13 Therefore, Take Unto You The Whole Armor Of God, That Ye May Be Able To Withstand In The Evil Day

"The endurance of darkness is the preparation for great light." - #SaintJohnoftheCross #TheChristmasNovena

📷 The Rays of Light on Manger/© anyka via #CanvaPro. #Catholic_Priest #CatholicPriestMedia #Advent2024

God is my constant.

Ten Truths About God’s Absolute Being

1. God had no beginning.

God is who he is means he never had a beginning. And that just staggers the mind. Every child asks his parents, “Where did God come from? Who made God?” And every wise parent says, “Nobody made God. He just was always there. Always. No beginning.”

2. God is without end.

God is who he is means God will never end. If he didn’t come into being, he can’t go out of being, because he is being — absolute being. There’s no place to go outside being. There’s only he. Before he creates, he’s all there is. Absolutely.

3. God is absolute reality.

God is who he is means God is absolute reality. There’s no reality before him. There’s no reality outside of him unless he wills it and creates it. He’s not one of many realities before he creates. He is simply absolute reality. He’s all that was — eternally. No space. Space didn’t exist. The universe didn’t exist. Emptiness did not exist. Only God existed forever, absolutely and absolutely all.

4. God is utterly independent.

God is who he is means that God is utterly independent. He depends on nothing to bring him into being. He depends on nothing to support him. He depends on nothing to counsel him. He depends on nothing to make him what he is. He is absolutely independent.

5. Everything depends on him.

God is who he is means everything that is not God depends totally on God. All that is not God is secondary, dependent. The entire universe is secondary reality. Let that sink in, because nobody in this city believes that. And if the church doesn’t, you’re just like them. All the universe is secondary. Humanity is secondary. God is primary, absolute first, last, glorious. Everything else is secondary.

6. Nothing compares to God.

God is who he is means all the universe is, by comparison to God, as nothing. Galaxies compared to God are nothing. All the universe by comparison to God is as nothing. Contingent, dependent reality is to absolute, independent reality as a shadow to substance, as echo to thunderclap, as bubble to ocean. All that we see, all that you are amazed by in your land or around the world — all the world, all the galaxies — compared to God, is as nothing. If you put God on one side of the scales and the universe on the other side of the scales, the universe goes up like air or dust on the scale. Isaiah 40:17: “All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”

7. God cannot be improved.

God is who he is means God is constant. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. He cannot be improved. He cannot be diminished. He’s not becoming anything. He is who he is. There’s no development in God. There’s no progress in God. Absolute perfection cannot be improved.

8. God sets the ultimate standard.

God is who he is means he is the absolute standard of truth and goodness and beauty. There’s no law book that he consults in deciding what is right. There’s no almanac to establish facts for God. There’s no guild, no musical guild, for example, to determine what is excellent and beautiful. He’s the standard. He himself is the standard of the right, the true, the beautiful.

9. God always does right.

God is who he is means God does whatever he pleases, and it is always right, always beautiful, always in accord with truth. There are no constraints on God from outside that he doesn’t will to exist, and thus govern. All reality that is outside of him is subordinate to him. So, he’s utterly free. He’s the only free being in the universe, in fact. He is utterly free from any constraints that don’t originate from his own will.

10. Nothing is worth more.

God is who he is means he’s the greatest, the most beautiful, the most valuable, and the most important person in existence. He’s more worthy of interest and attention and admiration and enjoyment than all persons and all realities put together, including the entire universe.

— John Piper <Desiring God>

“Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬

Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

—Psalm 90:12

Life is a temporary assignment.

Like the psalmist we need to ask the Lord to help us number our days—so we will realize we have been given only limited time here on this earth. What really matters is how we use the days He gives us.

And that raises some important questions: How will we use the remaining days of this year? Will we use them in the way the Lord wants us to? Will we use them to serve Him and to serve the people God places on our path? Are we willing to use our gifts and talents, our resources and our time to build His kingdom in whatever place He puts us?

Prayer

Father in Heaven, help us to understand that You have given us another year to serve you. Make us faithful in our calling. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Ephesians 3:16-19

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.

Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”