Why We Fear The One Who Made Us

  A preview of April's email-only article.

Caleb Woods

DOES IT EVER seem like God is hiding from us?

If he's really out there, why won't he show us his glory?

It turns out there's a good explanation for this phenomenon, something we're examining in this month's email-exclusive article.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and if you'd like instant, free access, fill out the form below. (If you are already a subscriber, check your inbox!)

Here's a snippet of this month's exclusive:

GOD CANNOT BE contained in any analogy we could conjure, but have you ever considered the paradoxical nature of our sun? Without the sun we could not survive. But were we to venture too near the sun we would perish as well. Even gazing at the yellow dwarf proves injurious.

 

God is a little like the sun. We cannot stand in God's presence without ceasing to exist. And yet, since God is our creator and sustainer, we would not exist at all without him.

 

When Moses asked to see God's glory, God replied he would show Moses his "goodness," but he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live" (Exo. 33:19, 20). Even Moses, who met regularly with God, could not survive an unveiled glimpse of the Almighty.

 

Job was well aware of the awesome, terrifying, and potentially fatal repercussions of an interaction with God. And yet, what he wanted most above all else was an audience with the Creator so he could plead his case. So after preparing his arguments, Job requested two things of God: "Withdraw your hand far from me, and let not dread of you terrify me" (13:21).

 

This passage is intriguing. Here's why.

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No, Turning to God Isn't All Roses

 A preview of October's email-only article.

Pedro Vergara

TURNING TO JESUS means you'll be happy and prosperous the rest of your life, right?

Therefore, if you're unhappy or less than wealthy, it probably means you don't have enough faith.

You see where one can run into trouble with this line of thinking.

Every month I publish an exclusive article for my email subscribers, and this month we're talking about the reality of turning to God in the context of the book of Job. If you'd like instant, free access, fill out the form below. (If you are already a subscriber, check your inbox!)

Here's a snippet of this month's exclusive:

I've written it in numerous places, but once more for effect: bad things do happen to decent people all the time. The fall ushered in an era where entropy reigns supreme (for a time) so that even were sin not present, the pure randomness of lightning or gravity would still cause pain and suffering. 

Cast out of God's Edenic hedge, we no longer enjoy protections from the negative aspects of thermodynamics. In short, there's no escaping the heat death of the universe sans the intervention of the Almighty. Adam made humanity's bed, now we must lie in it.

 
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Remember, the Snake Has Already Been Bruised

 An encouragement for those in anguish.

Timothy Dykes

 

THE BIBLE DEDICATES a healthy percentage of its words to content that's downright disgusting. Think about driving a tent peg through a man's temple or losing a sword in the belly of an obese king.

The book of Job is full of nastiness too as a result of the infirmities that befell him. One such verse is  Job 7:5 in which Job says, "My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt; my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh."

Yummy!

Some commentators like Charles Ellicott and Albert Barnes suggest Job suffered from a parasite called lymphatic filariasis, a disease transmitted by mosquitos infected with a certain type of roundworm. When the larvae enter the bloodstream they mature and reproduce, flooding the lymph system.

Why Jesus Chose Gethsemane

Jesus would have rather been anywhere else, but he chose Gethsemane on purpose.

His betrayer knew it well because Jesus often took his disciples there (John 18:2).

Photo Credit: Episcopal Florida (CC)

What he was about to do would be by far the hardest thing he’d ever done. Fasting for forty days? Elementary. Astounding the teachers in the synagogue? Raising a man from a dead? Nothing to it.

No, this was different. He’d felt pain before, but nothing like what was about to happen.

That Jesus went to a garden in order to begin the process of atonement was no accident.