This one goes out to all the mothers out there. I may not have written this song, but rest assured the sentiments are truly mine. Happy Mother’s Day!
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The fourth attribute of God we will be exploring is His omnipotence, which means the topic of discussion is God’s power. Omnipotence is simply the highfalutin way of saying “all-powerful”. Therefore, when we say God is omnipotent we are saying He is able to do anything He desires or wills to do. No better verse encapsulates this concept than Psalm 115:3. “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him.”
When we speak of power we are referring to ones ability to act or produce an effect. Just like God we have the ability to effect things according to our will. I exercise my power each and every day. If I am hungry I make a meal, if the grass is long I mow it, and if I don’t like what is on television I change the channel. We do have power, but the power we exercise only exists within very narrow limits. Case in point we can’t control the weather, we can’t avoid taxes, and we can’t live forever.
In stark contrast to His creation, God is not restricted in His power. If we were to remove all the limitations of power, as it exists in us, we would begin to have an idea of the omnipotence of God. He is all-powerful and has unlimited authority and influence. He is not bounded by resources (Heb 11:3), constrained by imagination (Eph 3:20), nor hemmed in by probability (Matt 19:26). God made all things to serve Him (Psalm 119:91), nothing is too hard for Him (Jer 32:17), no one can stop His plans (Job 42:2), and He does whatever He pleases (Psalm 135:6). In essence God can do anything He desires.
We could be satisfied and rest here, were it not for one important caveat. Although I have made it sound like God can do absolutely anything, there are some things that God cannot do. No I am not downgrading God so that He is no longer all-powerful. What I am doing is making a distinction in what He WILL do. God can do all things He desires or wills. However, God will not desire to do something contrary to His nature and character (2 Tim 2:13). Everything that God does, or doesn’t do, will be entirely consistent and in harmony with the entirety of His character and nature. Although God’s power is infinite He exercises His power in light of who He is.
This knowledge of God’s omnipotence should both encourage and excite praises in His people. Why is that? Meditate for a moment on the fact that we are kept, sustained, protected, and strengthened by a God who is not limited in power. In Him (the omnipotent God) we live and move and have our being. In light of God’s absolute power and authority we can have the utmost confidence in His ability to keep all of His precious promises. Finally, for all of you mere mortals out there, as you attempt to serve and obey Him realize that you can only do so in the strength that He (the omnipotent God) has given you. Rest assured, He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it (Phil 1:6), and that you can take to the bank. Here are some more verses on God’s omnipotence.
Psalm 33:6 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
Psalm 147:5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
Jer 10:12 It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
Jer 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
Jer 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?
Dan 4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
Luke 1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Rom 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Rev 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
1) Intro to the Attributes of God
9) Infinite God
I apologize for the lack of posts. Sometimes life places demands on your time which can not be avoided. Such is my life at the moment. However, to make up I have discovered the next “Big Thing” in praise. I think I have something here every church should incorporate in their Sunday worship. The outfit might be a hard sell, but the moves are pure gold. Check it out.
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It has been some time since I have posted a batch of funny things my kids have said. Well, I am about to remedy that right now. I offer you the fifth instalment of My Funny Kids.
McAuley: “Instead of a nap maybe we could just quietly lay in bed and talk with God.”
Me: “Yeah, & how likely is that going to happen?”
McAuley: “Hello Dad. I didn’t break something down stairs. I didn’t.” Greeting I received when I got home from work.
McAuley: “I can’t wait until I am older so I can know what you & mom are talking about.”
Me: “Rowan, your mom is full of it.”
Rowan: “Deuce”
Me: “Yes, your mom is full of deuce.”
Zayne: “Sometimes I say I am fine when I am really not fine.” Still not sure if it is hereditary or if you are just taught this from an early age, but all you girls seem to do this.
Zayne: “Your tummy is jiggly Dad, but not as jiggly as mom’s.” My daughter has mastered the fine art of the complisult: part compliment part insult.
McAuley: “I wish there were two of me. One to play my DS, and one that gets to go to church.”
McAuley: “When you get cold your hair grows.” – Discovering & coming to terms with goose bumps.
Zayne: “Oh thank U so very much for bringing us. And I guess I should probably pray & thank God for letting us go too.” I can’t remember where we took the kids, but it must have been thanks worthy.
Well Canada has done it again, or to be exact, the Supreme Court of Canada has done it. I usually do not post twice in one day, but for this I am making an exception. The Supreme Court has recently upheld a ruling, which has both free expression and freedom of religion implications. The ruling in question can be found here. I will try my best to summarize what happened and why you should care.
The story begins with a Saskatchewan resident by the name of William Whatcott. William, a professing Christian and former practicing homosexual, went about distributing flyers that were critical of public schools and their addition of educational material promoting the homosexual lifestyle. Several people reported Whatcoff, claiming his four flyers promoted hatred against individuals based on their sexual orientation. The complaints made their way to a human rights tribunal, which ultimately ruled against Whatcoff. This wouldn’t be much of a story if it ended there. The issue moved through the court system where it progressed from the Court of Queen’s Bench to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, and eventually onto the Supreme Court of Canada. Ultimately the Supreme Court ruled that the contents of Whatcoff’s flyers where hate material and were not protected on the basis of freedom of expression or freedom of religion.
So why should you care about this judgment? First off, it has set precedence in ruling that criticism of homosexual behavior can be classified as ‘hate speech”. This means that critical examination, dissenting opinion, and possibly our Christian convictions could potentially result in court appearances and jail time. If that wasn’t worrisome enough consider for a moment how they will go about determining fair criticism verses hate speech.
To begin to understand how this is going to happen we must look at the courts ruling.
the term ‘hatred’ contained in a legislative hate speech prohibition should be applied objectively to determine whether a reasonable person, aware of the context and circumstances, would view the expression as likely to expose a person or persons to detestation and vilification on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination.
The court says that they must “objectively” test the speech in question to see if it meets their definition of ‘hatred’. Can one truly be objective in defining hatred when, by its very nature, hatred is a subjectively emotive concept? Let’s be honest, we all subjectively find different things repugnant and offensive. Would an arbitrator or judge be any different than the rest of us? Although they address this concern in the ruling, I have no idea how it is going to work out in a repeatable and practical way.
My concerns only increased as I read thought the ruling’s history. Throughout the entire process all levels of authority were faced with the same dilemma and were equipped with the same test. In a truly objective exercise one would expect consistency in ruling. However, the Supreme Court and the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal came to completely different conclusions. Given all things being equal, how else could they come to diametrically opposite rulings unless the process was subjective?
Ultimately this is a blow to our freedom of expression and religion. Yes, we need to protect people from hate speech, but we need to do it in a fashion that is consistent and predictable. That is not what the Supreme Court has left us with. Instead they have left us uncertain as to where we stand, and questioning whether our very convictions are now deemed illegal.
p.s. Just in case you missed the link to the ruling in the above post you can find it here: Saskatchewan (Human Rights Commission) v. Whatcott