Tag: Isaiah 14:12-15

God the Father

On By CarmenIn God's CharacterLeave a comment

After my last post, The Holy Trinity, I want to share more about God the Father, our loving, righteous, almighty Creator.

I humbly confess that my knowledge is far too finite to adequately define the immense and awesome character of our Heavenly Father, but what I do know and what I have experienced I want to share with you. 

My goal is to give greater insight to those who may not know or understand His perfect character and love for us.

God is Love

Imagine having the absolute ability to reign supreme and desire to create the beauty that we see and experience all around us in nature.

I think of many of the places that I’ve traveled and the beauty that I’ve seen in remote places as well as here in the U.S.—mountains, seashores, forest trails, and man-made, albeit God-inspired monuments and buildings.

My mind goes to views of Earth from space that I’ve seen on TV and images of galaxies and celestial beauty that are too magnificent to fully grasp.

Let’s even consider the intricate creation of the human body and mind which were minutely crafted by our Father in Heaven.

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Genesis 1:26-31

Why did God create all that we are and all that we have the blessing to experience?

Perfect LOVE by our perfect Father and Creator.

God existed since the beginning of time and in His benevolence, He fashioned mankind and breathed life into us simply because He loved us. (Genesis 2:7)

Our loving Father created us because He wanted to, and He gave us His blessing to enjoy all the majestic beauty around us.

He gave us the intellect and ability to be able to not only enjoy, but to steward or manage His creation.

After the disobedience of Adam and Eve, the first created man and woman, sin entered the world and has plagued creation ever since.

No amount of striving to be perfect could help mankind overcome sin.

God had the solution for this. He gave us His most prized possession, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be the perfect and ultimate sacrificial Lamb.

I wonder how many of us would give any of our children, not just our only beloved child, to bear the sins of our human race.

I wouldn’t be able to! I’m sure you would say the same. But God did!

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1 John 4:9-10

THIS is love—forgiving those who don’t deserve it by giving your all.

God is Almighty

God our Father is sovereign. He reigns over all creation, because He created it.

Therefore, He has the right to give us instruction how to live our lives and worship Him in praise and obedience.

Our pride keeps us from following God and is a root cause of disobedience, which if we insist on harboring, will lead to painful consequences.

I don’t know about you, but I’d had enough painful consequences from doing things my way that I finally surrendered to God and His ways.

For those who insist on doing things their way and refuse to follow God regardless of the consequences, only loss and perdition await.

This is exactly what happened to Lucifer, better known as Satan, the most beautiful angel created.

In his pride, Satan wanted to be God. He wasn’t satisfied with being the most beautiful angel—he wanted to take God’s place and sovereignty. (Isaiah 14:12-15)

His big mistake was misunderstanding that he too was created and powerless compared to God. (Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:7-9)

God our Father is not only majestically creative, He is all-knowing and all-powerful.

To whom then will you compare me,
    that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
    who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
    calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
    and because he is strong in power,
    not one is missing. . .
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.

Isaiah 40:25-28

There is none that can take God our Father’s place, none who can use their wisdom to outsmart Him, and none who can win any war waged against Him.

God is Just

Many wonder if God reigns supreme why He allows so much evil to take place.

Some even accuse God of perpetrating evil, and for this reason refuse to worship Him.

The issue is they don’t know God’s ways because they refuse to learn about Him. If they would spend the time needed to search out God and His ways, they would come to a different conclusion.

God has an incorruptible character, and He does what is right. He is true to Himself no matter what one may think of Him. He does not bend to public opinion.

God does not perpetrate evil. He can only do good because it is His nature.

Further, He gives His creatures the ability to reason and make choices.

Satan had the ability to reason and choose to submit to God, but he did not. He chose to worship himself and his pride took over; he simply refused to give God His rightful due in worship.

When Satan was cast out of heaven, he set out to destroy God’s beloved creation on Earth—mankind and nature.

This is how sin entered our world: Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden through temptation by Satan. (Genesis 3)

You may ask, why didn’t God stop Satan? The answer again is free will.

Adam and Eve had the choice to obey God (by not eating from the forbidden tree), but they did not.

God will most certainly stop Satan by destroying him one day, a day of God’s choosing in the future.

In the meantime, our Heavenly Father is patient with us, pursuing us to turn from our sin and follow Him.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:8-9

Because God is our righteous Judge, He cannot tolerate sin, He cannot approve of sin, He cannot link Himself to sin in any way.

When we sin, we are separated from God; but in His goodness, He has chosen to forgive us.

This forgiveness is through His only Son, Jesus Christ. Forgiveness is only granted through Christ and no other way. (John 14:6)

If we refuse God’s Son, we will be eternally lost and suffer God’s judgment.

I pray that anyone who does not yet belong to God in Christ will exercise their free will and accept Jesus as LORD and Savior today.

God not only gave us life, but He also provided everything we will ever need to live successfully in Him now to eternity.

Enjoy the song below in worship to God.

If you want to have a relationship with God and are not sure how or where to start, see my previous posts Relationship with God and Relationship with God – Part 2.

Humility vs. Pride

On By CarmenIn Christian LivingLeave a comment

I’m sure we have all come across people who lack signs of humility and if we’re honest, we could say that we’ve at some point exhibited the same behavior.  

God’s word tells us to be humble, so it must be a quality we should learn and exercise throughout our lives.

God Desires Humility

He has told you, mortal one, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

To walk humbly with God means to acknowledge that He is God and to submit to His wisdom because He knows what’s best for us.

God blesses us when we obey Him and strive to follow Him, especially when He points out to us an attitude or behavior we need to master.   

We need God to guide us through this life on earth because there is so much deceit and corruption lurking to take us down the wrong path.

The antithesis of humility is pride. It seeks its own glory and it demands everything for itself and its preservation but never ends well.

God is the Creator and we are the creation, and He made us to follow Him and serve Him.

Let’s seek His wisdom and exercise humility before Him and others until it becomes second nature.  

Consequences of Pride

Simply put, if we will not walk in humility before God, we stand to lose more than we gain.

Pride leads to disgrace,
    but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2

Consider the outcome of pride for Lucifer (Satan) the “angel of light,” the most beautiful of angels that God created.

“How you are fallen from heaven,
    O shining star, son of the morning!
You have been thrown down to the earth,
    you who destroyed the nations of the world.
For you said to yourself,
    ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars.
I will preside on the mountain of the gods
    far away in the north.
I will climb to the highest heavens
    and be like the Most High.’
Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead,
    down to its lowest depths.

Isaiah 14:12-15

What a great fall the most beautiful of angels has had to endure!

These verses use imagery to depict not only Satan, but also the proud boasts of Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of Babylon, during his reign (605-562 BC). I encourage you to read the full chapter of Isaiah 14.

As we know, Satan is still at odds with God and is intent on seeing whomever and whatever God loves destroyed like he was and will ultimately be as is written in Revelation 20:1-10.

This is exactly why we need to be aligned with God in thought and behavior. God is willing to forgive our sins when we turn from them and seek after Him, for He has given us the gift of forgiveness through His Son Jesus Christ.

When we turn from God and battle with Him, we never win.

Hopefully when we feel the sting of the consequences of our sin of pride, we turn from it, seeking God’s way to live, and strive to be humble.  

God knows if our hearts are truly committed to Him and therefore works in us to overcome this sin and every other sin we commit.

We only need to ask Him for His help and follow through in obedience to His will.

The Blessing of Humility

God promises us blessings when we are humble before Him and others.

The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor, and life.

Proverbs 22:4

I would like to share with you a time in my life that I kept hearing God tell me to be humble, over and over.

I shared this with a group of women whom I considered my confidants, my women’s Bible study group.

At the time, I didn’t understand why He was calling me to be humble, because I thought I had learned from the stings of my past mistakes of pride.

I thought I was done with this sin problem in my life, and I certainly did not want to displease God and undergo any more consequences.

A few months later, I met with one of these confidants with whom I had the habit of discussing plans for our group study.

As I listened to this person speak to me, I was caught off guard because a part of it was not altogether pleasant for me. I was compared to a previous leader, and not in a good way.

Still, I listened and did not become defensive. Rather, I accepted the info she shared with me and began to think deeply about my behavior and why she said what she did.   

I mulled over that comment for a while because I was very hurt by it.  

I recalled varying aspects of her behavior that I had previously witnessed but did not feel it was my place to correct her. I believed God would show her the behavior she needed to correct.

I decided that none of us are perfect and I knew it was my place to love her despite her inconsistent walk with the LORD.

Within a couple of weeks, I saw God work in a way that caused her to leave after she had misgivings with our head pastor.

Later God started showing me that she had twisted something I shared with her in confidence and used it against me for whatever personal gain she was trying to achieve.  

I now understand that God was telling me back then to be humble, because He knew my capacity to speak up for myself—and at times strongly with my own words.

I am glad that God prepared me in advance for this situation and that I obeyed by listening and not reacting.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, 

1 Peter 5:6

God has shown me that I don’t need to defend my reputation.  

By laying it at the feet of Jesus, I found resolution even if it took some time.

When we follow God and let Him lead us through His Holy Spirit, we will not lose our witness for Christ and be ashamed.

Humility Acknowledges Dependence upon God

I would like to close with the following thought that led me to write this post.

With the recent success of the orbit around the moon by the courageous astronauts of Artemis II, I was able to watch the inspiring view from space of our beautiful planet.

We exist in a very small portion of the universe, and we seem so insignificant from high above.

However, we are very important to God as He made us in His image and gave us the ability to accomplish such astounding feats.  

So small, so dependent upon and loved by God. This is reason enough to be humble.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful song below about following our Creator and His perfect ways.

If you want to have a relationship with God and are not sure how or where to start, see my previous posts Relationship with God and Relationship with God – Part 2.