God is real, God is good, and God is powerful

I want to start this week’s post with a very simple statement, which is “God is real.” It sounds simple enough right? Statistics would show that most of us in the world would agree with this statement. However, I want to suggest that the implications of this statement are far more important than the nonchalant way in which the statement gets thrown around would suggest. A lot of times in this day and age, it sounds more like, “God is real, but let’s talk about something that actually has some implications on what is happening in my life. Let’s talk about something tangible that I can see and experience.”It’s one thing to believe that some abstract, supernatural being is floating around the universe somewhere. It’s another to believe that He is a personal being with whom we can actually have a relationship with. It’s yet an even greater revelation to know that this supernatural being, who is all powerful, is good and is for us. Our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has the power to change any situation with a simple whisper from His mouth. He can heal the sick, restore broken relationships, save and sanctify people who are lost, and even raise the dead. Not only that, but He longs to do these things in and through us, and He longs for us to approach His throne boldly as if we believe He wants to. He wants us to believe that He is real, He is good, and He is powerful.God is not just some abstract idea of feel-good sensuality as He is often made out to be. He can’t just be simply interchanged with anything that we think of as big and outside of ourselves. There are TV shows where God is exchanged for “The Universe”. People lump God into a “one world religion” mentality that basically says that every religion is worshipping the same God, which would make God very difficult to understand. The notion that God’s distinct attributes and traits are important to know, and that His existence should actually cause us to evaluate and change the way we live, is met with both ridicule and disapproval. Yet, He is a living, active being who takes an interest in every part of our lives. We have been given direct access to Him through the blood of His Son Jesus, and He wants to welcome us into His family with open arms. He wants to know us, and for us to know Him. He wants to guide us, teach us and instruct us in His ways just like a good father does with his son. He wants to work miracles in and through our lives to show us, as well as those around us, that He is real!All I ask today is that you take a second to ask yourself, “Is God truly real to me?” Is He just some abstract idea, or is He a real living being? Personally, there are areas of my life that I would have to look at and say that I am not living as if He is real. I am still holding onto things as if God cannot, or will not, address them. How about you? God is real, He is good, and He is powerful. He loves you so much, and He longs for you to live as if He is the most real person in your life. Let’s flip the script in our lives, and start living as if the all-powerful, all loving creator of the universe is walking right by our side with every step that we take.Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. {6} And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, {7} maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation”(Exodus 34:5-7 NIV).