CONNECT WITH US ONKathy Howard Facebook  Kathy Howard Twitter Kathy Howard You Tube

Category Archives: The Fear of God

Monday Minute in the Word – God is…

Posted on by

There’s no better way to start the week than by filling up with God’s Word. So each Monday morning join me here to take a brief, but reflective look into a passage of Scripture.  

It amazes me that the Creator God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible. Although our finite human brains cannot comprehend all that God is, we can study what God has made known to us about Himself.

We can deepen and enrich our relationship with God through a better understanding of His nature. As we grow in our knowledge of Him we will respond with greater worship, trust Him more fully, and love Him more completely. Let’s get started this morning by considering the four Bible passages that tell us “God is…”

3”But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”   John 4:23-24, ESV

Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29for our God is a consuming fire.   Hebrews 12:28b-29, ESV

5This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.   1 John 1:5, ESV

7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.                 1 John 4:7-8, ESV

What four descriptions do the biblical authors use in these passages to help us understand God’s nature?

  • God is Spirit. He is not confined by time or space. He is not limited by the physical realm. God cannot be defined by the same stuff we are.
  • God is a consuming fire. We sinful humans tend to take God too casually. He is holy, righteous, and just. He is worthy of not just our worship but also our obedience.
  • God is light. The Bible often uses “darkness” to depict sin and “light” to depict righteousness. God, who is transcendent in holiness is completely and totally righteous. There is no speck of sin in Him.
  • God is love. God is the originator and giver of love. God doesn’t merely “love.” Everything He does is an expression of His perfect love.

Take a moment this morning to contemplate the nature of God Praise Him for who He is.

WORDS OF FAITH

Posted on by

El dolore mincili quatue tionsequat ut laner.
Nos dunt nit inisi bla feum delesse dio exeril el ute magna facip er ipisisi. Accumsan eu facil ullan vulla feugue do enis. Na feugiam irit acipit volobore veraesed er adigna cor sustrud delit ver sustinit vel ut nit inibh eu feuisisis.Eu facidunt atem ipit in utat nostion el dolore mincili quatue tionsequat. Ut lan er in hent wisl et accummy nos dunt nit inisi bla feum delesse dio exeril el ute magna facip er ipisisi. Accumsan eu facil ullan vulla feugue do enis. Na feugiam irit acipit volobore veraesed er adigna cor sustrud delit ver sustinit vel ut nit inibh eu feuisisis eu facidunt atem ipit in utat nostion el dolore mincili quatue tionsequat.

Ut lan er in hent wisl et accummy nos dunt nit inisi bla feum delesse dio. Accumsan eu facil ullan vulla feugue do enis. Na feugiam irit acipit volobore veraesed er adigna cor sustrud delit ver sustinit vel ut nit inibh eu feuisisis eu facidunt. Ut lan er in hent wisl et accummy nos dunt nit inisi bla feum delesse dio exeril el ute magna facip er ipisisi. Accumsan eu facil ullan vulla feugue do enis. Delit ver sustinit vel ut nit inibh eu feuisisis eu facidunt atem ipit in utat nostion el dolore mincili quatue tionsequat. Ut lan er in hent wisl et accummy nos dunt. Na feugiam irit acipit volobore veraesed er adigna cor sustrud delit ver sustinit vel ut nit inibh eu feuisisis eu facidunt atem ipit in utat nostion el dolore mincili quatue tionsequat. Ut lan er in hent wisl et accummy nos dunt nit inisi bla feum delesse dio exeril el ute magna facip er ipisisi. Accumsan eu facil ullan vulla feugue do enis. Ut lan er in hent wisl et accummy nos dunt nit inisi bla feum delesse dio exeril el ute magna facip er ipisisi. Accumsan eu facil ullan vulla feugue do enis. Na feugiam irit acipit volobore veraesed er adigna cor sustrud delit ver sustinit vel ut nit inibh eu feuisisis eu facidunt atem ipit in utat nostion el dolore mincili quatue tionsequat. Read more

I certainly don’t deserve it

Posted on by

Daniel is one of the most godly and upright men we read about in the Bible. He never wavered, even through the most difficult of circumstances. When Israel, his homeland, was invaded by Babylon, a teenage Daniel was enslaved and taken far away from his home to do the bidding of King Nebuchadnezzar. Yet Daniel remained committed to obedience, even when faced with the lion’s den.

I’ve been reading through the book of Daniel in my quiet time. In chapter nine, Daniel is now an old man. He survived the takeover of the Babylonian kingdom by the Medes and the Persians. His people have endured exile now for seventy years – the amount of time Daniel understood from Scripture to be the length of their discipline from God.

Daniel began to mourn and pray and petition God to intervene on behalf of His people. Now here’s the part that really struck me.

“We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Daniel 9:18-19

From a human perspective, if anyone “deserved” for God to hear and answer his prayer it would be someone like Daniel. But because he had an inkling of the awesome greatness of God, Daniel was humble. He recognized his sinfulness – especially in comparison to the holiness of God. Read more

Got Wisdom?

Posted on by

gold-barsMankind is capable of tremendous things. We can put a man on the moon – and beyond. We can harness the power of the wind, split atoms, clone living beings, and many more incredible things.

Thousands of years ago, God’s servant Job pondered this same thing. He saw the men of his day enter the depths of the earth and return with gold and gems and he was amazed. Yet, he noticed that with all their ability they could not mine wisdom. Read more

Pink Scooters and Big, Yellow Dogs

Posted on by

I took our not-so-small, black Chihuahua for a long walk recently. About 3 pounds overweight, Harley needs all the exercise I’m willing to give him. He does well at all the dog walking basics. He stays right at my side, keeps the pace I set and rarely stops to sniff at a fireplug or lamp post.

But this particular day something spooked him. About two blocks into our walk, Harley not only came to a screeching halt, he dug his heels in (or whatever dogs have) and refused to budge. Looking ahead I spotted the object of his fear – a kid-sized, pink scooter in the middle of the sidewalk. I tried to encourage him with soothing comments, but his rump remained on the concrete. Then I combined pulling on the leash with some not-so-soothing comments. But Harley still wouldn’t move. I ended up carrying him around the scooter while he climbed me like a tree. Read more