A Noisy Life/A Silent Night

The other night I had to go out to the shop to do something at about 10:30. I finished what I had to do and started to go back home. As I was going, I was struck by how silent the night was. I looked up, and all I could think was, "I wonder how much we miss in the noise of our lives." I wondered about all the people I've heard say things like, "It's so hard to hear from God." I wondered about my struggle over the years to hear God's voice. I wonder really how loudly He is speaking. But we've got so many things going on in life.

I saw a shooting star that night. A tree was in the way...I think I'm going to cut that tree down so I can see it next time.

I wonder how many things we have growing in our lives that get in the way of seeing God's glory.

We should be more like Moses who said, "Show me Thy glory." I bet that's a prayer we will get a positive answer to. I know I have.

The Word

John 1

The Word

As I read through chapter 1, a question came to mind. Why is Jesus called, “the Word”? Two things came to mind:

a.) Genesis 1 – Something about this chapter strikes me as quite incredible. I count at least five times (in the NKJV anyway) the phrase, “and God said…and it was so.” And God said, and it was so…. When God speaks, there is incredible power; power of which we are not aware. It’s power that has created the universe and holds the universe intact (see Col. 1:17 – in Him all things consist, or are sustained, or are held together in composition “by the word of His power”, Heb. 1:3). When God speaks, we can bank on it as being 100% accurate and true. Jesus is the express image of this truth and power. He spoke with His mouth, and He spoke with His life. He spoke with His miracles and healings. He is how God communicates and imparts His love for us.

Along these lines, I’m reminded of times when Jesus performed certain miracles. Matthew 8:7 records the words of the centurion looking for healing for his servant: “But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus marveled at this guy’s faith. He knew what kind of power His word had – and Jesus said, and it was so.

In another instance, Jesus rebuked the storm: “Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, ‘Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’” (Mat. 8:26, 27) So Jesus spoke, and there was a great calm. This should tip us off as to who Jesus is, who commands even nature and nature obeys immediately. It was God who spoke the universe into existence in the first place; here we see Jesus commanding authority over it once again.

Also, as an aside to this, I find it quite intriguing that although God can and sometimes does speak into this creation His will and it obeys immediately, that He still allows man his free will, his will to say “yes” or “no” to God as it were.

b.) Hebrews 1:1-3 – Whereas in times before God spoke to man through other men, known as prophets, God is now here speaking to us by His own Son. He is the Word of God to us, as God, in these last days, is making His final attempt to communicate His message of love, righteousness, and holiness to man. Who God is cannot be made any clearer than by looking at Jesus, His life, His words, His miracles which attest to His incredible compassion, and His death, the ultimate communiqué of His love for us. If you want someone to tell you what God is like, look to Jesus.

Personal Application

Here’s a personal application I see:

When God gives me a promise, like “I’m going to do this or that through you,” I can bank on it that God will bring it to pass. Abraham had to wait a long time for his son, but he finally got him. Interestingly enough, he got his son when it was physically impossible for Abraham and Sarah to have a son. But God is the God of the impossible. Sometimes it goes down that way so that it’s clear to everyone, including the recipient that God is behind it.