You are free in our time to say that God does not exist; you are free to say that He exists and is evil; you are free to say (like poor old Renan) that He would like to exist if He could.<\/p>\n
You may talk of God as a metaphor or a mystification; you may water Him down with gallons of long words, or boil Him to the rags of metaphysics; and it is not merely that nobody punishes, but nobody protests.<\/p>\n
But if you speak of God as a fact, as a thing like a tiger, as a reason for changing one\u2019s conduct, then the modern world will stop you somehow if it can.<\/p>\n
We are long past talking about whether an unbeliever should be punished for being irreverent. It is now thought irreverent to be a believer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Chesterton isn’t simply referring to atheists but also the common tendency in man to mold God like play-dough into a form that makes him feel comfortable and that he can easily change when it fails to please him.<\/p>\n
Tell everyone that you’re god is nonjudgmental, nonexclusive, and nonpreferential \u00a0and what do you end up with?<\/p>\n
A non-god with non-abilities, at least not any that mean anything!<\/p>\n
A god that won’t tell you what to do and more importantly a god who won’t condemn who you are!<\/p>\n
You have a god that’s ever willing to agree with your ever changing morality, a god that is created by your imagination and for your imagination. It’s a personal god who looks an awful lot like you.<\/p>\n
If I’m to be honest with you, there are times when I try to create that kind of god for myself, times when I try to smooth over some of the rough edges, it makes me feel better about myself for a moment.<\/p>\n
Then I realize that I need a God that is as real and untamable as a tiger!<\/p>\n
There’s something wonderful and intriguing about wild animals. Maybe it’s that neither I nor you have created them. We find \u00a0beauty in them that we never would have thought to create on our own. We find strength and danger that we can’t control. We see an amazing synchronization of purpose and form.<\/p>\n
We\u00a0are in awe of the tiger’s elegance and gruffness all at the same time!<\/p>\n
Here’s the lesson:<\/strong><\/p>\nDon’t water-down a breathe-taking, awe-inspiring, fear-inducing, holiness-demanding God!<\/p>\n
Take Him for who He is, as He is!<\/p>\n
Do the same for others, show them God’s judgement and grace at the same time, don’t mince words. If he’s a tiger you’ll never out run Him!<\/p>\n
Look! The Lord GOD comes with strength, and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his payment accompanies him. Like a shepherd, he tends his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close to his heart, and gently leads the mother sheep.
\n(Isa 40:10-11)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Have you ever wondered why some people are so set against the idea of God?<\/p>\n
Or at least they’re set against the Bible’s idea of God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[370,31],"tags":[350],"class_list":["post-5219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new","category-writing","tag-atheism"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/if-you-speak-of-God-as-a-fact-as-a-1.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-1mb","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9277,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/the-story-of-hope-in-ukrainian\/","url_meta":{"origin":5219,"position":0},"title":"“The Story of Hope” in Ukrainian","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"April 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"We recently translated \"The Story of Hope\" into Ukrainian and have printed 50 copies to test. Once we receive feedback we will be printing 1,000 copies to be used by churches in Ukraine to share the Gospel in a chronological and Biblical way. If you would like to help donate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ministry"","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC03311.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC03311.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC03311.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC03311.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC03311.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6154,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/why-you-should-listen-to-the-entire-bible-this-year-5-reasons\/","url_meta":{"origin":5219,"position":1},"title":"Why You Should Listen to the Entire Bible This Year -5 Reasons","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"January 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"For the\u00a0last two years I've made my way through the entire audio Bible primarily thanks to Brian Hardin and his Daily Audio Bible podcast. I thought I'd take a few minutes at the beginning of a new year and share with you why I believe it's worth listening through the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New"","block_context":{"text":"New","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/new\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/photodune-2360361-sound-s.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/photodune-2360361-sound-s.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/photodune-2360361-sound-s.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9650,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/a-funeral-a-few-youth-and-the-faithfulness-of-scritpture\/","url_meta":{"origin":5219,"position":2},"title":"A Funeral A Few Youth And the Faithfulness of Scripture","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"September 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I didn't tell any jokes, I didn't share any funny stories, and my sermon was only a few minutes long preaching to handful of mostly elderly people uncomfortably gathered around a thin wooden coffin. They quietly gazed at the undeniable, terrible truth of death and wiped the sweat from their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ministry"","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/40564499_280593889332517_9026494640131407872_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/40564499_280593889332517_9026494640131407872_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/40564499_280593889332517_9026494640131407872_n.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/40564499_280593889332517_9026494640131407872_n.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/40564499_280593889332517_9026494640131407872_n.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/40564499_280593889332517_9026494640131407872_n.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8777,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/what-is-soli-deo-gloria\/","url_meta":{"origin":5219,"position":3},"title":"What Is Soli Deo Gloria?","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"December 19, 2017","format":"video","excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Learn how you can help with our Christmas soldier outreach \u00a0 Sermon Notes: Soli Deo Gloria Introduction: Probably when you hear the phrase Soli Deo Gloria you think of the Christmas song \u201cAngels We Have Heard on High.\u201d The chorus goes: Gloria, in excelsis Deo Gloria, in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermons"","block_context":{"text":"Sermons","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Sola-fide.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Sola-fide.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Sola-fide.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Sola-fide.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Sola-fide.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8756,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/what-is-solus-christus\/","url_meta":{"origin":5219,"position":4},"title":"What Is Solus Christus?","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"December 12, 2017","format":"video","excerpt":"Note: This Christmas we are bringing the gospel to Ukrainian soldiers. Learn more about this project and how you can help here. Sermon notes: Introduction: The 5 Solae of the Reformation were not created by the Reformers but rather rediscovered as they returned to the text of God\u2019s Word and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermons"","block_context":{"text":"Sermons","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Sola-fide-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Sola-fide-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Sola-fide-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Sola-fide-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Copy-of-Sola-fide-1.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5175,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/how-to-find-a-good-ministry\/","url_meta":{"origin":5219,"position":5},"title":"How to Find a Good Ministry","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"People often ask me how they can find the ministry that God is calling them to. 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<\/p>\n