Skip to main content

"What do you call God?"

A thought by Craig Groeschel, from his book, The Christian Atheist: When You Believe in God But Live as if He Doesn’t Exist (p. 42). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I know, I know this is not technically a thought, it is a question.  But it is a very good question. And the answer to it tells a lot about who God is to us personally.  

Craig asks, “What do you call God? The Big Guy in the Sky? The Man Upstairs? Dear eight-pound, six-ounce Baby Jesus?”

He then continues, “Then you don’t know him. Those titles may be clever or funny, but they certainly aren’t intimate.

“If you know God, you are likely to be far more specific with him, and the words you use will reflect your accurate understanding of him. Maybe God graciously forgave you for two decades of sins and you gratefully call him ‘Savior.’ Perhaps when you pray, you call God ‘Healer’ because he’s healed your broken heart. Maybe you call him ‘Comforter’ because he has come alongside and provided company in your misery. Maybe you call him ‘Fortress’ or ‘Rock’ or ‘Strength.’ Maybe you’ve found yourself backed into a corner, with nowhere to turn, creditors calling, and he’s ‘Provide’ to you. If you’re a woman, and the man in your life abandoned you, you might even call him ‘Husband.’ When you feel totally alone, perhaps you call him ‘Friend.’ Maybe your earthly father has never been there for you, and to you God is ‘Father.’”

He then says, “What do you call God? Your answer may be a clue to how well you know him. Or don’t.”

Now you can know God, you really can.  And that is what he really wants.  He wants to have a relationship with you.  He sent his Son, Jesus into the world to show you what He is like.  So, do you want to know him?  A good place to start is the Bible, and the book of John in the Bible will start to show you what Jesus, his Son is like.  John 3:16 (NLT) says, “So this is how God loved the world:  He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”


So, do you want to know God?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

"To put it simply, worry isn’t just a bad habit."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 1). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Ok, that is interesting. Louie says, "Worry is an Enemy tactic—a strategy built on lies that are designed to rob you of peace and tear your mind to pieces. "That’s why it’s crucial that you are able to spot the lies worry tells." He goes on, "Not long ago while on safari in South Africa, Shelley and I were really wanting to see a leopard in the wild. Early and late on our game drives our eyes were set on every tree limb, bush, grassy hill, and river path in hopes of finding one of several leopards that were known to frequent this particular area. But here’s the thing: leopards aren’t bright orange with tall, sparkly antennae on their backs. They are designed to blend into the surroundings, like the bark of a baobab tree where they might be lounging on one of its mighty branches. "In the same way, ...
Post a Comment
Read more