Tag: God

Satan Sifting

“Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat.” Luke 22:31

After Jesus’ final passover meal, he turns to Simon Peter telling him of Satan’s demand. So I think Satan sifting must have led to Peter’s denials.

But am I right? What does this mean?

FIRST. Satan needs permission to do his evil deeds. He may “demand,” but God is supreme and decides if permission is given or not.

SECOND. The sifting that would be happening was not just of Peter, but to the other apostles. We know this because the word “you” is a plural noun, (y’all). It could be that Satan was hoping to show that these men were like chaff and when sifted they would scatter in the wind. And it would seem Satan had success because Peter did go out and deny that he knew Jesus and the other apostles scattered after Jesus’ arrest in the garden.

“but I have prayed for you” Luke 22:32

Satan again under estimated Jesus and the power of prayer. Jesus, knowing full well what was about to happen prayed for Peter.

FIRST. He prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. Yes, Peter’s denials were wrong, but after he realized what he had done, he went out and wept bitterly, showing how heartbroken he was over what he had done.

SECOND. Jesus went on to pray for Peter to strengthen his brothers. Knowing this broken Peter would turn back to faith, Jesus wanted him to help others who would be struggling with their faith.

Is Satan sifting still?

Yes, he is. What can we do?

We need to take Peter’s instruction to heart…

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

1 Peter 5:8-10

“I am praying for them.” John 17:9

FINALLY. know this…Jesus is praying for us who believe and have come to know the truth. This does not mean we will not sin (as Peter did by denying Jesus) but that we can turn back, live a strong faith and help strengthen others around us.

Hello, My Name is…

Hello my name is Sherry. I am a….I like to…oh wait…I am not sure what to say when I introduce myself. What is the first impression I want people to have of me?What about you…how would you introduce yourself? I am waiting...it is hard isn’t it?Well, today we are going to look at the passage of scripture where God introduces Himself and reveals who He is and what He can do.

Hello, My name is God (Elohim)…

God introduces Himself in Genesis 1 by telling a story…the story of creation. The Hebrew word tranliterated God is Elohim. Elohim means the strong, mighty one. It is used 35 times in the creation account alone (Genesis 1:1-2:3). We will dig into just the Genesis 1:1-5 to see how God introduces Himself.

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 

3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

He Exists Apart from Time 

In the beginning God...God existed before the creation of the universe. He was not created, has always existed. As the psalmist expresses it, “Before…You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God”(Psalm 90:1-2). Or as Isaiah the prophet called the creator of the ends of the earth …the Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28).He has Ultimate Power

When you heard the phrase “strong and mighty”, do you think of physical strength or of someone who has political or economic power to make things happen? When you hear that God is powerful, I bet you don’t think of the word “create”. Yeah, I thought not. Yet understanding the word create is critical to understanding God’s true, ultimate power. The English word create is from the Hebrew word bara. A verb, bara always only has God as its subject, never man or other gods. Only God can create and what is even more amazing He does it by His Word. As the writer of Hebrews so beautifully explains, “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. God said”…it was so. This idea of God speaking the different elements of the world into existence is repeated throughout the creation story. Not only do we see God’s spoken word powerful in creation, but as the author of Hebrews writes of the Son, He “upholds all things by the word of His power“.By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;

He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

For He spoke, and it was done;

He commanded, and it stood fast. Psalm 33:6-9

He Personally Engages with Creation

Do you like a boss that is hands-on, involved in the process?  Maybe, but sometimes the boss can be a micromanger and not let anyone else have a say. Or would you prefer a hands-off boss, that stays away, only to return to judge your work? You may like the space, but not painful criticism in the end.God is a God who is near, not far off (Jer 23:23), but near in a good way. Not only did God speak and things came into being. God also saw, separated and called His new creation by its name. In fact every mention of God in the creation account is followed by a verb. As Tony Evans writes  in his  book, The Power of God’s Names, “He’s not merely a spirit floating around in never-never land…His is other-dimensional—but He is also intensely personal…our universe is personal because Elohim is personal.”

For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb.

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 139:13-14

Elohim is a Plural Word, Yet God Exists as One 

It is the plural form of El, meaning “strong one.” It is a plural of majesty and intimates the trinity. It is especially used of God’s sovereignty, creative work, and mighty work for Israel and in relation to His sovereignty.As we keep reading in the creation account, we come to the use of the plural pronouns us and our, as God makes male and female Gen 1:26-27). So who is the “us” working with God at creation, you may ask. First, if you read back through the opening veres of the creation story, you will see that the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the deep…(Gen 1:2). Then fast forward to the New Testament, Jesus makes the claim He is one with the Father (John 10:38). Paul goes on to explain the supremacy of Christ in his letter to the church in Colosse.

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17