All Powerful God
by Marsha Iddings
Deuteronomy 32:39 ¶ 'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God
besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any
who can deliver from My hand.
This is a powerful verse. God is telling us several things about Himself
here that many would rather ignore.
1. He is the only God, there are no others.
We see this in several other passages of scripture.
Isaiah 45:5 ¶ I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God
beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isaiah 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that
time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God
beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
God is quite clear about the fact that He is the only God. No others
exist except in the imaginations of humans. Some even like to think they
are gods or that they can become gods. I think of Shirley McClain in "Out
On a Limb" proclaiming, "I am god! I am god!" But God says, "there is no
God beside me." He will not share His glory. Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD:
that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my
praise to graven images.
2. God kills.
Did you ever wonder why the Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill" while it
says that God kills? The answer is simple. He is the maker. He can
do whatever he wants with His creation. Consider Romans 9:20-21, Nay
but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath
not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one
vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
While this verse doesn't explicitly say that God kills, it implies His
complete power over His creation to do what He wants with it. If God
chooses to take life it is in His power to do so. He is sovereign over
all to do as He pleases. We are not and God has commanded us to not kill
another unless He has expressly commmanded it in His word.
3. God makes alive.
Many times in Scripture we see God raising people from the dead. He
raised up Jesus Christ from the dead so that ultimately those who are
in Christ can also be raised up from the dead. Romans 8:11 But if the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
This should bring great comfort to us. After we die, God will raise us up
again to live with Him in heaven.
4. God wounds.
God wounds us for our good.
Hebrews 12:5-8, 11 My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the
father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are
partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.... Now no chastening for
the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are
exercised thereby.
Be patient in the pruning, keeping your eye on the peaceable fruit of
righteousness that God is forming in your life.
5. God heals.
Jeremiah 3:22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your
backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I
shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Hosea 6:1 ¶ Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and
he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
When you find yourself in affliction of some sort, find comfort in the
fact that it won't last forever. God will heal the wounds he makes as we
submit to His pruning and sanctifying work in our lives.
6. No one can deliver from of the hand of God.
If we read further down in Deuteronomy we see that the context of this
verse deals with judgment. Deuteronomy 32:41 If I whet my glittering
sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to
mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
This is a warning to those who reject God that their day is coming and
there will be no escape from His hand on that day. These are sobering
words. Only those who cease from trying to work their way to heaven and
lay hold on God's mercy will escape His judgment. "He saved us, not
because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He
saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit"
Titus 3:5
I hope and pray that you will find some truth in this verse to encourage
you in the coming week.
----
**********************************************
**********************************************
Please visit the BSHS House's Family Room to share
your comments on today's Rose From Brier:
p211.ezboard.com/bbeyonds...homeschool
**********************************************
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL SOMETHING TO SHARE?
We pray that each word shared will touch, heal,
encourage, or just draw a laugh or a sigh. But
realize also that it's those little victories of pain
to peace, or struggle to laughter, those little
personal touches that lift. We're asking that you
will each search your heart and see if you have any
Rose From Brier to share with us. We're not looking
for perfect grammar or eloquence of words, but of the
heart. Even one or two lines will be great! Send all
submissions to
bshs_leadership@yahoo.com
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one
another, even as also ye do. 1 Thessalonians 5: 11
**********************************************
Find past issues of our Rose from Brier and other
devotionals and encouragements in our RFB archives at:
groups.yahoo.com/group/be...omeschool/
Click on 'files' found on the left-hand column.
**********************************************
A few notes...
Editing: Moderators have authority to edit spelling,
links, e-mail addresses, etc. as appropriate. All
major changes (ie. questions regarding content) will
be forwarded to you for approval.
*Since we are a branch of Rest Ministries, the
following applies to any Beyond Surviving homeschool
web sites, message boards, or publications.
Copyright: No contract is necessary. It is presumed
that by submitting your work you have given Rest
Ministries the right to publish your devotional on our
website, in our monthly support newsletter, And He
Will Give You Rest, or any other publication that we
distribute.
You will maintain the copyright to your work, meaning
that if you have your work published someday, we will
not have any rights or privileges to it.
Compensation: You will be given credit for your work,
but there is no monetary compensation. We hope that
knowing you are changing lives is a great reward.
**********************************************
by Marsha Iddings
Deuteronomy 32:39 ¶ 'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God
besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any
who can deliver from My hand.
This is a powerful verse. God is telling us several things about Himself
here that many would rather ignore.
1. He is the only God, there are no others.
We see this in several other passages of scripture.
Isaiah 45:5 ¶ I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God
beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
Isaiah 44:8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that
time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God
beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
God is quite clear about the fact that He is the only God. No others
exist except in the imaginations of humans. Some even like to think they
are gods or that they can become gods. I think of Shirley McClain in "Out
On a Limb" proclaiming, "I am god! I am god!" But God says, "there is no
God beside me." He will not share His glory. Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD:
that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my
praise to graven images.
2. God kills.
Did you ever wonder why the Bible says, "Thou shalt not kill" while it
says that God kills? The answer is simple. He is the maker. He can
do whatever he wants with His creation. Consider Romans 9:20-21, Nay
but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath
not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one
vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
While this verse doesn't explicitly say that God kills, it implies His
complete power over His creation to do what He wants with it. If God
chooses to take life it is in His power to do so. He is sovereign over
all to do as He pleases. We are not and God has commanded us to not kill
another unless He has expressly commmanded it in His word.
3. God makes alive.
Many times in Scripture we see God raising people from the dead. He
raised up Jesus Christ from the dead so that ultimately those who are
in Christ can also be raised up from the dead. Romans 8:11 But if the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
This should bring great comfort to us. After we die, God will raise us up
again to live with Him in heaven.
4. God wounds.
God wounds us for our good.
Hebrews 12:5-8, 11 My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the
father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are
partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.... Now no chastening for
the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it
yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are
exercised thereby.
Be patient in the pruning, keeping your eye on the peaceable fruit of
righteousness that God is forming in your life.
5. God heals.
Jeremiah 3:22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your
backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I
shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Hosea 6:1 ¶ Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and
he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
When you find yourself in affliction of some sort, find comfort in the
fact that it won't last forever. God will heal the wounds he makes as we
submit to His pruning and sanctifying work in our lives.
6. No one can deliver from of the hand of God.
If we read further down in Deuteronomy we see that the context of this
verse deals with judgment. Deuteronomy 32:41 If I whet my glittering
sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to
mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
This is a warning to those who reject God that their day is coming and
there will be no escape from His hand on that day. These are sobering
words. Only those who cease from trying to work their way to heaven and
lay hold on God's mercy will escape His judgment. "He saved us, not
because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He
saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit"
Titus 3:5
I hope and pray that you will find some truth in this verse to encourage
you in the coming week.
----
**********************************************
**********************************************
Please visit the BSHS House's Family Room to share
your comments on today's Rose From Brier:
p211.ezboard.com/bbeyonds...homeschool
**********************************************
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL SOMETHING TO SHARE?
We pray that each word shared will touch, heal,
encourage, or just draw a laugh or a sigh. But
realize also that it's those little victories of pain
to peace, or struggle to laughter, those little
personal touches that lift. We're asking that you
will each search your heart and see if you have any
Rose From Brier to share with us. We're not looking
for perfect grammar or eloquence of words, but of the
heart. Even one or two lines will be great! Send all
submissions to
bshs_leadership@yahoo.com
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one
another, even as also ye do. 1 Thessalonians 5: 11
**********************************************
Find past issues of our Rose from Brier and other
devotionals and encouragements in our RFB archives at:
groups.yahoo.com/group/be...omeschool/
Click on 'files' found on the left-hand column.
**********************************************
A few notes...
Editing: Moderators have authority to edit spelling,
links, e-mail addresses, etc. as appropriate. All
major changes (ie. questions regarding content) will
be forwarded to you for approval.
*Since we are a branch of Rest Ministries, the
following applies to any Beyond Surviving homeschool
web sites, message boards, or publications.
Copyright: No contract is necessary. It is presumed
that by submitting your work you have given Rest
Ministries the right to publish your devotional on our
website, in our monthly support newsletter, And He
Will Give You Rest, or any other publication that we
distribute.
You will maintain the copyright to your work, meaning
that if you have your work published someday, we will
not have any rights or privileges to it.
Compensation: You will be given credit for your work,
but there is no monetary compensation. We hope that
knowing you are changing lives is a great reward.
**********************************************
