NO EXCUSE: the world is a picture of God

"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 men are without excuse."

Romans 1:21

i love how God created the universe so that we could find Him. the more i look around at nature, the more i realize who God is and how the spiritual world works. He made it with infinite detail and meaning. then He plonked us right in the midst of it, with at least 5 senses to take it all in.

the more we learn about ourselves and the world we live in, the more we are without excuse when we stand in front of God. 

the Trinity

today is st patrick's day. it's a bit of a sketchy holiday for me, seeing as i don't approve of getting mad drunk and taking part in the sexual immorality of half-naked dancing and the co-ed 'sleep-overs' that ensue. 

i also don't agree with revering regular humans as 'saints.' according to the Bible, every Christian is a saint, and there is not to be any praying to or through particular people, or using them as some sort of amulet or charm to make life go well. 

on the plus side, however, my favorite color, green, is celebrated today. and that is partly thanks to the original guy named patrick, who lived back in the 300-400s AD. he was a Christian missionary to Ireland who is sometimes credited with one of my favorite illustrations of the Trinity: the shamrock. 

this plant is basically clover, with skinny little stalks holding up striking green leaves, each with 3 distinct lobes. and that leaf is where the illustration comes in. 

it's really hard for us humans to figure out how the Biblical Trinity makes any sense. how can 3 separate persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, be contained in a single person, God? makes no sense. but the shamrock gives us a picture of how to see it. each part of the leaf is separate and basically whole by itself. but they grow together and are one leaf.

so if you are like me, and feel a little distressed by all the ungodliness going on during st patrick's day, remember the shamrock, a wonderful little piece of God's creation that reminds us of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

another part of God's creation that helps me make sense of the Trinity is water. water has 3 forms: solid, liquid, and gas. they are totally distinct from each other; you would not look at an ice cube and say, 'hey, there's some steam!' but they are still forms of the same molecule.

same with the Trinity. the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have totally separate characteristics and functions, but are one God. i do not worship multiple gods, but simply 3 forms of the same God. it is like trying to separate 'solid,' 'liquid,' or 'gas' from 'water'... they ARE water so it's not possible. in the same way that i can't look at an ice cube and call it 'steam,' i also cannot look at the ice cube and say that it has nothing to do with steam; it is the same molecule!

so who is this God who has 3 entities?! i will close with some of what the Bible has to say about Him (there is so much more than what i have here! look for yourself in God's word):

GOD THE FATHER:

CREATOR: Genesis 1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (vs.1)

ETERNAL: Psalm 90:2 "Before the mountains were born... from everlasting to everlasting you are God."

PERFECT and JUST: Deuteronomy 32:6 "He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just."

RESCUER and REFUGE: Psalm 68:5 "A Father to the fatherless, defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling."

ALL-POWERFUL: Job 38-39 (God speaking) "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?... Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place... Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?" (38:4, 12, 16)

KING: Psalm 47:7 "For God is the King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise."

GATHERER of Jesus-followers: John 6:44 (Jesus speaking) "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him."

LOVING PROVIDER: Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

ULTIMATE JUDGE: Acts 17:31 "For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead."

GOD THE SON:

SAVIOR: 1 John 4:14 "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world."

FULLY HUMAN & FULLY GOD: Philippians 2:5-8 "Christ Jesus, Who, being in very nature God... made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness..."

COMPASSIONATE: Matthew 9:36 "When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." 

INTERCESSOR for believers: Romans 8:34 "Christ Jesus who died -- more than that, who was raised to life -- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

ETERNAL: John 8:28 (Jesus speaking) "I tell you the truth... before Abraham was born, I am!"

PRINCE: Acts 5:31 "God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel."

PERFECT: Hebrews 7:26-27 "... holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day... He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself."

THE ONLY PRIEST: 1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men.."

LORD: 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord."

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT:

INTERCESSOR for believers: Romans 8:26-27 "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." 

CONVICTER: John 16:8 "When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment."

TRUTH-BRINGER: John 15:13 "When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth."

POWERFUL: Acts 1:8 "But you will will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you."

KNOWS GOD'S THOUGHTS: 1 Corinthians 2:11 "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."

GIVES UNDERSTANDING OF GOD: 1 Corinthians 2:12 "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."

GUIDE of Christians: Romans 8:9, 14 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you... those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."

LIVES in Christians: 1 Corinthians 6:19 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God?"

SANCTIFIER: 2 Thessalonians 2:13 "...God chose you to be saved throug the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth."

FATHER, SON, AND SPIRIT TOGETHER:

1 John 4:12-16 "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God."

John 3:34-36 "For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in His hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

John 14:26 (Jesus speaking) "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

Matthew 3:16-17 "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.'"

Acts 5:30-32 "The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead -- whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."