Taking God Seriously

Spending time in solitude and prayer is an act of taking seriously the idea that God is real, that He is available to us, and that He is capable of being with us in a meaningful, personal way.

A Personal God

When God reveals Himself to us we are not learning a theological doctrine.

We are meeting a person.

Should God Stay In His Proper Place?

Some people believe that there is no God.  I understand that reality.  Hold on!  Don’t get nervous.  It’s not that I agree with that position.  I strongly disagree.  I’m simply saying I realize there are people with that belief.

It’s harder for me to understand when people state that they believe there is a God but this God and His role in our lives is strictly a private matter.  When people say they believe in an Almighty Creator God—like the God of the Bible—but this God should not be trotted out to affect our lives in any public way, that seems like a strange position to hold.

This suggests that God is either irrelevant to some areas of life or that His relevance should only be manifested in an unnoticeable, personal and private way.

I understand that we live in a pluralistic culture and this will involve some sensitivities when it comes to our public convictions about God.  Furthermore, I understand that people have abused the idea of God or used it to their selfish advantage, and that is certainly wrong.  Furthermore, the abuse of God creates additional sensitivities for people in regard to our public convictions about God.

However, I wonder:  Do these people, who believe that the Almighty Creator God should be confined to certain personal and private areas of life, think that He will be a good boy and stay in His proper place?

Do these people, who believe that the Almighty Creator God should be confined to certain personal and private areas, think that they know what God’s proper place should be?  Are they going to make Him stay in His proper place?  Do they control Him and who He is and what He’s going to do?

And if some people can control this God—because He has a tendency to be politically incorrect and He might possibly make some things uncomfortable—just what kind of God is this?

Again, the belief that there is no God at all, from a logical standpoint, actually makes more sense to me than the idea of a compliant God who can be sent to His room by people who find Him to be a bit too uncomfortable for the general public.  This God who can be “grounded”—whoever He is—is definitely not the God who is described in the Bible.

Christianity Is Personal

Real Christianity is fundamentally and inextricably personal.  It is about the person of God engaging with you and I.  “Christianity is not a political theory.  It is not even a cultural theory.  It is, at its root, all about changing the heart of each man and woman, boy and girl, so that we begin to think God’s thoughts and act in accordance with his character.” Ravi Zacharias

God Is With Us. Merry Christmas!

One of the remarkable things the Bible tells us about God is that he is not distant.  He’s not a God “out there” who set the wheels of the universe into motion and then said, “Alright.  I got it started for you.  Now, you’re on your own.  Good luck!” The Bible tells us that, actually, God is personal.  God is intimate.  He is Immanuel, the angel reminded Joseph, which means: God is with us. Merry Christmas!