Doing Life Together

God is Eternal, part 2

Here are some scripture passages about the eternality of God for you to ponder.  As you meditate on them, let God enlarge your view of Him.

Deuteronomy 33:27  ~  The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.  He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, “Destroy him!”

Psalm 90:2  ~  Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

Psalm 102:27  ~ But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.

Isaiah 40:28  ~  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.

2 Peter 3:8  ~  But do not forget this one thing, dear friends:  With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

Revelation 4:8  ~  Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings.  Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”

Eternal God, You are great and greatly to be praised!

• Big wedding two weeks ago at the Gallatin campus as our Gallatin Campus Pastor, Bill Davis, gave away his last daughter Taylor.  The wedding was officiated by our Executive Pastor, Lance Taylor.  All reports are that it was a great wedding!
• Our White House campus had a cookout Friday night at the municipal park in White House.  We had a good turnout and a great time!  Ben Heile, our campus coordinater, is working hard on developing small groups and getting ready for our official launch on Aug 10th.  Several small groups are already meeting.  Check out the White House campus blog for the latest info.
• This Friday is our big Fourth of July Celebration at Long Hollow!  The fun begins at 5:00 PM.  An added feature this year is a car show.  Fireworks will begin at about 9:00.  By the way, there is a rumor there will be no turkey legs.  Please, don’t tell my wife – it will wreck her!  She loves turkey legs!
• Check out the tan our Director of Facilities, Brad Beaty, brought back from his vacation.  It’s stunning!  His secret is real butter.
• Has anyone heard of a restaurant called the Piddle Griddle?  I heard it’s a place you can cook your own pancakes on a griddle in the center of the table.
• When is the last time you a good ole Stuckey’s pecan log?

• One of my favorite beverages is Sun Drop!
• I have never seen one entire episode of 24, Lost, The Office, or Law And Order.
• This is the most desolate period for a sports fan.  How long until the start of football season?
• The Discovery Channel special, When We Left Earth, is a must see.

You ever feel inadequate?  I do a lot of the time, but never more strongly than when I go to Home Depot.  I made a swing through there this morning. Understand, I’m not adverse to hard and demanding physical labor - my dad made sure of that.  It’s the skilled precision stuff I’m no good at.  The Hu Morris, Bruce Devries, Lance Taylor types who can measure and saw and build stuff make me sick.

Every time I set foot in Home Depot, I’m confronted with my lack of ability in this area.  Here I am this morning pushing around a shopping cart loaded with marigolds and impatiens, while manly men walk past me lugging 2 by 4’s with pencils stuck behind their ears and smirks on their faces.  I know what they’re thinking, “nice flowers sissy boy.”  It reminded of the handyman who came to work on our house one time and told my wife, “you need a man around this house!”

Oh well, somebody’s got to represent the unskilled men of the world.  We are valuable – there is stuff we can do.  I do a good job mowing the grass!

Spiritually speaking, it’s not a bad thing to feel inadequate.  It insures we will rely on God to live the Christian life, and not on our own strength.  We need to embrace our spiritual inadequacy so we can walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  Pride and self confidence are enemies of spiritual power.  John the Baptist said it well when he said of Jesus,  He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:30) .

I’d like to start a new Wednesday tradition.  I’m going to start blogging about the attributes of God on Wednesdays.  I’m reminded over and over how we diminish God in our thinking.  God is a truly awesome God, and I need to keep the “awe” factor alive in my life.  So here goes:

God is eternal.
Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity (Ps 93:2)

When we talk about the eternality of God, it stretches our thinking.  We, who are finite, have trouble comprehending the infinite.  Has your kid ever asked you who made God?  The correct answer doesn’t satisfy them – but it’s no one.  God always has been.  Nothing was before God.  It can give you a headache trying to comprehend it.

However, it also drives us to stand amazed of the God who is so not us.  He is in a category all His own.  His name, as revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14, is I Am Who I Am.  That name really says it all.  Before anything we know ever existed, I AM existed.

Because God is eternal, some things are true about Him:

He is unchanging.
He is inescapable.
He is self-sufficient.

Thank you God that you are not like us.  You are never in need of anyone or anything, you’re not going anywhere, and we can count on you.  You are great and greatly to be praised!!

We just concluded two great weeks of student camps today.  The middle school go for the first five days and the high school for the next five.  This year could have been our best camps ever – though that would be saying something.

• Lovingood is undoubtedly the Czar of camp!  He leads both of them and has the most amazing ability to motivate, challenge, and inspire our students at just the right time.  Thanks Jeff!!
• Thanks to John (middle school pastor), Travis (high school pastor), and Michael (Gallatin student minister – he pulled a double shift) for all their hard work.  They do a fantastic job!
• Thanks to Tyler and Jeff for running sound.
• Special thanks to our interns for all their hard work.   They pull a double shift and do both camps after many hours of hard work leading up to camp.  It is such a blessing to be around such contagious Christians.  It gives you renewed confidence in the next generation.
• Extra special thanks to all out adults who volunteered their time to serve as counselors, nurses and on the logistics team – some pulling a double shift.  Most gave up vacation time to be a part.  I appreciate so much their love for students!
• Through A Glass and Chris White Band led powerful worship.
• Heath Eslinger and Alex Himaya “brought it” from God’s Word.
• Tons of kids making first time commitments to Christ – PTL!
• Tons of kids renewing commitment to Christ – PTL!
• Tons of kids deciding to go deeper in their walk with God – PTL!
• There was unusual creativity with the cheers at the morning flag pole assembly.
• Paintball, mud pit, high ropes, low ropes, blob, water park – priceless!
• Todd Hunley provided a Chick-Fil-A lifeline.

Thank you God for Unleashed ‘08!!