Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
THE LORD IS ONE!
Can you imagine the backlash today if the above statement was expressed plainly?
"My fellow Americans, there is One God, and one alone, who reveals Himself in the pages of the Bible."
While none among us would question such a statement, but wholeheartedly stand in agreement, there are many today who would vehemently disagree. Some would stand in outrage and demand a retraction. "There are many gods," some say, "and many paths to the hereafter. Who are you to suggest that there is one God and that yours is that God." They might agree with the statement that there is one god, but only as it is expressed by Oprah Winfrey: "There is one God, we just know Him by different names, like: Buddha, Allah, Krishna, Christ, etc."
Just two days after the Festival of Holy Trinity, we listen to the Lord as He speaks through the Prophet Isaiah. He who was and who is and who is to come declares that there is One God, and that the LORD, Jehovah, is that God. He created the world in which we live. He breathed into our first parents the breath of life and they became living beings. There is One God, who reveals Himself in the Bible, despite what false teachers and misguided souls in our society suggest.
My Dear Christians, there is but One God and He is our God. He is not ours because we have chosen Him, claimed Him, or dreamt Him up. He is our God because He has by His Spirit sought us out and made us His own, and joined us to Himself through faith in His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. This God, who fixed the limits of the universe, determined in eternity to redeem us at great expense.
The One True God has revealed much more about Himself, some of which we will consider over the next couple of days. Sufficient for today is this that the One God knows, loves, and has redeemed each of us in Christ.
Glory be to God the Father,
Glory be to God the Son,
Glory be to God the Spirit;
Great Jehovah, Three in One!
Glory, glory, While eternal ages run!
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 244:1)
