n0klu's Rants

  June 1, 2021 at 12:00 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     Immutability, Pt. 2 Immutability, Pt. 2 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 Scripture Focus: 1 Samuel 15:1-3; 8-11; 26-29 “If you don’t like something, change it.” You’ve probably heard that before. In fact, much of life involves changing— through the phases of our kids’ lives, through career adjustments, through transformations that come as we grow older. God’s unchangeableness— His immutability—amazes us more and more as we change constantly. In 1st Samuel, David is anointed as the new king over Israel (16:13). This passage provides a helpful example of how to understand immutability as it comes up in Scripture. God is said to be grieved that He had anointed Saul (15:35). Did God regret what He had done? What about His will not changing? We remember that God “is not a man, that he should change his mind” (15:29). The change is not in God’s purpose to have a faithful king over Israel or even His own p

  May 31, 2021 at 1:27 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     Immutability, Pt. 1 Immutability, Pt. 1 “I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” Malachi 3:6 Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 32:4-10; 15-20; 28-36 I grew up at the foot of the Dragoon Mountains in Cochise County, Arizona. While this range is by no means the tallest, it does have a unique rocky formation that is particularly beautiful. Such places give us a sense of awe, of beauty, of might, of our own smallness and finitude. We see that our life is a mist (James 4:14). But God is unchangeable. This immutability means His very being, knowledge, will, and decrees are fixed from all eternity. God cannot change because He is absolute perfection. He “is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind” (Numbers 23:19). This is one of the reasons the Lord is called a Rock (see Deuteronomy 32). While His people Israel waver in infidelity, “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and

  May 28, 2021 at 12:32 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     Aseity: Self-Existing, Pt. 2 Aseity: Self-Existing, Pt. 2 “‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’” John 8:58 Scripture Focus: Exodus 3:13-15 Names are significant. When a couple is expecting the birth of their baby (as my wife and I did), they consider various potential names. They may place more or less weight on the name’s meaning, but even those who give little regard to the meaning of a particular name will say things like, “Not Chris, I knew a Chris once, and didn’t like him!” If aseity—the fact that God only creates and is not created—teaches us that God doesn’t need anything from the world or from us, His name nevertheless teaches us that this same independent God has become intimately involved in our lives. And His name is important. “I AM WHO I AM” is the name God gives Himself in the midst of recalling His faithfulness to Israel’s fathers. It communicates to Israel and to us that our unfaithfuln

  May 26 2021 at 12:01 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     Aseity: Self-Existing, Pt. 1 Aseity: Self-Existing, Pt. 1 “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.” John 5:26 Scripture Focus: Acts 17:22-28 You’ve probably heard the phrase “self-made man” or “self-made woman.” It’s generally used to describe one who comes from humble beginnings to find success (especially financial). The idea of being “self.made” is quite popular today. The problem, according to the Bible, is that being a “self-made person” really is not true. It’s because of what aseity is. It’s another of God’s incommunicable attributes (attributes which we humans do not have), and it says He exists completely of His own, because He is the only One not created. What God is and does is independent of His creatures and creation. We are not self-made, and in reality, God is not either. Also, we’re dependent on Him for everything. We need to be reminded that apart from Christ, we “have no g

  May 26, 2021 at 12:36 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     God’s Simplicity, Pt. 2 God’s Simplicity, Pt. 2 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 Scripture Focus: Hebrews 6:13-20 Our promises are unreliable. We say, “I’ll see you at 11:00” or “I’ll drop the kids off tomorrow,” and then we forget, show up late, or cancel. Our word isn’t very good because we’re not very good. No wonder so many of us struggle just to keep appointments, let alone keep the high standard of faithfulness we’re called to in our marriages, friendships, parenting, and work relationships. When we look closely at ourselves, we find the problem is our self-conflicted nature, our sinful hearts. The good news of God’s simplicity is that since there is no sin in Him and since His attributes are never conflicted, His promises to be gracious to us are certain (as today’s Hebrews 6 reading tells us). In Jesus, God has gon

  May 25, 2021 at 2:09 AM CST Topic: +DEV+     God’s Simplicity, Pt. 1 God’s Simplicity, Pt. 1 “God is love.” 1 John 4:8 Scripture Focus: Romans 3:21-26 Simplicity is a familiar notion with people in our world today. We read articles and join groups about keeping life simple. We like the thought of simplicity in our homes and schedules. But the simplicity of God? That can be a bit more confusing. Think of it like this: “On account of its absolute perfection, every attribute of God is identical with his essence” (Herman Bavinck, 2004). Therefore, God not only loves, but also He is love. Not only does He show justice; God is justice. Our righteous God is righteousness. While these attributes may be distinct, God is perfectly all of them. Paul tells us that in the cross, God has proven His attributes are never in conflict. Rather, He is simultaneously gracious towards sinners and righteous in judging His Son on their behalf. He is at the same time “just and the one who justifies those who