You Got Caught!

Living While Liz September Devotion

To Catch A Thief; Catch Me if You Can; Catch a Fallin Star; There is a theme that we sometimes use.  This notion of catching – of being caught.  Have you ever been caught.  Like a parent catching a child with their hand in the cookie jar.  Like a teacher catching a student cheating.  How about a boy or girl catching the other looking at them – you know caught in puppy love.  One of the worst ways to get caught is probably at the doctor with dirty underwear or at the dentist where you have to listen to that speech about brushing and flossing because you came to the dentist after eating stuff that stuck to your teeth.  Or how about getting caught telling an untruth;  caught in adultery.  Caught stealing.  How about getting in the back of the dance group so you can pretend you know the steps, hoping the choreographer or teacher won’t notice you only do the last three movements with such flair!!

Ever been caught?  Here’s your chance to confess. What did you do?   A rhetorical question might be better.  Perhaps it’s not for public consumption.  But take a moment and reflect.  When’s the last time you got caught?  Got a time in mind?  Then we can now move on.

Ever been caught by Jesus?  If you have to think too long, then go back to the previous question and reconsider the answer to this question.  Upon further consideration, you will undoubtedly say, "Yes, I have been caught by Jesus." Doesn’t Jesus see everything?  Isn’t God everywhere?

I’m sure you have heard the words Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent when someone is describing Jesus – when we refer to the magnitude of God’s power and His reach throughout this universe.

Let’s quickly get a down-to-earth definition of these three O’s.

OMNIPRESENT means God is everywhere.  That’s so important to know and believe!  Consider the following passages:

·         Psalm 139:7– Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

·         Jeremiah 23:23–24  “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD.

·         Proverbs 15:3  The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

·         Joshua 1:9  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

·         Matthew 28:20  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

God says we cannot go anywhere to get away from God.  It is impossible. 

We know he fills heaven and earth, but don't mistake this to mean God fills earth and heaven with angels, people, and stuff.  Please know that God literally fills heaven and earth.  God is everywhere. 

And then Jesus, after he has risen and been seen, tells his disciples He will be with them until the end of the ages.  He will be with us wherever we go and through whatever we do.  Right or wrong, He is there. Not until the disciples have died, and not until only you and I have died.  Jesus will be everywhere until the very last thing is done.  

OMNIPOTENT means all-powerful.  There is no one greater. The creator of all.  In the beginning God… is written in Genesis.  God, the Father of Jesus, is the only one who has the power to raise Him from the dead. Another word to define Omnipotent is Almighty.  While Scripture does not explicitly say that God is all-powerful, it does refer to God as the Almighty.  Consider passages below:

·         Genesis 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

·         Revelation 21:22  I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”

OMNISCIENT;  Simply put, It means all-knowing.

·         1 John 3:19-20  This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:  If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

·         Psalm 139:1-4  You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise;  you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

The 1 John scripture is written after Jesus has walked this earth.  This is again John explaining that God knows everything.  Then the Psalmist goes even further and breaks down some of the ways God knows everything.  We cannot possibly move from hearing, reading, and coming to believe that God knows all and then rationalize this thing by thinking that he might not know this thing about me.

So, here we are walking on this road trying to make heaven our home, and I ask you if you ever got caught.  The answer is yes.  Somebody has caught us doing something bad, like a policeman catching us speeding.  Somebody has caught us doing something good, like discovering a surprise party is being planned for us.  Getting caught runs the spectrum, and guess what?  Each and every time, Jesus has caught us too.  God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent. 

The next time someone asks you if you got caught, don’t pause, don’t waver, don’t you dare start to say no.  Just go ahead and confess, cause you already know.  Now repeat after me, “Yes, I got caught.