But God ...

2Samuel 14:14 - But God does not just sweep life away; instead, He devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from Him.

All throughout God's Word we read "but God." I'm not amazed anymore. After all, it's all about God. The God who created our world, who hung the stars in the skies, who spoke and it was. The God who gives and takes away. The God who sent His Son to this earth to be the propitiation for our sin. The God who knew from before the beginning of time that we would fail, fall and need to be saved. The God who had a plan right from the very start.

But God...so many promises...and so many admonitions. There are thousands but God's depending on which Bible version you read. This small phrase shows His power. It gives us hope in the midst of difficult circumstances and it shows us why we need to turn back to Him if we have strayed. There are many in the Bible who were faced with but God moments. They are there to show us what He wants to do in our lives. They are there for guidance. 

Let's just review a handful...and then see if you can add your name to the list in a personal but God moment. I've had a few and I know many others who've had some too. Don't forget, they can be a promise, a good thing fulfilled or an admonishment for individuals or countries. 

Genesis 8:1 - But God remembered Noah...  He remembered (not that He ever forgot) that He had told Noah He would save him and his family from the great flood. He remembers us as we go through storms of life. He leads us through the storm, protects us in the storm, delivers us from the storm. Jesus does the same today...He is the Ark that is our protection.

Genesis 50:20 - You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.  Joseph had seen his share of jealousy and abandonment at his brothers' hands causing him to be sold into slavery, living apart from his family, wrongly accused of sexual assault, imprisonment. But God...worked all these things into His plan for Joseph...and future generations, including ours. God saved Joseph's family, reunited them with total forgiveness and prosperity. 

David had many but God moments throughout his life:

1Samuel 23:14 - And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. King Saul of Israel was jealous of David and wanted this man who most everyone else liked out of the picture. He knew he was anointed of God to become the next king. He sought him for a long time threatening his life. But God...saved him.

David was a warrior and several of his psalms were written about his being saved from the hand of his enemies, and as a reminder of what He will do for us.

Psalm 68:21 - But God will wound the head of His enemies, the hairy scalp of the one who still goes on in his trespasses.

Psalm 73:26 - My flesh and my heart fail: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. Trust in God and He will become all you will ever need.

In yesterday's blog I mentioned God is the ultimate judge and in the end it will be His judgment upon all mankind for acts committed, both good and bad. No matter what we hold in our heart or act upon in the flesh, He is the One who reviews (again, He already knows) what we've done.

Psalm 75:7 - But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.

This can take place in our lives today. If He sees one being prideful, He will pull him down; and He can raise one up who deserves it. This even happens with governments.

More on defending righteousness and judging evil. If we choose to take the stand that we do not need Him in our country, He's liable to remove His hand of protection to help us to see that we need Him. If our country, or any country in the world, chooses to do evil either to their own or others, He can cause them to fail, to flee, be overthrown, or removed from the picture.

Proverbs 21:12 - The righteous man wisely considers the house of the wicked: but God overthrows the wicked for their wickedness.

Isaiah 17:13 - The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; but God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

There wasn't much difference between the but God's of the Old and the New Testaments. In each case miracles happened. People were saved from floods, enemies, plagues and famines in the Old. In the New Jesus was introduced and people were healed, people fed, and hearts were turned to this Savior who, above all, through His miracles, saved people's lives permanently.

What was that I said yesterday about God knowing our hearts? If we choose to do God's work in the way of man and the world, we will be judged. If we believe we are greater than we actually are, we will be judged. If we don't heed His commands, we will be judged. If we don't humble ourselves before an Almighty God...you get the picture.

Luke 16:15 - And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God."

James 4:6 - But God shows us even more kindness. Scripture says, "God opposes arrogant people, but He is kind to humble people."

Yes, God shows us kindness. He wishes us to have fellowship and relationship with Him that He might show us what is right. He wishes us not to make the mistakes in the first place. He loves us all that much. Yet despite His love He will judge. You will hear that from me a lot! There's no gray area, there's no middle ground, there's no sitting on the fence with God. You are either for Him or against Him. You either do it your way or His way. You either follow Him or you take your own path...that's why Jesus is the Way...He has paved the way for us to have this fellowship with God, the Father.

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Not only has He paved the way, He does it in ways that can astound someone into believing. I love this next scripture because it's so true.

1Corinthians 1:27 - But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty...

I suspect most people who are "out there" with their Christianity are sometimes viewed by  some as foolish for their beliefs. I would be honored to be considered foolish. There are many who are intelligent individuals as far as the world goes (wise and mighty), but as far as the things of God they are lacking. Before Christ we are ignorant of the things of God; when we are in Christ, we attain enough of His knowledge and wisdom...yet He still would not consider us above anyone else, just sinners saved by grace.

There are many things we can do in this world in our own power. But there are also things that only God has control over. He probably is devising a personal plan for you right now toward the one thing He controls, that being the issue of salvation. I can lead a horse to water but it may choose not to drink. I can speak the words of salvation but you may choose not to listen. However, I may also be laying the groundwork for that salvation and another might come along who build upon that, but God....

1Corinthians 3:6-7 - I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.