God's Resume

So I was thinking about the idea of dependence on God again. Why should I depend on him? Is he trustworthy?

A.W. Tozer said "God is greater than the mind itself. His greatness cannot be conceived. If we could conceive of His greatness, He would be less than the human mind which could form the conception."

Since I can’t really conceive his greatness, maybe I should look at his “track record”. When I apply for a job, companies want to know what I have done, have I made a difference, what have I accomplished…

Let’s think for a minute what could be on God’s resume.

Created the World
Flooded the world but saved Noah and his family
Talked to Moses from a burning bush
Sent the Plagues on Egypt
Parted the Red Sea
Knocked down the walls of Jericho
Took Elijah straight to heaven without having to die first
Rescued Daniel from the Lions’ Den
Caused the sun to stand still for a day
Caused a virgin to have a child
Raised Lazarus from the dead
Conversion of Saul
Resurrection of Jesus

I’m sure I have left some off the list. What else would you put on God’s resume?

With this kind of “track record,” I would say this is someone you can depend on and trust.

He is the God of the Universe and yet He is personally interested in each of us. He loves each of us. He holds us in the palm of his hand. He knows the number of hairs on our head. He wants to be an integral part of our lives? Are you interested?

Psalm 91
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you make the Most High your dwelling-- even the Lord, who is my refuge –
then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."

Total Dependence

As I thought some more about my last post, I came up with the idea that it is really all about dependence on God. You either totally depend on him, or you don’t depend on him at all. You can’t do it half way.

As you go through your day, acknowledge that you can’t do it, but God can. Put your dependence totally on God. Ask him for his strength, wisdom, and goodness – not your own. Place yourself totally in the hands of the Savior and ask him to carry you through your day. If things are going well, don’t forget that it is God who strengthens you. It is God that provides you with the ability to do your work. It is God who gives you favor. It is God who opens doors for you. It isn’t about you, it’s about Jesus. It is God who deserves all the honor and glory. Be sure to give him the praise!

The New 23rd

One of the reasons I enjoyed this video was because of the way it worded Psalm 23. Sometimes a passage of Scripture can be so familiar to me that I recite it without thinking about the meaning of the words. This video caused me to once again think about the words to Psalm 23.



When you really think about Psalm 23, isn’t it silly to worry?

The Lord is my shepherd, I’ll never get this report done and my life will be ruined.

The Lord is my shepherd and I’ll never pass this test and I’ll fail this class.

The Lord is my shepherd and my family will starve to death because my spouse is unemployed.

It doesn’t go quite like that. It is the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. We may be caught in difficult circumstances but that doesn't change who God is or what he has promised.

It is impossible to say, “I will fear no evil for I am a strong and powerful person.” No matter how powerful you are, there is always something or someone that could do you harm. Accidents and illness can affect anyone at any time. Verse 4 doesn’t say that – it says the exact opposite. I will fear no evil, for you are with me. With the Lord as your shepherd, you can face anything, any problem, any difficulty, any sorrow, any suffering. Not only can you face these obstacles but you can face them with confidence. That confidence comes from the fact that the God of the Universe goes with you through it all.

Psalm 23 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

Are you an encourager?

Have you ever known someone who really believed in you? Someone who spoke words of encouragement and praise - the kind of person, who made you feel special, made you feel like you could accomplish anything. Paul describes this in Ephesians 4:29 “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Life is full of problems. I’ve had my share this week. I am the technology director at a private K-12 school outside of Atlanta, GA. We fully embrace technology and use it regularly for just about everything. This week, we got blacklisted by several email providers, our web site went down, and our school information system went down. Our firewall was working great – except it blocking us from accessing our own sites! All in all, a bad week for us here in the tech department.

Now I get to choose how I am going to let all that affect me. Am I going to start complaining to everyone I see? Am I going to “yell” at the guys in my department? Or, am I going to be a positive person? Am I going to look for ways to encourage the guys on my team? None of what happened this week is their fault – they just had to deal with it and get things fixed. It is my job to speak positively and be an encourager.

I am blessed to have a wonderful 15 year-old daughter. One of the things that makes her special is her faith and her walk with God. Even at 15, we still have a prayer time together every night before she goes to bed. She prays about her school work – as a normal high school student would. But, she also prays for her friends, kids at school who are sick, and every night we pray that God will show us how to be a blessing in someone else’s life tomorrow. We are convinced that God wants to use us to bless others around our school.

How are you encouraging others? Are you a positive influence in the lives of others? Does your attitude cause others to want to be with you or run from you? Pray about who you might encourage and then do it.


Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if any-thing is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

Grasp the love of God

Ephesians 3:17 - 19 "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Nothing too deep today. Just thinking how very much Jesus loves me. It is hard to grasp that kind of unconditional, everlasting, free love.

Mary and Martha

Jeremiah 9: 23-34 "This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord."

Do you understand the Lord and know Him? Do you know the difference between working in the ministry and serving the Lord? You could be doing the same activities but the difference would be attitude and perspective.

I am very busy but is it all necessary? I've thought about the story of Mary and Martha that comes from Luke 10. Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to him speak. Her eyes and heart were fixed on Him. Her heart was open to His voice. Martha was very worried about taking care of all the work and preparations. She was so consumed with what needed to be done; she missed the point of Jesus' visit.

I am like Mary in that I long to sit at Jesus' feet but the daily demands of this life make it hard. I am like Martha in that I love Jesus and really want to serve him, yet I struggle with weariness. This is a hard thing to balance. I often feel like I’m not godly enough, not loving enough, and not doing enough.

What I need to learn is that I am satisfied only as I rest in Him. As I rest in Him, I actually strengthen my service and I do it with less stress and more joy.


Luke 10:38-42 "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself ? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Thoughts on Hope

Romans 5:1 – 6 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. .Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (bold mine)

Faith and hope are great tools in our walk with God. It is by our faith that we have access to God. It is by faith that we accept his promises. It is through faith that we have peace with God and the hope of eternal life. Standing on our faith in God as we go through trials will produce hope in our lives. This hope comes to us from God. This hope strengthens us and helps us continue to walk in Christ.

Hope is not to be confused with wish or desire. Hope has a much stronger meaning. Biblical hope is a confidence that I have, as a Christian, in my Savior. A Christian’s hope is bold, strong, and true. Hope is not something I can see with my eyes. My hope in the Lord is a promise of a future in heaven with the Lord. My hope in the Lord is a gift from God. A gift that is so wonderful it is hard to grasp its meaning.

My hope is build on nothing less,
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.

In this uncertain time we are living in, I was thinking how glad I am that my hope does not rest on my finances or wealth, but in Jesus.