​​​Vol. H-0001 No. H-0006 First Posted December 1996

AWESOME!

Isn't God AWESOME?

That must seem like a pretty stupid question, but do you ever stop long enough just to remember how AWESOME He truly is?  The Lord of the universe, Creator of all life...Creator of your life...is AWESOME Lord!  He who gives us life desires a personal, one-on-one, relationship with each of us!  Is that not amazing to you?  He wants to spend time with us.  He wants to guide us.  He wants to caress us, to embrace us under the Wings of His Protection! (Psalm 91:4)  e longs to commune with His creation. Stopping to actively "think" on this cannot but help us to be awed by His "I AM-ness"!

His What?

If you're wondering what that means, let's find out!  "Then Moses said to God, 'Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you."  'Now they may say to me, "What is His name?"  'What shall I say to them?'  "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; "and He said," 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."' (Exodus 3:13-14 NASB) I AM!  What a Powerful Name! That's all that was needed. God neither has to explain Himself nor introduce Himself to His creation. He chose to do so in a manner in which there was no mistaking WHO had directed this visitation. His God-ness, His I AM-ness, His all encompassing Almighty-ness...it is Who HE IS!  If He isn't greater than all, then He isn't God!  If He is less than all, then He isn't God.  "God said also to Moses, This shall you say to the Israelites, the LORD, the God of your fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has sent me to you! This is My name forever, and by this name I am to be remembered to all generations." (Exodus 3:15 AMP.)

This Name is Holy! This Name is Powerful! This Name is Beautiful! This Name is:

Yahweh!

The Most Beautiful Words

Personally speaking, the two most beautifully words phrased in language are "God Is!" and "In The Beginning God!" Let's look first at "God Is". What does that mean? It simply means that He IS! That might seem trivial but actually it is just the opposite. But even more is that God was!  But wait, we're not done! Before there was time, God Is!  While there is time, God Is! In the future, God Is! When time is no more, God IS!

"God Is" is a simple, straight-forward ABSOLUTE!

What about"In The Beginning God"? (Genesis 1:1) Yes, "In the beginning God", but there is so much more! In the "before the beginning"...God. And in the "future of the beginning"...God! When time is no more...GOD! God, and God Alone, is Awesome!

His Grace!

Does the Grace of Almighty God amaze you? How could it not? The fact that the Creator of all life sent His Son to Earth, for the explicit purpose of dying for me, to save me from the consequence of my sin, is awesome to me. Before I was born, God died for me! WOW! How does one comprehend that? It's very simple...we don't...because we can't! His Grace is like that!  It can't be explained.  It can't be understood.  If it could, then it wouldn't be GRACE! It can only be accepted by a grateful and humble heart! Not to be grateful and humbled by His Love is not to understand the full cost paid for salvation. A personal, perhaps over-simplified, definition of Grace is "not receiving that which I am due...hell and total, forever separation from Almighty God". My personal definition (it's not just a definition, it is Life itself) of Grace is: that part of God which touches our lives that nothing else can touch or influence in any way; that innermost part of God's Heart that reaches out and touches the innermost being of His creation; that part of God which reaches out and does for man that which man cannot do for himself; that part of the Creator that extends Himself to the created...life touches Life. . .

Your Grace, O Lord, has touched my life.  Your Life has touched my life.
My very existence is, in itself, Your Grace.

His Love!

We hear a lot of talk about God's Love. But do we ever stop long enough to consider God's love? It is amazing that God could love a sinner like me. You say, "But He's God and He is Love, so He loves you." No, that is too trite to me. To even have a glimpse of understanding God's Love, I must look at the price paid for His Love to me. He gave up His Son...to get me back. That is awesome! It is beyond description. Why would He do such a thing as sacrificing His Own Son?  I remember when my children were little. I told God one day that I didn't know how He could do it...sacrifice His Own Son for me. I sure wouldn't sacrifice my children for anyone!  "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NASB) That while yet a sinner, Christ died for me! Ah...THAT SACRIFICE IS LOVE!

His Blessings!

How can we ever "explain" His Blessings? Here again, His Blessings cannot be explained! We seem to short-change God in the way we perceive "blessings". We are guilty of being so much within ourselves, that the only things we will consider as blessings are the things to us that are "good", "pleasant", "happy", etc. To think such is to say that when "bad", "unpleasant", "unhappy", etc. things happen to us, God is giving us His worst! Forgive us, Lord, but that is exactly the intent of our heart. We don't deliberately sit back and say to God, "Today, you gave me Your worst."  But our attitude displays our heart.

No, God's blessings are much deeper than that! Thank You, Lord, that You are Deeper! We are guilty of thinking too much of our own comfort than we do of God's Eternal Purpose in our lives and in the lives of others with whom we may be allowed to come into contact. Blessings? May our hearts be penetrated by His Grace that we might see the Magnificence of His Blessings!  His Blessings are as Unconditionally Awesome as is He!

From The Bridegroom

As this part of the newsletter begins: The Bridegroom says to us TODAY: "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'He who has the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars, says this: I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.  Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you.'" (Revelation 3:1-3) Oh Lord, forgive us of our unrepentance! Heal our hearts that we have hardened towards You. Touch us deep, hard and long to know that Your Words are for each one of us individually, not just some abstract verse about "them". "Them", O Lord, is us! Forgive us...Father.

God's Chosen People

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.  May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.  For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, ‘May peace be within you.'  For the sake of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good." (Psalm 122:6-9)

"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning." (Isaiah 62:1)

"And it shall be said, 'Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.'" (Isaiah 57:14)

If are not actively seeking, praying and working to bring God's House together, then we are, by default, passively "scattering" God's House. May God have mercy on us!

Look At Current Events

What to put for currents events... 'Hard to decide... We could mention that America has failed her God. We could mention that the church needs repentance before we can ever hope to prepare the ground of this country for revival. Or, we could mention that half of the registered voters in this great free country of our refused to vote in what may well be the last straw of God's Patience with a people who have hardened their hearts to Him and His Will, His Word and His Way. Isn't it amazing that we who have so MUCH, care and give so LITTLE? That IS amazing! Current events...which one should we consider? Consider Him...then...consider

Consider us, O Lord, in our sin...

Bottom Line

Awesome isn't it: God of the universe, Creator of all life, Sacrificer of Life, chooses to love me...YOU!  If that isn't awesome to us, maybe we should wake up for a reality check!  God chooses to give, to bring, to commune, to protect, to cherish....His creation!

God Is Awesome!

Thank You, Sir! Thank You...

"The Best Gift"

"At Christmas, everyone talks about gifts--what they're giving, what they're getting, and what's on their 'wish list.' We also talk about the gift of life that Jesus Christ gave to us by coming to earth as a baby to show us the way to God."

"But have you ever thought about what kind of gift you can give to Jesus?  Many years ago, not long before Jesus died on the cross, a woman gave Jesus a very special gift." (John 12:1-3)

"While Mary (a friend of Jesus) and her family were giving a dinner in Jesus' honor, Mary slipped away from the company for just a moment. She came back with a jar of nard, an expensive and rare perfume."

"Most people would have poured it on Jesus' head as a sign of respect. In those days, anointing with oil was common. But Mary did something different."

"In front of everyone, she knelt down and poured the perfume over Jesus' feet, and that wasn't all. She proceeded to let down her long hair, and polite women then never did that in public. Gently and tenderly, she wiped Jesus' feet dry with her tresses. Washing feet was servants' work, and she was one of the ladies of the house."

"You probably know already that the perfume wasn't the issue at all. She did give Jesus a valuable present; it cost more than a year's pay. Yet Jesus was pleased far more by the real treasure underneath--Mary humbly gave herself."

"What kind of gifts do you try to give to the Lord?  The only one He wants is you."
                                             In Touch® Magazine, Dr. Charles Stanley, December 1996, page 32 (back cover), Publisher Dr. Charles Stanley.

Choice

The choice seems so simple, yet so complex. If I commit my life to Jesus, what if....?  The "what-ifs" will win when you give them credence. 'Heard an account once, an evangelist was holding a service.  At the end of the service he gave a call for those who wanted to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. He spoke to a lady on the front row and she said maybe tomorrow.  He said to her, "Madam, you have no right to assume that you have a tomorrow." As it turned out, she didn't. When your life is over, it's over. No time for decisions. No time for things left undone.

Only time for....eternity.

Where will you spend your eternity? God has made it possible for you to spend it with Him. The Great Giver of all good things is offering you the opportunity to spend your forever with Him. Take the step.  Make the decision. Take the time. Jesus loves you. He died for you. He lives....for YOU! Ask Him in to your heart. Confess to Him that you are a sinner in need of His Saving Grace. Reach out to Him. Ask Him to save you, to heal your broken, wounded heart, to restore you to His Heart forever! He WILL! Why?  Because HE LOVES YOU!  Receive His Love.  Receive His Grace.   Receive...HIM!

In Jesus' Name, be blessed!

Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai

Blessed Is He Who Comes In The Name Of The Lord

God of all Grace and Glory, we thank You for Your Awesomeness.  For were You less, we would not worship You. Were You explainable, we would not honor You. We thank you Lord that You are Higher, Deeper, Wider--the only True Living God.  We praise You Lord!