20.2 Revelation – Knowing God

A motivational book I’ve been reading called “18 Minutes” presented an interesting point.  We are often coached to make goals.  These are often “I will” statements.  This year “I will” lose weight.  “I will” go to the gym.  “I will” complete my BSF lesson each day.  But the author of the book pointed out that these seldom work because they are set in the future.  They are prone to excuses of our future self compared to our present circumstances.  They are noble and create great amounts of guilt and angst, but they don’t work.

Instead, the author recommends addressing your own impression of how you see yourself: your own attributes.  I am a person who eats healthy.  I am a person who exercises every day.  I am a person who spends time in the word of God every day.

God is the great “I am”.  To be the Christians we want to be, that we are called and commissioned to be, we must start with the “I am’s” of God.

We see these throughout the song of Moses and the Lamb.  God is Lord.  God is Almight.  God is great and does marvelous deeds.  God is King, etc., etc. etc.

When our attention turns to these, our full attention not just our future self, then it prompts us to desire to praise God for these attributes and tell others about Him.  If you are a person who fully believes that God alone is Holy, that He is perfectly perfect and nothing else is, how can you not stand in awe of that?  How can you stand idle while friends and family sing praises of anyone or anything that isn’t God as if they are?

It is not just saying the words, that is simply wrote repetition.  When you take the attributes to heart and fully believe them, they prompt transformation and maturity.  You grow when you allow your heart to see more of God.

My Answers:

3.
another great and marvelous sign: 7 angels with the 7 last plagues.  A sea of glass glowing with fire, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast, they held harps given them by God and sang Moses’ song

4.
1. God is Lord, Almighty with great and marvelous deeds – All powerful God does amazingly wonderful things
2. God is King of the Nations, Just and True – Our leader/king of heaven and earth is honest, fair and consistent
3. God’s name is glory, worthy of fear by all, Lord – Glorious God is master of all and deserving of all respect
4. God alone is holy – God stands alone as being perfectly perfect, no other gods, no other person compares
5.God’s righteous acts are now known and all worship Him – The veil is lifted and the full nature of the creator has been revealed to everyone.  The veil disguised God to allow those who wished to select to deny Him could.  If not for the veil, it would be impossible for mankind to make that choice when faced with His fully revealed holiness

5.
Praise Him for opening my eyes and heart.  Praise Him for His mercy to all – that none are expressly prohibited from coming to Him, they need only see through the veil and accept the gift into their hearts.  He gives everyone a just and fair opportunity to make this choice.