Omnipotent God

One of the distinguishing aspect about Christianity is that we are encouraged to challenge what we are taught in church by pastors and teachers with what the Word says. Questioning your own pastor's teaching is not generally tolerated in other religions. however, Scripture encourages us to test teaching because there is great value in knowing what the word of God says.

Many pastors teach us (among many things) that God is omnipotent. So- as we have been commanded to test teachings with the Bible - does the Bible actually say that God is omnipotent? Revelation 19:6 does refer to God as omnipotent in the King James Version and New King James Version, but God is referred to as "Almighty" in different translations. Why the difference? Wallance Smith writes, "The Greek word translated as 'Omnipotent' here is pantokrator, meaning 'All-ruling' or as it is more frequently translated 'Almight.' When we say God is 'Almighty,' we are stating our belief in His authority and rulership over all creation, and the Bible is firm in declaring this fact."

While the Bible may not often expressly say that God is omnipotent, it does frequently say that God is Almighty. Genesis 17:1, Job 11:7, Psalm 91:1, and Isaiah 6:3 are just a few of many examples found in the Bible of God declaring Himself to be the Almighty One. Because God does so often declare in His Scripture that He is God Almighty, we, as His followers, need to pay attention to it. When God repeats something in the Bible, it is usually because He wants us to focus on it.

Living Life

Disciples: Faithful to the End

Jesus was faithful to the end by even allowing Himself to be killed. God actually allowed His own death to happen. This is impossible to even imagine in today's society, where we fight for every breath, and we don't give into death no matter what.

What is more amazing is that Jesus passed this legacy onto His disciples; a legacy to finish strong, and to stay faithful to the very conclusion of our time on this earth. Of all the 12 disciples, only John was not martyred or killed in a terrible manner. Of course, John was not killed in a terrible manner because he somehow survived being boiled alive. All the rest were crucified, stoned, beheaded, and stabbed, because of the Gospel.

Mark Driscoll challenges us: "You're either going to go out like Judas or Jesus - that's how your life is going to end. You're going to go out like Jesus, faithful to the end, whatever the cost, or you're going to go out like Judas, prematurely, tragically, rebelliously, shamefully."

This is not to say that those who are called to Christ must go out and die horrific deaths. We do not have to be crucified to go to heaven. But this is a challenge for us to emulate our Lord. Jesus was faithful with His calling to the very end. He did not take a break or a vacation before His death. He did everything He could do to prepare the people of this world before He had to leave it. That is the life that we should try to be living. God the Son was faithful to the end, and He wants us to be faithful to the end, whatever that calling may be.

Living Life

God: Faithful to the End

God had been promising a Promised Land for a long time. God promised Abraham not only descendants, but a land for them to live on. Then Abraham died and Isaac came. Then Isaac died and Jacob (later named Israel) was born. Jacob was born, had 12 sons, and died in the land of Egypt. Three generations had passed, and God had still not fulfilled His promise. Fast forward over 400 years of life in Egypt, and another 40 years of wandering in a circle in the desert.

Finally Joshua son of Nun, the former servant of Moses, enters the scene and starts conquering the Promised Land. Even so, when Joshua was at the end of his life, he realized that this was not the end of Israel's relationship with God. Jeff Miller says, "Joshua reflects on the proven faithfulness of the Lord once again. He then brings Israel to a crossroads and challenges them to choose their response to this faithful God. The Israelites have been recipients of the faithful service of God; now they are given the opportunity to serve Him in return."

God may have seemed to take a long time to answer His initial promise, but He did answer nonetheless. What is important to note, is that our relationship with God is not just built on promises and rewards. What we see from the Bible is that there are consequences for our faith, and consequences for our unfaithfulness. God will always be faithful, but that does not mean that we will always be faithful. But instead of dwelling on how bad we can be, it is better to look at a life that was faithful to the end, and to see how God responded.

Living Life