Hanging out with Dave Rolph
These are the verses we referred to last Wednesday as we studied Omniscience, Omnipresence and Omnipotence of God.
Omniscience-
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
Hebrews 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
1 John 3:20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
Omnipresence-
Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and have our being
Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Omnipotence-
Hebrews 1:3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible.
Matthew 19:26 With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Matthew 28:18 All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Genesis 1, John 1
Psalm 139
What if we really believed that John is telling the truth, when he says in 1 John 5 that when we pray for a brother we see sinning, we can save their lives? At this Christmas season, while so much of our thoughts center around giving, why not take the time to give the gift of life to those around us? Prayer gives life!
As we discussed Sunday, taking the initiative in love, despite the potential of rejection, is central to the definition of love, and the definition of being like God. This week I am trying to go out of my way a bit more, in surprising people with love. Sometimes my time is so occupied with people who are asking for attention and love, that my love becomes more of a response, and thus an obligation, rather than the initiating, audacious love of God that John talks about in 1 John 4. I’m wondering if we sometimes need to learn to turn away from those demanding love and attention, so we can be free to initiate love with those who don’t expect it?
1 John 4:4 is such a powerful verse, and such a precious truth. The One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. God will always be in me because He is greater than any other force. And because that Greater One is in me, I don’t have to fear the evil one. He is limited to the world, and can’t be in me. Therefore I can relax. I can trust God. I don’t have to observe my life like I would watch a scary movie, wondering how it will work out. I can see my life like a football game that I recorded, then learned that my team won before I had the chance to watch it. I don’t know every play, or every point scored. But I know who wins so the pressure is off. I can watch with interest to see exactly how He wins, but the final score has been determined. And the One who died for me has everything under His control. He is greater!
In 1 John 3, the apostle links righteousness and love. I think we could think about this more often. If something is truly right, it will also be truly loving. But John talks about love much more than righteousness, because of the two, love is much easier to identify. Trying to figure out what is right can be a daunting task. This is the problem with legalism. Everything is so complicated when you are trying to determine right from wrong. There are so many factors, and so many opinions. But if we instead just ask ourselves, “What would be the most loving thing to do?” we sometimes find instant clarity. Commandments provide a good check and balance on our attempts at love, but the great commandment is great because it cuts to the chase, and ultimately fulfills righteousness.
Dave Rolph is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Pacific Hills in Aliso Viejo, California, and is the Bible teacher for the radio program The Balanced Word. He has been at CC Pacific Hills for seven years, and prior to that he was an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa for 25 years.
