78 20. Can God make a stone so big he can t lift it? If you think you re so strong, lift that! Of course we wouldn t be likely to give such a challenge to God. We d probably be too frightened! God is often called The Almighty, which means he is so powerful that he could do everything if he wanted. But that s the point. Does he want to? Or is it a sensible thing to do? God is so powerful that he must be able to do absolutely anything. But he can t do things which don t make sense, like making something stronger or greater than he is. And, because he s good, he wouldn t destroy something which is good. God shows just how powerful he is in the Bible. The most famous story of God s power in the Old Testament is when he rescued his people from Egypt. The Israelites had been slaves there for many years and God told Moses, their leader, that he would lead them to a safe place on the other side of the Red Sea. This is called the exodus. So Moses went to the Egyptian king, called Pharaoh, and told him what God was going to do. Pharaoh tried to stop him but eventually they all marched off into the desert. At the shore of the Red Sea, God did something which is quite impossible for any ordinary person he made the wind blow very powerfully and the water stood up like two walls so that the Israelites could walk between them on dry land. When the Egyptian army tried to do the same, the water collapsed on top of them. It took Israel 40 years to reach their safe place. You can read the story of the crossing of the Red Sea in the Bible, in Exodus chapter 14.
So, Who is God? Answers to real questions about God. 79
80 When Jesus was on the cross, everybody mocked him. They said, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself! They were right in one sense. God s son could do absolutely anything. But Jesus chose the path of weakness and stayed on the cross to die for the sins of all who believe in him. You can read about this in Luke chapter 23, verses 32 to 43. Brain teaser Verse to remember Fascinating fact God can t make something which doesn t make sense or which is greater or bigger than he is!! When Moses saw what God had done for the Israelites he sang a song of praise to God which says, Our LORD, no other gods compare with you Majestic and holy! Fearsome and glorious! Miracle worker! (Exodus chapter 15, verse 11) Even the strongest man in the world can t carry an elephant. Tsunamis can rip down houses and trees.
So, Who is God? Answers to real questions about God. 81 The first Christians found that God s Holy Spirit was very powerful. In the history of the church which we call the Acts of the apostles, chapter 16, verses 25 to 40, you can read about what happened to Christian leaders, Paul and a friend called Silas, in a town called Philippi. They were chained up in prison after telling the people about Jesus. They had made some very powerful enemies. But Paul and Silas sang and prayed to God and at about midnight a great earthquake shook the foundations of the jail. Not only that but the doors of the jail opened and the chains fell from the prisoners. God s powerful Holy Spirit had rescued them. Wonderword Think about what might be the heaviest object in your house. Can you lift it? Just think, it would be as light as a feather for God! Connections Turn to section 2, Did God make the world? for some more on this. Or turn to section 17 on How big is God?. Or read Psalm 77, verses 11 to 20 to see how the writer thought about God s rescue of his people. God is... omnipotent. He is almighty
82 21. Does God know everything? Our teacher knows everything! Sometimes it does feel like that, even though you know it can t really be true. But with God it is true. He really does know everything. Jeremiah was one of God s special messengers and he had a very difficult job. God had chosen him to tell Israel that he was going to judge them because they had been so wicked. God knew everything that he was going to do with Israel. God was going to send the Babylonian armies to conquer Israel and drag the people off to Babylonia to work hard for the people there. God told all his plans to Jeremiah. Jeremiah and God s other true messengers were threatened and treated very badly by the people because they didn t want to hear what these messengers had to say. They even threw Jeremiah down a well! But God knew everything that he was going to do: he was just like a potter who breaks a badly made pot in order to make a new one. God promised Jeremiah that Israel would do well in Babylon and that they would come back to Jerusalem. God even promised to make a new agreement with them, which is called a covenant. God had planned everything. Nothing was unknown to him. To get a flavour of what God said to Jeremiah, look at Jeremiah chapter 29, verses 4 to 23. Brain teaser Do you think it would be possible to be God and NOT know everything? Verse to remember Nothing about me is hidden from you! I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do. (Psalm 139, verses 15 and 16)
So, Who is God? Answers to real questions about God. 83 One day, when he was travelling, Jesus sat down at a well. He was thirsty and asked a woman to get him a drink. As they were talking, Jesus told her that he knew that she had already been married five times and she was living with a man now who wasn t her husband. The woman thought that Jesus was a special messenger from God and told him that her people were expecting a Messiah. Jesus said that he was that person. The woman ran off to tell all the people in her village, Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! You can read the rest of this story in John chapter 4, verses 3 to 42. In the early church there was a man called Agabus. He was able to bring messages from God to people. Agabus warned the church in Jerusalem about a terrible famine which was going to happen. This meant that people could prepare for it and many Christians from other places sent whatever help they could to the Christians in Jerusalem. You can read about this in Acts chapter 11, verses 27 to 30. Connections Does God know about me? Yes, God knows all about everybody. God is... omniscient. He knows everything