires complete obedience. Faith offers everything to God. If God spoke to me as He did Abraham, what would I do? May our hearts be faithful like Abraham.

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The Thoughts Of God

Posted on November 8, 2024 by heatonkent

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You. (Psalm 139:17-18)

The Thoughts Of God

There is a lot on David’s mind. He knew that God was everywhere, that there was no place David could go, and that his Lord was not there. Everything he did and thought was known by God. The omnipresence of the Lord was a comfort to the shepherd king, knowing he was surrounded by the love and grace of his heavenly Father. David longed for the overshadowing of the presence of God in his life to lead him and keep him from evil. The knowledge of God began when David was in his mother’s womb. It seemed incredible to him that God had such vast knowledge. Many men would fear the eternal knowledge of the Lord, but David invited the investigation of his Creator to know everything about his life.

The mind of man is unable to grasp how big the mind of God is entirely. In the vast expanse of the universe with billions and billions of galaxies and innumerable stars, the Lord God looks down on His pale blue dot called Earth and seeks out the heart of a man named David to know who he is and what he is doing. God has been doing this since he first created Adam and Eve. That thought is something David cannot grasp. The sum of God’s power is without words. David never fears the presence of the Lord. There is no dread or fear of knowing God is so powerful. David used this knowledge to defeat the giant in the valley of Elah. Goliath came against David with a sword and spear. David came with a sling, a rock, and the name of the Lord God Almighty.

God is mindful of His children. It should be a comfort to know that the heavenly Father seeks out the good and welfare of His children. This is a blessing that is only found in the family of God. David pondered his relationship with God and was overwhelmed at the thoughts of God to consider him worthy of saving. There is joy in knowing that God’s children are in a covenant relationship to receive His immense blessings. God’s love is given to His children, along with His everlasting mercy. Grace comes from the immeasurable character of God to forgive the sins of wicked men. How can one sum up the thoughts of God in the scheme of redemption?

David reminds the people of God there is nothing to be alarmed at: God sees all, knows all, and understands all. He invites God to search him and know what is in his heart. David wants the Lord to test his character as iron to fire. The thought that God has such a presence in his life is a comforting measure of grace. David sinned with Bathsheba when he forgot how much God knew about his life. His repentance came from a heart realizing how omnipresent God was and that he had sinned in his life and stood condemned. He repented. The knowledge of God leads one to repentance. Nothing is hidden from the eyes of the Lord.

It takes courage to live with the knowledge of God’s presence and to live in this knowledge with joy and hope. Walking in the light is a choice to allow the Lord to test every fiber of a person’s heart for faithfulness. Inviting the microscope of God’s eternal vision to peer into what a man thinks, says, and does is not an easy task. David welcomed it into his life. The thoughts of God to man are impossible to put into words; how great is the sum of them. Joy is found when we awake and find that God is still there because He is faithful and true.

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Understanding The Mysteries Of The World

Posted on November 7, 2024 by heatonkent

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

Understanding The Mysteries Of The World

“God had nothing to do with it!” the scientists insisted. Birds are able to navigate when they migrate because they have a compass inside their heads. That’s all. But then somebody asked these scientists who set the compass to adjust for the Earth’s rotation. Well, that,” the scientists said, “remains a mystery.”

The mystery of the world has never been a mystery. God created the world as a testimony of His divine design and wisdom. Everything about creation declares the unity of God’s divine will. The idea that the universe does not have a designer belies the immensity of designs found in its architect. Explaining how birds migrate thousands of miles cannot be answered through human wisdom. Monarch butterflies migrate on precision courses at precise times to exact locations every year. These frail creatures overcome incredible odds to accomplish the impossible.

The universe is a design of perfection, with eight planets circling constantly around the Sun with precision and order. Earth is supported by one moon that remains in orbit, impacting the tides and climate, and has been used since the beginning of time as a beacon for time. The human body is a marvel of science constantly evolving with its secrets and mysteries. It has always been a question of how one explains the world’s intricacies apart from God. There can be no explanation without declaring the glory of God.

What man finds difficult to imagine is that he is not the center of his world. The truth remains that the Earth is not the center of the solar system, and the solar system is not the center of the Milky Way, the universe where the Earth is home. There are billions of universes in the known expanse of space. Earth is not even an atomic particle in the vast measure of the known universe. At best, the planet inhabited by humanity is nothing more than a pale blue dot. Scientists believe God had nothing to do with the creation of the universe, and they have no explanation after thousands of years of human investigation. The only conclusion they can offer is that what they cannot explain remains a mystery.

There is no mystery if one believes that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. It takes more faith to believe God did not create the world than it does to accept the divine truth. There is no mystery when the perfect design of the universe is placed in the template of God’s word. Birds migrate with precision because there is a compass they follow created by the hand of God. Mysteries are answered by examining the world’s questions through the microscope of God’s word. The Bible is the laboratory where answers can be found.

God has not left us without a testimony of His divine plan. By faith, man knows that the universe was formed at God’s command. It may not be proven in a Petrie dish, but it can be proven by the word of God, which explains how the world was created. The challenge for human wisdom is to recognize that what is seen in this world does not come from anything that can be seen. Explaining the birds’ migration is found in God’s special revelation. Read the Bible to find the answers. God created the universe in a spectacular way.

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Divine Knowledge Before Birth

Posted on November 6, 2024 by heatonkent

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! (Psalm 139:13-17)

Divine Knowledge Before Birth

Childbirth is the foundation of humanity, beginning with Eve delivering Cain into the world as the first child to be born. It is hard to imagine how wonderful yet confusing the pregnancy of Eve was because she had no peers to explain what was happening. She could feel her son growing inside of her but could not imagine what was happening. It had to be amazing for Adam to watch his wife go through nine months of pregnancy, not knowing it would be around nine months. Little did Adam understand why Eve kept wanting pickles and ice cream.

Through the centuries, the evolution of pregnancy has sought to answer the question of what is happening in the womb. Manuscripts from ancient civilizations describe many ways people used to predict the sex of the child. With only a 50% chance of right or wrong, the predictions were often correct. The desire to know more about what happens during pregnancy led to technological advancements in the study of the womb. One of the promising inventions was the development of ultrasound, which was first used for clinical purposes in 1956. Advancements in modern technology have dramatically increased the ability to see the child in the womb and with a high prediction rate of what the sex of the child is. This has also led to surgical interventions that have saved many young children from death.

Man has only recently been able to peer inside the womb. God has known what is in the womb since Eve became pregnant with Cain. The poet David was not a medical doctor, but he understood something about the knowledge of the womb, which was far ahead of his time. Without looking into the womb, David knew that God formed the child. He understood what was in the womb of the mother was not a thing to be discarded for trivial reasons but an actual human being created in the image of God. As the body was formed inside the womb, David knew God watched each part skillfully wrought to the design established by the Lord.

For David, his praise of God’s creative power was an amazing story to consider. He knew God saw him while he was in his mother’s womb. It amazed him to know the knowledge of God even while he was developing in the womb. Living in a world without modern comforts and technology increased this awareness. Could anyone of that day imagine a machine that would allow man to peer into the womb? It was too fantastic to consider. David believed in the power of God to know how the child developed and formed. He knew the creative design showed the handiwork of the Lord.

Technology has taken much of the shine away from the discovery of birth. Many couples today decide to know the sex of the child before birth, which is a wonderment. But it is also sad not to experience the expressive joy of the moment the child is born and seeing the baby for the first time. God has watched the baby grow from the moment He implanted the seed of life into the womb. What David knew about childbirth was that it began by God’s power. Watching the womb grow and the baby move about in the womb was incredible. When the time of birth came, and the little child came forth with ten toes, ten fingers, and a fully developed body, David was amazed.

David’s conclusion was profound about the process of birth. He knew how precious the thoughts of God are as the Divine watched the baby grow. The joy of birth is the power of creation given to humanity to create a being that will never cease to exist by God’s power. All of the process of birth is a testimony to the glory of God. Pregnancy is about the life of a human being, made in the image of God and watched over as the child develops by the divine knowledge of their Creator. David could not number the ways to exclaim the wondrous marvel of birth. It was beyond his comprehension. May we never lose the wonderment and joy of birth.

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Where Can I God That God Is Not There?

Posted on November 5, 2024 by heatonkent

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. (Psalm 139:7-12)

Where Can I Go That God Is Not There?

Point Nemo, a location in the Pacific Ocean, is considered the most remote place on the planet. It is the farthest point on Earth from any land. The people closest to Point Nemo are those in the International Space Station, two-hundred-fifty miles above. Point Nemo is located 1666 miles from the nearest land. Ducie Island (Pitcairn Islands) to the north, Motu Nui (Easter Islands) to the northeast, and Maher Island (part of Antarctica) to the south. It has famously become the dumping ground of space debris due to its extremely remote location. When the International Space Station is decommissioned, it will find its watery grave in this area.

Travel to Point Nemo is difficult and dangerous due to ocean conditions and weather. It is not on any shipping lanes because it is so remote. Humans rarely visit the area, but the psalmist David knew that any place on earth that seems remote and desolate to man is where God has been since creation. Mount Everest is the tallest peak in the world, and the deepest place on earth is the Challenger Deep, located in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. God is in both places. The darkest place on earth is daylight to the Lord who created it. There is no place that man can go that God does not know and see.

David’s knowledge of God’s presence was a blessing, as he knew God would always be with him. Evil men do not accept they cannot hide from God because they love the darkness. The child of God embraces the knowledge that God will never forsake them because He is everywhere. Life can be overwhelming and foreboding. Dark clouds of fear come without warning, bringing uncertainty to the heart. David proclaims God’s presence is the sure promise of security and trust. Whatever is happening in life, God is there. Wherever a man walks, God is there. There is nothing that escapes the eyes of the Lord. The presence of God becomes the eternal security blanket of divine love, reassuring the heart of man that he has nothing to fear.

When God created man, He saw that being alone was not good for him. The Lord created woman to be a helpmeet to the man. What happened in the garden when Adam and Eve took of the forbidden fruit is that God had to separate Himself from His creation. This was not His desire. God wanted a divine fellowship with man, but sin broke that relationship. Through grace, the Lord extends His promise to the world to always be there for man. There is no place on the planet that man can be that God is not there. Man assumes it is difficult to know God, failing to realize that wherever man is, God has already been there, and He wants to reveal Himself.

Seeking the will of the Lord is knowing that God is accessible. The Lord has promised never to forsake His people. That promise remains true through Jesus Christ. In the kingdom of God, the blessings of Heaven await those who eagerly seek Him and trust Him. David reminds the faithful that God’s presence is everywhere and that there is no place one can go without God. Knowing that God is always where I have yet to be is a wonderful and blessed thought. He reveals Himself. Everywhere. Even at Point Nemo.

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God Knows Me

Posted on November 4, 2024 by heatonkent

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:1-6)

God Knows Me

From David’s perspective, the omniscience of God was a blessing without measure. The all-knowing eye of the Lord peering deep into a person’s life can be troubling, but this will not be the case when a man’s life is in harmony with the will of the Father. David knew how extensive the knowledge of God was in his life. David knew his every action was seen and noted by the Lord. Whether he was sitting down or standing up, the Lord knew. God’s knowledge revealed David’s thoughts wherever he was found. God was there if David took a trip to a far-off place. In fact, God knew everything David did, thought, wanted, and where he was going.

Knowing God’s omniscience is so clear that all in life is exposed can be terrifying or wonderful. David welcomed the knowledge of God in His life. He was not sinless, but he was perfecting the word of God in his life. His desire was for God to examine him and search his life. The intent of David’s heart was to glorify God. This oversight from the Lord was a blanket of protection against the wiles of the devil. David could not live without the encompassing knowledge of God in his life to feel the presence of the Lord to guide him.

It has been said that character is what a person does when no one is looking, but the problem is that God is always looking. He knows the thoughts and intents of the heart in CinemaScope. God created man as an eternal creature, and the Lord cannot separate His eternal being from the true nature of man. The limitations of flesh prohibit a man from knowing the other man’s thoughts and intents because he can only know on a carnal level. God knows the heart because man is first an eternal creature. All things that a person does, says and thinks are known by God. It may seem hard to understand, but the Lord does not need a GPS tracker to know where a man is. He sees and knows where everyone is on the face of the planet.

One of the most amazing and wonderful things about the knowledge of God is that while David was astonished by the expanse of God’s knowledge, consider that the Lord knows this about everyone on the planet. The knowledge of God can know and see the lives of more than eight billion souls – at once. He sees and knows what has transpired in the past, and He knows a person in the present. Of the billions of souls that have walked the earth since Adam and Eve, the knowledge of God has retained every facet of a person’s life from the moment they are conceived in the womb to the day they die and where they reside in eternity. The omniscience of God is so high that no man can attain an inkling of the germ of thought that can define it.

David’s thought about the power of God was too wonderful for him and so great a task to try and understand he was almost speechless. How can one grasp the full meaning of the knowledge of God? There is nothing to measure it by. Nothing man has said or done can begin to piece together the immensity of God’s power of knowledge. And yet, God knows. He sees, hears, watches, and judges all that man does. Life is not an open book for the Lord; it’s just open. Think about how much He knows and sees in your life. David welcomed the examination because he believed God would be pleased. Can we say the same about our lives? God sees and knows all. Think about that for a while.

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