We all should understand, to know who God is, we have to develop a relationship with him and then we develop an understanding of who he is as The Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
“Who are you God?” Ever ask yourself that question. Just knowing that he provides, protects and manifests himself in amazing ways seems a little shortsighted and inadequate to me. Do you want to know who your Father in Heaven is? Do you want to know whom your creator is -who created you for a specific purpose? Do you want know his heart and why his actions? I want to know his heart. The blessings are nice but if your parent gave you a bike for your birthday and you were estranged from that parent would that gift mean anything to you if you didn’t have a relationship with that parent?
"You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48
God gives sunlight and rain to the “just and unjust alike” but since many of his chosen creation are estrange from him, the “gift” of sun and rain and anything else means nothing to them.
What is God’s heart? Who is the Giver Himself?
You marry for love or for money? You have faith in God because of his gifts or because of who he is -which is love.
“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” 1 John 4:16
In the same line of thought: You put your trust in things or the maker of all things.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19
Where should our treasure and hope be?
Why would we give our soul, our focus, our heart, and thought emphasis to a world that doesn’t value us for us? The world did not create you so it doesn’t care as long as it can use you and abuse you and drop you when you are no longer useful to it. God is the one cares about you. He doesn’t want to be some estranged giver that just gives gifts. He wants us to know Him.
Who is our Heavenly Father? What are some of his attributes?
God’s esteeming love, mercy and grace are a good place to start.
Grace
God’s free and unmerited favor toward sinful humanity.
(Grace happens when we turn to God because we don’t highly regard our own fleshly efforts because they often lead to sinful lusts and behaviors (pride, arrogance, boastfulness, greed, envy, fighting, deception, gossip, hate, vengefulness, unforgiveness, shortsightedness, etc.) Grace has nothing to do with our own ability to achieve anything BUT trusting God do the work through us. It is surrendering ourselves and focusing on God where He empowers us to do the right things.
Mercy
Forgiving; compassion; withholding of punishment or judgment our sins deserve.
(God knows our weakness and the fist full of fleshly solicitations offered to us in the midst of circumstances -so we turn to God’s mercy. Mercy is drawing/ turning to God for help. It takes us to admit our weakness for us to receive his mercy. Think: Can we receive God's mercy if we don't turn to God? Knowing his faithfulness and how we should act as His children we seek God's mercy. God's mercy and grace go hand and hand to empower the Christian soul.
2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Esteem
To value or appreciate.
(God values and appreciates us)
Knowing and walking in these things we understand God is for us not against us.
“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.") No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. Romans 8:31-37
Do you ever think about how God can see our potential in us when we cannot see that potential in ourselves?
“For when we were still decrepit, lost sinners- enemies- He sought us out. He saw in us what only His love could see. He saw treasures in the midst of corruption, sin, and depravity. He purchased as precious what many considered worth little or even worthless. He saw beyond our state and saw what only His grace could produce.” (John Bevere from the Drawing Near page 22)
“People with good sense restrain their anger, they earn esteem by overlooking wrongs.” Proverbs 18:11
God doesn’t do anything that he doesn’t ask his children to do. When God overlooks our wrongs, he restrains his anger against us -does he not?
God sees us even more deeply then our sins. More deeply then the human mind can really comprehend and/or understand. He sees our potential in his mercy and grace. ( I must add, in order to receive his mercy and grace is you must turn to Him and accept His Son (JESUS CHRIST) who had paid the price for our sins with is own life and in doing so has given us eternal life and relationship with the Father which allows us to avoid sin and corruption. In accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, He give us His Holy Spirit which changes our heart so we no longer live to do those sinful and corrupt things we used to do before we came to Christ.)
People mistake God's mercy and grace... thinking that gives them and accuse to sin but that is wrong. God’s mercy does that give us a right to sin- for only when we understand the true meaning of God’s mercy -we see mercy as away to turn from sinful motivations to God. Sinful motives are all so readily available to us but through God’s mercy and grace we can overcome the sinful urges and naggings in and around us. But if we have no reverence for God we will continue to fall into and practice sinful behavior caused by sinful urges and naggings in and around us.
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
“He will show you a way out” - It’s not us. So be careful to whom you are listening to. God is faithful but we cannot remain faithful to God or anyone else without God’s mercy and grace. And if we only intellectualize these attributes of God then what kind of relationship do we have with God? Brothers and sisters in Christ... you are the temple of God but even thought He may live in the same “temple” as our soul- ask yourself how much time do you spend with him?
To those considering coming to Christ Jesus: I have met several individuals on this pathway of life who have told me they won’t set foot in God’s house because they need to fix themselves up or straighten themselves out first and I have had to tell them that God already knows how messed up we are so what difference does it make if we think we are straighten up or not. Plus to what standards of “straightened out” are we going to compare ourselves too? God is the only one who can transform us. Just think if a Christian makes a mess of their lives when not surrendering to God in different situations, - a person who thinks they have to fix themselves before coming to God will always be estranged from Him. Come as you are and let Him transform you into the person He created you to be.
God says: “And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart,” Ezekiel 11:19
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” Romans 12:2
If God was not a merciful God how could we come to him to be saved? How could we go to him for help? How could we ever change our way of thinking and doing things?
Ever notice how a child picks up similar behaviors as their parents? They stand or sit or talk like their parents. And those children that don’t spend time with their parents pick up the behaviors of their peers, which can be positive or negative. It is the same way with God and us. The more we get to know our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ- the more we pick up his characteristics and attributes.
“Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance and patient endurance leads to godliness.” 2 Peter 1:6
In college I had a roommate. His name was Obie - short for Obadiah. I occasionally called him Obi-wan. Living with Obadiah I got to know him not just as a student attending the same college but also as a friend.
In a way- our heart is our mobile dorm room and God doesn’t just want to be our roommate- He wants us to know him.
We seem to intellectualize and componentized our relationship with God to the point we put up a room divider up in our heart.
Born-again Christians know what God’s words mean by God’s Holy Spirit but do we take time to understand the reasoning and meanings behind the words? We understand the words but do we obey them? Just because we are familiar in God’s words doesn’t mean we really respect them and grasp them. We can be knowledgeable in God’s word but if all we have is familiarity and no fear respect or love for God’s word then we will fail wisdom and deceive ourselves.
“These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far away.” Matthew 15:8
“For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” Hebrews 7:19
“But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [you] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [you] double-minded. “James 4:6-8
“Yet when we lose the fear of God we reduce Him down to our level….”(Drawing Near by John Bevere page 93)
Do we know God for the Holy God he is?
Do we know his mercy? Do we know his grace? Do we know his esteeming love? Do we know his heart? Do we know him? What does our fruit portray about our relationship with him?
Are we just doing the talk and the motions of religious activities? Is God attending, participating, welcomed and involved in all the facets and aspects of our life? Jesus is the head of the body but he cannot be the head of us if we don’t make Him the head.
I have had to ask myself this question: “Is God invited and is God guiding and participating in this venture on my side of this activity.”
I may write this blog but if I do it to empress people then it worthless. I write this blog because God is teaching me something and if I can share that knowledge with other Christians great but my true treasure is in the heart of what God is teaching me not to broadcast my Christianity. I am excited about what God teaches me and I want to share it others.
If we are doing something “just” because everyone else is doing it then why are we doing it? If your heart isn’t in it for God and/or God isn’t directing you personality to do it then why do it?
Ask yourself: “Is my love for the Lord evident in my reasoning for participating in this faith-based activity- no matter how good intentioned it may be?”
I remember as a child going to my grandparent’s house. Their love made it feel like their house was my 2nd home. Same should be true about our activities we do in the Lord’s name.
Is God at home in our heart or is He observer/ visitor?
“And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.” Ephesians 2:7
Jesus Christ at home in our heart affects us in everything we do.
"As for me, God forbid that I could boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of him, my interest in this world died long ago, and the worlds interest in me is also long dead. It doesn't make any different now whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people. May God's mercy and peace be upon all those who live by this principle. They are the new people of God. From now on, don't let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus. My dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Galatians 6:14-18
From having peace beyond human apprehension and understanding -to loving others- to be empowered by God's grace, to turning and drawing from God's mercy, to seeing you as God sees you, to forgiving others to being faithful, to having hope, joy and more... Christ must be welcomed to be more then a resident. Our eyes and hearts must look humbly upon God's rightfully Holy place and there we will experience a closeness with God.
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