God

God Where Was God?
When a father received word that his son, a brilliant lad, had been killed in a railway accident, he turned to his pastor and cried in desperation, "Tell me, sir, where was God when my son was killed?" And in that tense and terrible moment guidance was given to the counseling pastor. "My friend," said he, "God was just where He was when His own Son was killed!"

How Can I Love God Whom I Have Not Seen?
Unseen, yet loved. A kind mother had one day been talking with her little girl about the duty of loving God. The child replied, "Mother, I have never seen God; how can I love Him?" The mother made no answer then.
A few days after, she received a package from a friend who lived a great way off; and in the package was a beautiful picture-book for the little girl. The child took the book and was for some time entirely engrossed in looking at the pictures, but soon she exclaimed, "Oh, mother! How I do love the good lady that sent me this book!" "But you never saw her, my dear," said the mother. "No," answered the child; "but I love her because she sent me this beautiful present." "My child," said the mother, "you told me the other day that you could not love God because you have never seen Him. And yet you love this kind lady whom you have never seen, because she has given you a present. Now you have all around you the presents which God has given you. Why can't you love Him for His presents?" A Close-Up or an Overall View?
We are not able to comprehend the big beautiful picture that God is creating in our lives.
Reinhold Messner was a skilled mountain climber who was recognized as the best in the world. He was one of two men who first climbed Mount Everest without using bottled oxygen. Messner then decided that doing it with a partner was not good enough, so he went back and did it alone. He was asked, as most mountain climbers are, "Why do you do it?" He replied, "Because at the top all the lines converge."
Even though we may not always have the "view from the top," it is a great encouragement to know that God does! He is sovereign! He has said, "I am the Lord. I do not change!" (Malachi 3:6). Because He sees the "overall picture," He is worthy of our trust!

We Can't Do without Him
There comes a time in the lives of believers and unbelievers alike when God seems expendable. Noting that things are going along quite well, man, including Christian man, feels quite willing to go it alone.
Man, no matter how powerful, can be humbled by the weather-by the falling snow, as Napoleon discovered when he invaded Russia, or by the lack of rain or excess of it, or by an unusually bitter winter.
Whenever natural catastrophe struck, the spiritual leaders of our Pilgrim forebears used the pulpits of New England to remind the people that God was at work behind every catastrophe, and that He still spoke not only by the still, small voice but also by the thunder, the snow, the hail, the absence of rain, and if necessary even by death.
The Pharaoh was given sign after sign by God, and one after the other the signs were ignored. It was not until the tenth sign came that the Pharaoh let God's people go. Have we, too, hardened our hearts against God's message?

Watermelon Seed
William Jennings Bryan got more than refreshment from a piece of watermelon:
"I was eating a piece of watermelon some months ago when I was struck with its beauty. I took some of the seeds and dried them and weighed them, and found that it would require some 5,000 seeds to weigh a pound; and then I applied mathematics to that 40-pound melon.
"One of these seeds, put into the ground, when warmed by the sun and moistened by the rain, takes off its coat and goes to work; it gathers from somewhere two hundred thousand times its own weight, and forcing this raw material through a tiny stem, constructs a watermelon. It ornaments the outside with a covering of green; inside the green it puts a layer of white, and within the white a core of red, and all through the red it scatters seeds, each one capable of continuing the work of reproduction.
"Who drew the plan by which that little seed works? Where does it get its tremendous strength? Where does it find its coloring matter? How does it collect its flavoring extract? How does it develop a watermelon?
"Until you can explain a watermelon, do not be too sure that you can set limits to the power of the Almighty and say just what He would do or how He would do it."

Amen!
The rabbis of the Talmud teach that "Amen" is an acrostic from the first letters of the three words, El Melech Ne'eman, meaning the Lord is trustworthy. "Amen" appears the first time in Numbers 5:22. The Lexicon states that it is an adverb of confirmation meaning truly, verily, certainly, and so be it. The Name of God
The Hashem ("the Name"-referring to God) for the Jew is the epitome of Holiness. That is why the devout Jew, when writing, spells God as G-D or Lord as L-rd, and why he pronounces the name Jehovah by the word Adonsi, or by Hashem and adds the words, "blessed be He." That is why the sefer scribe, the one copying the Torah Scroll, will take a new quill pen to write the name of God, and a new mix of ink. Before he writes that name, he must say, "I intend to write the name of God." If he does not, the page of the scroll is unfit and must be discarded. Likewise, if he is interrupted while writing the name or if he makes a mistake, the page is unfit.
The very name of God in the Old Testament Scriptures is the revelation of God.

Incomprehensible
There is a great deal about God that we cannot understand. Who can understand the Trinity? John Wesley very appropriately said, "Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God!"

Cast and Carried
Henry Moorhouse, when engaged in a work that seemed to call upon him for a more than usual exercise of faith, received what seems like a most tender answer from God.
His little daughter, who was a paralytic, was sitting in her chair as he entered the house with a package in his hand for his wife. Going up to her and kissing her, he asked, "Where is Mother?" "Mother is upstairs." "Well, I have a package for her." "Let me carry the package to Mother." "Why, Minnie, dear, how can you carry the package? You cannot carry yourself." With a smile on her face, Minnie said, "Oh, no, Papa; but you give me the package, and I will carry the package, and you will carry me." Taking her up in his arms, he carried her upstairs-little Minnie and the package, too.
And then it came to him that this was just his position in the work in which he was engaged. He was carrying his burden, but was not God carrying him? "Cast" (Psalms 55:22). "Carry" (Isaiah 46:4).

Answer to Agnostics
Some people pride themselves on being agnostics. That is, they say that religious teachings are very well for those who care to be so stupid that they want to believe in God and heaven, something they cannot see. The agnostics, however, pride themselves on believing only those things which they can prove and understand. This reminds me of a story.
"I will not believe anything that I do not understand," said a man in a hotel one day. "Neither will I," said another. "Nor will I," said a third. "Gentlemen," said one who sat close by, "on my ride this morning I saw some geese in a field eating grass. Do you believe that?"
"Certainly," said one of the three listeners. "I saw the pigs eating grass. Do you believe that?" "Of course," said the three. "I also saw sheep and cows eating grass. Do you believe that?" "Of course," was again the reply.
"Well, the grass turned to feathers on the backs of the geese, to bristles on the backs of the swine, to white wool on the sheep, and to hair on the cow; do you believe that, gentlemen?" "Certainly," they replied.
"But do you understand it?"

He Raised His Son
Pliny the Elder was a Roman writer who lived during the same time period as Jesus. He told a story of the setting of an obelisk, which when erect would stand 99 feet tall.
Twenty-thousand workers were chosen to pull on the ropes and activate the hoisting apparatus. There was great responsibility and risk in the operation. Just one error could cause the obelisk to fall, ruining years of work.
The King demanded one act which insured the complete attention and best direction of the engineer. He ordered the engineer's own son to be strapped to the apex of the obelisk, so that his heart as well as his head would be given to the task.
One day on Calvary, God's only begotten Son was raised before a sinful, jeering crowd, as the Father watched intently from heaven. The heart and mind of God were directed toward Jesus on the day our Lord was raised. There, above the heads of mankind, Jesus hung in death so that we might know eternal life. Remember Jesus' words:
"I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself" (John 12:32). Jesus was raised for you and me!

He Removes Kings and Raises Up Kings
Daniel said it long ago. It is God who "removes kings and raises up kings." (Daniel 2:21). This was the way Daniel stated the truth that God is the One who controls and rules the world. Regarding Jesus, John said that He is now "King of kings and Lord of lords." Yet it still surprises us when faced with the reality of God's control. We don't like what we cannot easily explain. If we cannot say exactly how God does something, we are at a loss. It's time we accept the vantage point of many Bible writers when they could not explain, but they could declare the power of God.
November 9, 1989 stands as a testimony to the rule of God. That's the day the Berlin Wall fell. No one saw it coming; no political leader, no social scientist, no church leader saw what was happening. It shocked the world. No one can explain how it came about. Then nation after nation of Eastern Europe eliminated Communism as master. Is it answered prayer? Yes! Is it God's work? Yes! He now gives the church an open door. Do we believe He can get us through the door? A Father's Love
Would you like to marry someone whom your parents chose for you? Dr. Joyce Hardin in her book, Three Steps Behind, recounts a conversation with a Korean young lady. Dr. Hardin expressed surprise at the custom of arranged marriages and questioned how a woman could ever marry a person whom her father picked out. The Korean replied that her father loved her and knew her better than she knew herself. She was convinced that her father would never do anything to harm her and would make only the best choice for her. Besides, she added, she had the right to reject his choice, but doubted that she would.
Are we willing to trust God as much as some trust their parents? If we are willing to completely surrender ourselves to Him we can believe that He will give us what is the very best for us (Romans 8:28). What more comfort could we ask than to believe that even when we do not understand life's happenings, we can know that our Father loves us? Which God Are You Banking On?
One day a brother was in a strange part of town and in somewhat of a rush. He needed to get some money from his bank, so he obtained directions to one of its branches-one he had never been to before.
The brother followed the advice, and sure enough there was a bank right across the street from the big store he was told to seek. He rushed in and handed over his book and other forms to the smiling teller.
"I'm sorry, sir. I can't accept this," she said. "Why not? I am sure it is all in order. I wrote it out very carefully," he countered.
"I am sure you did, but this is not our bank. The one you want is across the street." Shamefaced, he retreated to the other bank, the right one, which was also across the street from the big store, only on the other side.
In a similar way, how many people rush to a god, any god, seeking comfort, solace or salvation, only to find that it is not the God, our heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit?
One may rectify going to the wrong bank, but one cannot recover from banking on the wrong god. When Life Caves In
John Newton signed on with a slave ship leaving from Africa with its "cargo." He was an experienced sailor and navigator, but his cursing and blaspheming turned hardened sailors' ears red. Soon the ship was caught in a horrible storm and was taking in water. The crew had to pump 24 hours a day to stay afloat. But the constant wind rocked the boat so dangerously that the sailors had to tie themselves to the deck to keep from being swept overboard. At one point, several of the crew tried to throw Newton overboard. They figured that God was punishing him like Jonah of the Old Testament. The captain declared that the only way the ship would make it in to safe harbor was by God's power. He commanded everyone-including Newton-to pray.
"God, if You're true," Newton prayed earnestly, "make good your Word. Cleanse my vile heart."
After four weeks of storms and constant brushes with death, the ship limped into an Irish port. John Newton, former "free thinker," former slave trader and atheist, declared his faith in Jesus. He became a well-known preacher and writer. In fact, we chiefly know him as the author of the hymn "Amazing Grace."

God Gave a Son
One time during World War II, a mother and her small son were walking down a street in the evening. The little boy noticed the little flags in the windows with stars on them and asked what they were. His mother explained that the people in those homes had given a son in the war. He saw two and even three in some windows. He suddenly noticed the first evening star and said, "Mommy, God must have given a son, too."

What the World Cannot Steal From the Christian
A missionary returned to the little village which had been destroyed by the enemies of the gospel. He found the people weeping over the ashes which were previously their thatched roofs. One of the natives said to him, "They even burned my Bible and my hymn book!" And then in the ruins he saw a little white paper not totally burned. He picked it up and read it. The only thing that remained was "Joy to the World, the Lord is come." He stopped for a moment and then he said, "That's enough for me."