The phrase"I believe in God" has to be the most meaningless phrase used today, don't get the wrong ideal my format is not changing.
The word GOD has become a blank canvas free for him or her to paint their on portrait of the divine while forgetting what the Word says about the God of all.
The Swiss theologian Karl Barth once said there are only two ways to attain knowledge of God:one was to begin with man and reason upward: the other is to begin with God and accept his relation to us. I agree!
In the Old Testament the psalmist contrasted idols witrh the God he came to know through a personal revelation.Notice the difference:
115:3 But our God [is] in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
115:4 Their idols [are] silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
115:5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
115:6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
115:7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
115:8 They that make them are like unto them; [so is] every one that trusteth in them.
We create our own ideal of God to fit our needs, some even change the Holy Word to give their God clout, change condemnation of a sin to make them feel less guilty, change the gender of God to give them better feelings.
People want a God who is more tolerant and less demanding and less judgmental here is a example:a man leaves his wife to live with another woman[very common today] he withdraws from his church friends, forms new ones in bars and sports complexes, he feels better associating with people who accepts his choices.
He wants to be affirmed rather than rebuked for the courage to leave his wife, People want a God who will not mess with the core of their lives.
The God of my health and wealth has become the God of the West as that has become the common message in today's churches. Gloria Copeland wrote"The Word of God simply reaveals that lack and poverty are not in line with God's will for the obedient....Allow the Holy Spirit to minister the truth to your Spirit until you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God's will is prosperity" she means worldy riches, not spiritual riches!
Try preaching this to the third world countries, or even in the poor areas of our own town, and with the way the country is going financially, the whole country in the near future.
How can we believe this God when Jesus himself said in the following
8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay [his] head.
or as Paul so well said in:
4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content.
C.S Lewis once said" The bible says that God created man in his image now man attempts to return the favor"
God told Moses at the bush "I AM WHO I AM" NOT we could add the phrase " not who you want me to be".
To begin your journey for the God that created everything not the creation who created God the following verses start the jorney:
11:6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.
There was astory of a farmer who kept asking a friend to taste his fruit, but the friend stated he had tasted the fruit that fell out by the fence and it was sour, the farmer repied that he had planted those on purpose to deter boys from getting the good fruit on the insideof the fence.
On the outside there are some sour apples, conviction of sin, self denial, and purity, to keep off the hypocrites and mere religionist. but in the middle is the sweet fruit of God's love.
55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
The best verse to start your journey for the one true God, not all the idols that people call God, such as money, possessions and even people for as we have seen all too many times man will fail every time but God does not and will not.
42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
42:2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?
42:3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where [is] thy God?
42:4 When I remember these [things], I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
42:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and [why] art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him [for] the help of his countenance.
42:6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
42:7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
42:8 [Yet] the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song [shall be] with me, [and] my prayer unto the God of my life.
42:9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
42:10 [As] with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where [is] thy God?
42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, [who is] the health of my countenance, and my God.
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