About God | Christian Ministry Training Blog

Great Yet Approachable

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — No Comments ↓

Take a few moments to think about the God of the Bible. Therein we read about a God who is great yet approachable. From the beginning chapters in Genesis we find a God great enough to create the heavens and earth along with animals and people to populate it. This same God would walk with Adam and Eve in the garden and talk with them until they sinned against Him. Yet, we continue to read throughout Scripture of a great God desirous of a relationship with people, so much so that He sent Jesus so we could be reconciled to Him and live with God throughout eternity (2 Cor. 5:17-21). Scripture concludes with the book of Revelation where we see Him as an awesome and powerful Judge who triumphs over death, Satan, and all else, and reigns supreme. Though this book serves as a warning from a great God, it also ends with a gracious invitation. — “‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (Rev. 22:17)

A Great God

To be God, He would have to be great — but how great? Certainly He would have to be more powerful than any other force and wiser than the wisest of men or spiritual beings. Scripture describes His greatness and understanding as that which no one can fathom — unfathomable (Ps. 145:3; Isa. 40:28). Read previous articles about His greatness and the difference it makes when we view Him as such:

We could have a large number of expert theologians form a symposium to lecture us on different aspects of God and barely scratch the surface. We could spend a lot of time studying about His character and ways, yet in reality know so little. That’s how great He is!

A God Who is Great Yet Approachable

But, here’s the thing. In all of His unfathomable greatness, the God of the Bible is approachable, having made a way for us to be in fellowship with Himself through Jesus Christ. We can communicate with Him on a personal level. — “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb. 4:16) “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” (1 Jn. 5:14)

He relates with us as our Father who deeply loves us and cares for us like none other. He’s always working on our behalf for the good (Rom. 8:28). Read the following articles about this approachable God and how we respond when we view Him as such:

This is a God worthy of our full love and devotion. Even when we don’t understand His ways, because of His greatness, we can know that He not only has the power and wisdom to do what is right but the love and compassion to have our best at heart.

We’re blessed with a God who is approachable even though He is so much greater and better than us because He is the sum total of all His attributes, all the time, without fail. For a look at His various traits, order the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool Download which provides alphabetical renderings of this great yet approachable God.

In the Beginning GOD …

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — No Comments ↓

What a difference it makes in our view of life when we begin with a God who is great enough, in all aspects, to create the heavens and earth! Think about the kind of God it would take to do that. He would have to be very powerful, creative, purposeful, and very wise. It would take an eternal God who is not limited by time and matter (infinite) to see how it could all fit together. Certainly, the One who brought it all into existence would be supreme over all.
In the Beginning God

Biblical Claims About the God Who Created All Things in the Beginning

It only makes sense that we would need an all-powerful and all-wise God as the Creator. Here are some verses that support who this God is:

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (Ps. 33:6)

The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. (Ps. 89:11)

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Ps. 90:2)

In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. (Ps. 102:25)

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. (Isa. 40:28)

This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, (Isa. 44:24)

It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. (Isa. 45:12)

For this is what the LORD says – he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited— he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other. (Isa. 45:18)

My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together. (Isa. 48:13)

But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. (Jer. 10:12)

Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. (Jer. 32:17)

He made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. (Jer. 51:15)

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Rom. 1:20)

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. (Rev. 4:11)

Learn more about the kind of God it would take in the beginning in the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool Download. This resource provides five different alphabet renderings looking at God from different aspects of His being, such as who He is as our Creator God.

More About God: Theology Resources

We All Need God’s Power

Posted on January 6, 2021 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — 4 Comments ↓

God’s power isn’t just for church leaders. We all need God’s power regardless of how we might serve.

That’s why the Steering the Church Toward God’s Power Leadership Guide addresses a leader’s responsibility to not just point people to God’s power but be an example of pulling on that power in all they do. (Click on the link to learn more about that resource.)

God’s power isn’t just for church ministry. We all need God’s power wherever we are, in whatever we’re doing. God’s power isn’t just for “normal” times. We all need His power during whatever the season of life in which we find ourselves.

Availability of God’s Power

God will help us live for Him no matter the circumstances, in whatever we have to do.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him … (2 Pet. 1:3)

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know … his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead … (Eph. 1:18-20)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us … (Eph. 3:20-21)

Notice in the above verses how the power He makes available is divine (supernatural), incomparably great, and immeasurably more than we could even conceive on our own. It’s the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and will one day raise us as well (1 Cor. 15:51-58).

We All Need God's Power

Tapping into God’s Power

It begins “through our knowledge of him …” (2 Pet. 1:3). Take time to get to know Him better. The more fully we know Him as the Great God He is, — the Almighty One, the Creator of heaven and earth, — the more we will learn to rely on Him. We will cease striving and let God be God in and through our lives (Ps. 46:10).

How Can We Not Worship Our God?

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — No Comments ↓

Know and Worship Our God

When we truly “know that the Lord is God” (Ps. 100:3) we won’t be able to help but respond in worship. So, let’s take some time to reflect on God.

Reflect: Why Knowing God Leads to Worship

We could examine many verses to determine the kind of God we have but will choose just six that support the case for worshiping Him. Reflect on the following truths about the God of the Bible:

As the Creator of all things, He is worthy of our praise.

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being. (Rev. 4:11)

As One who is good, loving, and faithful, always reliable, He certainly deserves our thankful praise and worship.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Ps. 100:4-5)

As our Maker, He is supreme over us, the Sovereign One, so it only makes sense we kneel in reverence and submission to Him.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. (Ps. 95:6-7)

As the Maker of everything, the Life-giver, certainly He should be exalted above all else.

You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. (Neh. 9:6)

As the Most Holy One, His presence should produce an awe-struck wonder within us.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. (Ps. 96:9)

As the Owner of everything and His mercy toward us, He deserves our all in worship.

Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. (Rom. 11:35-12:1)

Think about the worship services in our churches. What a difference it makes when everything done in it points people to this kind of God! All praise, glory, and honor belongs to Him!

The Worship Ministry Manual looks at each the verses in this post in light of worship in our churches, including implications for both worship leaders and individual worshipers.

God is Love

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — 5 Comments ↓

God is Love To truly understand love, we need to look at characteristics of God’s love for God defines love.

— And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (1 Jn. 4:16)

An Acrostic about God’s Love

Take some time to get to know God’s love by reflecting on the characteristics used in the acrostic below. Hover over the Scripture listed with each trait to read it. The more fully we get to know this love, the greater will be our reliance on it.

L – Limitless (Ps. 57:10; 36:5; Eph. 2:4; 3:18; 1 Jn. 3:1)

In terms of vastness or greatness, His love can’t be measured.

O – Other-Centered (Jn. 15:13; Rom. 5:8; 1 Jn. 3:16; 4:9-10)

In terms of focus, His love always seeks the best for others even to the point of sacrificing for them.

V – Virtuous (Rom. 12:9-10; 1 Cor. 13:3-8; Col. 3:14; 1 Jn. 4:18-19)

In terms of quality, His love is full of integrity and goodness and always has pure motives and intent.

E – Enduring (Ps. 100:5; 136:26; Lam. 3:22-23)

In terms of time, His love never ends and will always define Him.

God is indeed love but He is so much more. Check out the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool Download for alphabetical listings of God’s many attributes.

Because God is . . .

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Ministry Tools Resource Center — 4 Comments ↓

What determines your character and behavior?

We can be a certain way and do certain things for pragmatic reasons … to get what we want in life, to advance, or achieve. We can be a certain way and do certain things for people-pleasing reasons … to gain people’s approval and acceptance.

These reasons cause us to react and respond relative to our circumstances. We might find ourselves justifying the means to get to the end. Who we are in public may differ from who we are at home or in private.

Start with “Because God is …”

When, however, we start with “Because God is …. I will ….”, we maintain a consistency and integrity throughout the whole of our lives. We don’t do something just because it works but because it’s right. We’re more concerned about what God thinks than what people think.

God Is ... His Character

When we use the character of God as our standard for who we are and what we do, we live in accordance with Romans 12:1-2.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Examples of “Because God is …”

The commands of Scripture are rooted in the character of God. Hence,

Because God is faithful, I will fulfill commitments.

Because God is good, I will be kind and share with others.

Because God is holy, I will do what is right even when it’s not convenient or comfortable.

You’ll find more examples of “Because God is … I will …” in the Our Great God from A to Z Discipleship Tool Download which lists attributes of God using the alphabet.

A prayer for all of us:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Eph. 1:17)