Dr Paul Allen

“Mom, where is God?” “Well, He’s everywhere, sweetheart!” That answer frequently given by mothers to their children is true, but what does that mean? We do not give much thought to God’s omnipresence, do we? We take it for granted that God is “everywhere,” though we do not understand what that means. Does omnipresence mean occupying all the existing space, or is there more to it? Is God everywhere present in the same way? For example, how is He present when the church gathers? This can be a very practical question when we think about Sunday worship.  It has become increasingly common for professing Christians in our Western world to neglect church meetings. Perhaps you have heard people reason like this:  “I believe in God, but church isn’t my thing. I’m not interested in singing, and I find sermons boring. Besides, I can connect with God just as well when I walk in the woods, in the mountains, or on the beach as I can in a church service. After all, God is everywhere.” How do...

Death is the great enemy, though many of us live in denial of it. Our culture tries to hide death . We don’t see bodies in the streets, as in some parts of the world. Corpses go straight to the morgue or the funeral home — out of sight and out of mind. Many of us have never seen a dead body . Fewer have witnessed a person actually die. We would rather not think about death, we don’t like to talk about it, and we’d prefer to pretend it won’t happen to us. But it will happen to us. In fact, in one hundred years from now, everyone reading this will be dead. Does that sound harsh? That’s because it  is  harsh! But it is also true. Only as we confront the reality of death will we appreciate the hope of resurrection.  There is nothing like death to make us desire resurrection. John 11 begins with a sick Lazarus . His sisters Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus to come to Bethany (John 11:1–3). But Jesus does not go right away. He delays. In fact, he waits two day...

Making a poor decision doesn't mean we're forever out of God 's will. That's part of the beauty of Scripture: It has story after story of people who make bad decisions, but God still uses them mightily. Just look at Abraham and David . They both did some things that were clearly wrong, but God worked through them to accomplish great things. God can use all of our decisions, whether they're right, wrong, or neutral. Also, we need to remember God is our Father . God is not here to condemn us, but to help us become more like Christ . If we are focused on Jesus , and on holiness, some of those other things will fall into place. God is not a cosmic trickster who only gives us one shot to get things right. Related articles We are friends of God (thesheridanpress.com) Major Ian Thomas - 20 Very Good Quotes (crossquotes.org) Head and not the tail (disciplesofhope.wordpress.com) God will provide the Lamb. (dalrock.wordpress.com) 3-23-2016 Evil For Good (fel...

God cares about what's going on in our hearts. In any decision we have the opportunity to choose who we will worship. Will we worship God or will we worship ourselves? God desires to be the highest priority in every part of our lives. In some areas of life it's clear that there are right decisions and wrong decisions—like the choice of whether to cheat on an exam. In other areas, we need to make choices between two good things—like making a decision between two great colleges. It's quite possible God would be present in and honored by either decision. Other times the choice may have to do with a gray area—something that's not necessarily right or wrong. These are opportunities to practice wisdom. For example, spending a lot of time talking on the phone or texting friends may be a good thing. But if there's never any time when we are just quiet and still, it can be harder for us to be aware of God's presence. Being wise might mean turning the phone off from ti...

St. Peter Preaching at Pentecost by Benjamin West (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Before Pentecost , the [apostles] are clueless… and after Pentecost they are proclaiming, not only Christ ’s death and resurrection for our salvation, but they are proclaiming, as Peter does in his sermon, the fulfillment of Joel ’s prophecy of the Spirit being poured out on all flesh. Suddenly, they not only get what Jesus has done, they get how the Prophets prophesied it. The Holy Spirit made them more intimate fellows of Jesus, then they had been before his ascension. Acts 2 presents Pentecost as the giving of the Spirit to the church after the ascension of Christ to the Father. Just as the Spirit’s presence in Christ’s ministry was identified with his proclamation of the gospel (Isa 61:1 – 2; Lk 4:18 – 21), the consequence of the Spirit’s descent at Pentecost was the public proclamation of the gospel by Peter with the other apostles standing at his side (Ac 2: 14 – 36). And yet, it is vital to und...

English: Gian Lorenzo Bernini - Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, stained glass, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Becoming a Christian is a colossal demonstration of power in so many ways. When an individual trusts in Christ for reconciliation to God, big things happen. Christ’s lordship is joyfully embraced. The soul’s knee is eagerly bowed. The guilt is instantly lifted. The Bible is hungrily inhaled. And in the most glorious display of spiritual coup d’état, God the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the soul. He is a great gift, essential to our well-being. And as he settles in, he begins to storm the citadel of our sin . It’s a fight, but there is victory. The Spirit comes to slay the fortress of the flesh . “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Gal  5:17 ). The true p...

Gabriel making the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary. Painting by El Greco, 1575 (Museo del Prado, Madrid). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) An angel comes to a Jewish teenager and assures her that she is richly blessed. He does not mean that she will be happy, healthy, and rich, nor does the girl seem to expect that. We have no record of her ever complaining or protesting her lot as she wended her painful way through all the experiences mentioned above. What, then? If God ’s blessing and favor don’t guarantee happiness and peace, what do they give? What does the angel (and later Elizabeth ) mean by calling Mary blessed?  God has planned for Mary a chance to serve. He has designed for her an enormous role in His plan to redeem a people for Himself. He is about to give the Savior He has been promising since the Garden of Eden , and Mary is part of His plan. “Do not be afraid, Mary,” the angel tells her. “You have found favor with God” ( Luke 1:30 NASB ). She is to be an instrument...

Icon Apocalypse (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Revelation 4 “Around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind” (v. 6b). Centuries after Isaiah saw the angels in God ’s heavenly throne room (6:1–3), John was given a vision of the divine throne room as well. Revelation 4 records the first part of this vision, which is remarkably similar to Isaiah 6. The angels John witnesses praising the Lord declare the Creator’s holiness three times (Rev. 4:8), which suggests that these are the same creatures Isaiah witnessed (6:3). That the two prophets are granted the same or similar view of the angels is also seen in the fact that the angels in each vision have six wings (Rev. 4:8; Isa. 6:2). However, unlike Isaiah’s vision, the angels whom John sees are covered with eyes (Rev. 4:6b, 8), and no attempt is made to shield their eyes in the presence of God (see Isa. 6:2). The reason why the angelic cr...