The Bible is packed with intriguing questions, many of them from God himself.
What was God’s first question? It came right after Satan’s first question (discussed here yesterday) and man’s first sin. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, realized they were naked and then tried to hide from God.
What did God do in response? He asked a simple question:
WHERE ARE YOU?
“Did God really say …?”
(Genesis 3:1)
Adam and Eve were hanging out in the Garden of Eden. All was good.
But then Satan entered the picture and whispered that little question into Eve’s ear. It’s one he’s been whispering to us ever since.
The Bible is packed with intriguing questions, many of them from God himself.
What was God’s first question? It came right after man’s first sin. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, realized they were naked and then tried to hide from God.
What did God do in response? He asked a simple question:
Where are you?
What if God asked you that question right now? How would you respond? Are you following Him? Or are you stumbling around on your own? Is God enough for you? Or do you long for forbidden fruit? Are you at peace? Or are you ashamed of something you’ve done? Are you open and honest with God? Or is there something you’re trying to hide?
God already knows all of our deepest, darkest thoughts and all of our ugliest, nastiest actions. But He still loves us more than we could ever imagine.
Turn from your sin.
Run back to God.
Never ever leave His side.
Got a brain-cramping Bible question you’d like answered? Send it in to getupwithgod@gmail.com and I’ll do my very best to answer it in 100 words or less.
Here’s this week’s selection . . .
I’ve been a Christian for a long time, but I still find myself struggling with the whole concept of prayer. My questions are: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
More specifically:
Great questions! In fact, they’re so great that I think we’ll spend the entire week here on GUWG focusing on prayer.
Let’s start today with the WHY question: Why on earth should we pray? To me, if that one isn’t answerable, we might as well be atheists.
Here are GUWG’s official . . .
I’ll attempt to answer the other questions as the week rolls on. Stay tuned.
Not long ago, we started a new feature here on GUWG. Send your deepest, thorniest, most brain-cramping-est Bible questions to getupwithgod@gmail.com and I’ll do my very best to answer ‘em in 100 words or less.
This week you get two questions for the price of one:
What does the Bible really say about Satan?
The Bible describes Satan as a fallen angel who rebelled against God, was thrown out of heaven and now battles humans and God.
“Satan” literally means “adversary” and that’s exactly what he is. He’s also called the devil, the accuser, the evil one, the father of lies, the prince of darkness and the god of this age.
How should Christians react to Satan?
The Bible warns us to be “self-controlled” and “alert” because Satan “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” We’re told to ”resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:8). If we resist Satan, he’ll flee from us (James 4:7).
God has infinitely more power than Satan. “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Satan is a creature — not divine. While he has powers to deceive, tempt and accuse, he is finite and limited in space and time.
Jesus modeled how to deal with Satan and his deceptions. We should know God’s word, be filled with the Spirit and do God’s will. By his life, death on the cross and resurrection, Jesus has already dealt Satan a fatal blow. Satan’s defeat will become obvious and final at the end of the world when he and his followers will be thrown into the eternal fire.
It’s BIG QUESTIONS WEEK here on GUWG where all week long we’ve been looking at deep, thought-provoking ?s posed in the Bible.
One day, two blind men came to Jesus. They wanted to see. He asked them a simple question that cut right to the heart of the matter:
Do you believe I can make you see?
Their response?
Yes, Lord, we do.
Here’s what happened next, according to eyewitness accounts:
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Because of your faith, it will happen.”
Then their eyes were open and they could see!
(Matthew 9:28-29, NLT)
How often do we stumble around blindly in this life, faithlessly forgetting to come to “him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine”? Ask Jesus to open your eyes right now so that you can truly see. And then BELIEVE that He’ll do it.
It’s BIG QUESTIONS WEEK here on GUWG, where all week long we’re looking at thought-provoking ?s from the Bible.
It was Jesus’ final night before the cross. After the Last Supper, he took Peter, James and John to an olive grove to do some heavy praying. Here’s what Jesus told them:
My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
Stay here and keep watch with me.
Then Jesus went off by himself to pray. When he returned, the three disciples were sound asleep. He woke ‘em up, told ‘em to keep watch and left again to pray. When he came back, he found ‘em napping again. He woke ‘em up, told ‘em to keep watch and left a third time to pray. He returned once more and found ‘em snoring.
Then Jesus said this:
Are you asleep?
Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.
Are you asleep? That’s a great question for us all to ponder today.
Are we awake and alert, keeping watch like Jesus instructed? Or are we sleepwalking through life, stumbling around in a sad state of spiritual snooziness? As Jesus warned: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Heed Jesus’ words. Stop slumbering. GET UP and PRAY!
It’s BIG QUESTIONS WEEK here on GUWG, where all week long we’re looking at deep, thought-provoking ?s from the Bible.
Jesus and the disciples were hanging out in a boat one night. A violent storm suddenly broke out. Waves started pounding the boat and it was nearly swamped.
The disciples were freaking. Jesus was sleeping.
So they woke him up. “Don’t you care if we drown?” they asked him.
Jesus got up and immediately calmed the storm. Then he asked two rather pointed questions that hit the disciples right in the heart:
“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Those are great questions to ask ourselves whenever we get tossed around by the storminess of life. Never never never fear. Always always always have faith. You’re forever safe in Jesus’ boat.
It’s BIG QUESTIONS WEEK here on GUWG, where all week long we’re looking at deep, thought-provoking ?s posed by the Bible.
Today’s question is from the Psalms . . .
Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
(Psalm 10:1)
Ever have questions like these? Watch this gut-wrenching, soul-stirring video from Willow Creek Ministries and listen closely for God’s answer.
If you have trouble viewing this video, click here to watch it on YouTube.
It’s BIG QUESTIONS WEEK here on GUWG, where all week long we’ll be looking at deep, probing ?s posed in the Bible.
What was God’s first question? It came right after man’s first sin. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, realized they were naked and then tried to hide from God. Not a great plan.
What did God do in response? He asked a simple question:
WHERE ARE YOU?
What if God asked you that question right now? How would you respond?
Are you following Him? Or are you stumbling around on your own?
Is God enough for you? Or do you long for forbidden fruit?
Are you at peace? Or are you ashamed of something you’ve done?
Are you open and honest with God? Or is there something you’re trying to hide?
God already knows all of our deepest, darkest thoughts and all of our ugliest, nastiest actions. But He still loves us more than we could ever imagine.
Turn from your sin.
Run back to God.
Never leave His side.
