“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV)
The divine Presence constantly moves toward us. Initiative for our relationship with God always comes from God…
Every prayer you pray, every thought you think of God -- even the deepest yearnings of your being for fulfillment and final satisfaction -- are but responses to the Spirit of God who has initiated your hunger for the relationship.
-- Ben Campbell Johnson in “Calming the Restless Spirit”
#4438
Showing posts with label God's initiative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's initiative. Show all posts
Monday, October 8, 2018
Monday, September 24, 2018
THE DIVINE INITIATIVE
One of the major themes in the Bible is what we call the divine initiative. Life and salvation begin with God, not us. This means that God reaches out to us and seeks us out in love and grace.
The concept of the seeking God is unique to the Judeo-Christian faith... From the beginning to the end, the Bible is the story of the God who seeks His people and despite their unresponsiveness and unfaithfulness, does not give up on them. God will not let them go. God pursued Israel and pursues us with the indestructible love of a parent. In the closing of the Twenty-third Psalm, the phrase “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” can also be correctly translated, “Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.” God with His goodness and mercy does not trail behind us, but rather He pursues us and chases us down.
-- James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience!... And Give It to Me Right Now!”
#4427
The concept of the seeking God is unique to the Judeo-Christian faith... From the beginning to the end, the Bible is the story of the God who seeks His people and despite their unresponsiveness and unfaithfulness, does not give up on them. God will not let them go. God pursued Israel and pursues us with the indestructible love of a parent. In the closing of the Twenty-third Psalm, the phrase “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” can also be correctly translated, “Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.” God with His goodness and mercy does not trail behind us, but rather He pursues us and chases us down.
-- James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience!... And Give It to Me Right Now!”
#4427
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
DIVINE INITIATIVE
“In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him
nothing was made that has been made.”
(John 1:1-3)
The archetype of one who takes initiative is God Himself. He created the heavens and the earth, spinning into motion the tiny sphere that is our planet. He filled its waters and skies with fish and fowl and scattered all manner of living creatures across its mountains, valleys and plains. Then He lovingly spoke humankind into being, calling man and woman to name the animals, to tend to the garden sprawled at their feet and to live in loving community with one another.
But then He watched as man and woman disobeyed Him, dishonored themselves and destroyed each other with hatred and lies and murder. He watched His creation spiral deeper and deeper into sin; He felt the searing pain as those made in His very image pulled away from Him, breaking the bonds of love that had bound creature to Creator. How easy it would have been for Him to yield to despair and to close His eyes to the ugly ruin His creation had become.
But what did He do? He responded with love and with a plan. He provided an option. He took the initiative in breaching the gap between Himself and His wayward creation. "For God so loved the world" -- and longed to have it reconciled to Himself -- "that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16).
God could have sat idly by and watched the world go to hell. But love demanded that He take the initiative to redeem it instead. So He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, as a sin sacrifice for your foul-ups and mine, thereby making forgiveness available as a free gift. We need only to humble ourselves enough to receive it.
-- Bill Hybels in “Making Life Work: Putting God's Wisdom into Action”
#4206
The archetype of one who takes initiative is God Himself. He created the heavens and the earth, spinning into motion the tiny sphere that is our planet. He filled its waters and skies with fish and fowl and scattered all manner of living creatures across its mountains, valleys and plains. Then He lovingly spoke humankind into being, calling man and woman to name the animals, to tend to the garden sprawled at their feet and to live in loving community with one another.
But then He watched as man and woman disobeyed Him, dishonored themselves and destroyed each other with hatred and lies and murder. He watched His creation spiral deeper and deeper into sin; He felt the searing pain as those made in His very image pulled away from Him, breaking the bonds of love that had bound creature to Creator. How easy it would have been for Him to yield to despair and to close His eyes to the ugly ruin His creation had become.
But what did He do? He responded with love and with a plan. He provided an option. He took the initiative in breaching the gap between Himself and His wayward creation. "For God so loved the world" -- and longed to have it reconciled to Himself -- "that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16).
God could have sat idly by and watched the world go to hell. But love demanded that He take the initiative to redeem it instead. So He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, as a sin sacrifice for your foul-ups and mine, thereby making forgiveness available as a free gift. We need only to humble ourselves enough to receive it.
-- Bill Hybels in “Making Life Work: Putting God's Wisdom into Action”
#4206
Thursday, February 9, 2017
GOD’S INITIATIVE
Christ… demonstrates God's initiative:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16).
Christ's coming into the world was an act of the creator God. God took the
initiative to come to us when we could
not make our way to God…
Every prayer you pray, every thought you think of God -- even the deepest yearnings of your being for fulfillment and final satisfaction -- are but responses to the Spirit of God who has initiated your hunger for the relationship.
-- Ben Campbell Johnson in Calming the Restless Spirit
Every prayer you pray, every thought you think of God -- even the deepest yearnings of your being for fulfillment and final satisfaction -- are but responses to the Spirit of God who has initiated your hunger for the relationship.
-- Ben Campbell Johnson in Calming the Restless Spirit
#4035
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