First, let me say, praise and thanksgiving to God that we were not greatly affected by Hurricane Florence.
We lost internet, but not power.
(Aayiiii! We had to use DVDs and these non-virtual-reality-based things called “books.”
So, What Are “Acts of God”?
People (especially insurance writers) speak of “Acts of God.”
They consider “Acts of God” to be such things as earthquakes and their tsunamis, “out of the blue” lightning strikes, lava flows and ash blows of volcanoes, the ravaging winds of tornadoes, as well as raging wind and rain and flooding.
Yes, I mean hurricanes. Florence and her like.
(And, for the most part, insurance doesn’t cover the damage they do.)
However, I consider these are “acts of nature.”
Yes, YeHoVaH, the Creator, made the physical earth and the forces upon it that we call “nature.”
But these are not usually “Acts of God.”
(I’m not saying they never are. I’m saying they not always are.)
Rather, God’s way of working in the world is usually through humans.
God acts through people.
God offers the opportunity to those He made “in His image” to act for Him, to act with Him, to join him in His working, His will, and His way, “on earth as it is in heaven.”
Past Acts of God
God acted through Noah to save and restore humanity throughout the earth after the flood. (Genesis 5:28-9:17)
God acted through Abraham and his wife Sarah to establish a people as His own possession. (Genesis 11:27-25:11)
God acted through Joseph to save the descendants of Jacob (Israel) from famine and give them a haven in which to flourish and multiply. (Genesis 39:1-45:28)
God acted through Moses to redeem His people from slavery and to lead them to the Promised Land. (Exodus; Leviticus; Numbers; Deuteronomy)
God acted through Joshua and the Israelites to drive out and destroy the Canaanites, to mete God’s justice, and punish them for their great evil. (Joshua)
God acted through the Judges to keep leading His people back to Himself when they strayed into apostasy. (Judges)
God acted through David to unite the Israelites into a nation. (1 Samuel 16-31; 2 Samuel; 1 Kings 1:1-2:11; 1 Chronicles 11-29)
God acted through the Prophets to continually call, and re-call, His straying people to return to His will and His ways.
God acted through the Assyrians to bring punishment upon the Northern Kingdom for their apostasy. (2 Kings 14-20)
God acted through the Babylonians to chastise Judea, the Southern Kingdom, for their disobedience, apostasy, and evil. (2 Chronicles 36:6-21)
God acted through Cyrus, king of the Persian empire to restore the Jews to the Promised Land. (Ezra 1)
God acted through Mary to bring His Son, Yeshua, into the world as both Human and Divine. (Matthew 1; Luke 1:26-56; 2:1-19)
God acted through Joseph to protect, provide, and rear Jesus to adulthood. (Matthew 2:13-15)
God acted through His Son, Yeshua, fully human – yet fully divine, to bring the Kingdom of Heaven and the hope and truth of salvation and reconciliation to the world.
God acted through the combined actions of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders, as well as the Roman governor Pilate, to create the opportunity for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, the Christ.
God acted through the Disciples and other followers of Yeshua to carry the Gospel, the Good News, of the Kingdom of Heaven, the reconciliation of humanity to Himself, and the promise of complete restoration of Creation, to the world.
God acted through the availability of the man-made roads and resulting ease of travel in the Roman Empire to enable the spread of the teachings of Jesus to the world.
God acted through the persecution of the saints to increase and strengthen the Church, the Body of Christ on earth. Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-2; 13:49-50; 16:22-40; 2 Corinthians 11:23-33)
God acted through Constantine to legitimize the Church, and grow its influence.
Constantine the Great and Christianity
How Constantine the Great influenced the development of Christianity
God acted through Jewish scribes, as well as the scribes in the monasteries, to preserve the Scripture, His Word.
God acted through the Church Fathers, and other theological writers, to tell of the revelations of the Holy Spirit to interpret and expound the Word.
Continuing Acts of God
God acts through skilled translators to enable the Word to be understood by the peoples of the earth.
God acts through persuasive preachers to reach out to those people He has called to Himself; that they may choose to come to Him for salvation and transformation.
God acts through missionaries, sent as ambassadors to the nations, to bring the Word and the opportunity for reconciliation with Himself to all who hear and believe in Him.
God acts through the Church, the Body of Christ, to disciple Believers – to lead them into spiritual maturity, life in the Kingdom of Heaven, while yet living on earth.
God acts through every Believer to witness to the world of the opportunity of forgiveness and reconciliation with YeHoVaH; salvation through Yeshua, the Messiah; and transformation through the Holy Spirit.
God acts through Believers and His Body, the Church, to be His hands and feet to serve the people of the world.
What about you?
- Are you part of the Acts of God?
- Do you participate with God in the “Acts of God”?
- What is your role in the Acts of God you see around you?
- How are you acting as the hands and feet of God?
Blessings,
TLThomas
It’s ok to doubt, if you check it out!
Be a Berean!
10The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Acts 17:10, 11 ESV
Please join me in this journey of discovery.
- Leave a comment, or ask me a question.
- Share this blog with others, whether they are doubting, or not.
- Take what I say and CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!
© TLThomas 2018