What is God Like?

God is Love

Many people deny the presence of God.

Often they are ignoring his presence. The word "Christian" is deceptive because many people go to church, sing hymns, listen to sermons and participate in prayers, even pray on their own, but never connect with the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit (HS) that brings Christians to life. The HS guides us, heals us, gives us wisdom and energy as needed.

Sometimes when children are raised as Christians

and then walk away and deny God, they are denying what they have experienced because they have not experienced the Trinity of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Is there a Devil?

Indeed the devil is real. He plants ideas and suggestions in our minds to lead us away from God. Sometimes he puts negative images in our minds and our dreams. He is a force to reckon with. The only way to stay clear of him is to described in the Bible in James 4, verse 7: "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. vs8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

What's tricky about this?

The fact that resisting the devil is easy but you have to remember to continue doing it. He is persistent. It is not a one time only expulsion.

If God exists why does He let this happen?

Strangely enough the answer is in the Bible. God created us, in Genesis, with free will so we could decide our behaviour for ourselves. If God had wanted us to be more robotic he would have made us that way. Instead He wants us to pursue righteousness and be loyal to him.

He

sets limits for us: commandments; He disciplines us when needed: in his own time and in keeping with the plan that he has for each of us. He gave us His Son Jesus Christ so we could better connect with Him. Jesus said: No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6;

God is a Holy and pure hearted being. He detests certain behaviours and has labeled them as sin, but as we are beings with free will we all sin. Jesus, who is God, does not sin. From each of us, God wants our love and our obedience. This is not a crippling obedience that spoils our fun but a loving obedience that brings peace, joy and love as well as eternal salvation into our lives. God said, we will be his people.

In the old testament the discipline I mentioned above sometimes seems quite harsh but to anyone who followed God's rules, the love of God was with them. In the New Testament starting with Matthew, the presence of Jesus brings the love of God closer to us. Jesus said "I and my Father are one" John 10:30 and gave us two commandments: Love God and Love our neighbor. It takes a certain maturity to do either. However Jesus makes a promise that if we acknowledge Him as the son of God and follow these commandments we will go to Heaven. God's love, which is abundant, is available to us if we reach out for it.

Why didn't anybody ever tell me this? Maybe they did tell me but I wasn't ready to hear it. Connecting to God is a very personal experience: We have to be ready for it in order to let it happen. One problem with this is if we don't get on board we might miss the train. This is not a train you want to miss.

You can ask God for things through prayer. For success in this regard there are some rules:

1. First you have to ask Him. ASk him through prayer: group prayers are better.
2. You must believe that your prayer will be answered. (Mark 11:24) "Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."
3. Pray for what suits God's will and not your own. (James 4:3) "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."

So now again we can ask,

Why do People Pray?

The owners manual for human beings consists of our ability to talk to God. We pray for health, strength, wisdom and for happiness for ourselves and others.

Why do some people deny God?

Every Christian knows people who deny God. They may or may not say they are Christians but they do not have faith or understand what it means to have the Holy Spirit in them. Why does this happen?  Many reasons but in some cases, historically, God has hardened the hearts of some people so that they are slow to know him. About the Egyptian Pharaoh in the time of Moses, the Bible,Exodus 9:12, says: "And the Lord Hardened the heart of Pharaoh." Presumably God did this because of previous negative behavior from Pharaoh. In Romans 11:8 God hardens the hearts of Jews to not recognize Jesus as his Son. Creating ears that cannot hear, eyes that cannot see and minds that cannot understand is something that God sometimes does to people, I believe because either he loses patience with their refusal to acknowledge him or because he is tired of their poor behavior. God seems to want people to put forth some effort to get to know him. To read more on how Christians should behave, Click Here

Is God doing the same thing today with people who resist his presence? With Pharaoh, there were so many drastic things that happened to the Egyptians it is almost unbelievable that Pharaoh did not become a Christian. This makes it entirely believable that God had hardened his heart. In the time of the crucifixion of Jesus the same can be said. Jesus was healing the sick, bringing the dead back to life and doing many other miracles and yet the stoical Jewish population of the day crucified him.

Given all of this, it is easy to believe that for whatever reason God is hardening the hearts of modern day people, causing them to not recognize him. There are also other reasons for denying God. One is Ego driven because accepting God involves acknowledging dependence. It also involves giving up immorality and decadence.

Tune in here for . . .

Favorite Bible verses:

• Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. This verse has long puzzled me. Recently I listened to Steve Gregg on-line and he opened up, for me, a whole new exciting meaning for it. Until today I thought of meek as "lacking spirit or backbone; submissive; compliant," not desirable traits. Biblically, more likely it means, strength, under control; one who rules his own spirit; being in charge of yourself. From this one can surmise that the meek that shall inherit the earth are those who are able to temper whatever strength or force they possess, deferring to others when possible, being humble: A very different picture of behaviour. Also much more in keeping with "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Matt: 22:39. How much easier to exhibit love for others when we go easy on them when possible, rather than give in to the temptation to use any strength and power we command to pummel them.
  
  
• He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1John 4:8.  - another favorite of mine.
  
  
• "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." 1Corrinthians 13:1.
  This seems to speak for itself. and is again in keeping with the Matthew verse, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." What does neighbor mean? I like to think that a neighbor is any of our fellow man.
  
  
• "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,and it shall be opened unto you."Luke 11:9. - April 11.2020
  
  
• Philippians 4:4-6. "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."
  
  
• "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
  Jesus says this in Matthew 11:28. I believe we all need God's rest. If we work hard, are tired out often and struggle to see things getting better, God's rest is enlightening. Remember, we have to reach out for it through prayer and Bible reading.
  
  
• "Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8. I particularly like it that God says, who will go for us, not who will go for me. There is an inclusiveness about this word choice that I appreciate.
  
• More to come. Send me your favorite Bible verses