Who is God?

That is a crazy question isn’t it? He is our Creator and our Savior. So why do we tend to move away from Him? Probably for the save reason that Israel did when they were in the wilderness, they were sinners just like we are. We have our own ideas of how to serve God or not and sometimes our ideas just don’t follow Him the way that we should. Even when the disciples followed Jesus there were some who were more dedicated to what He taught, more in tune with His message than others. Some of us just don’t get it and some do but they want to follow Him their way.

There is a problem with trying to follow Jesus or God on your own path though. For one thing, it won’t work. Making your own path but following God doesn’t work because God’s path is not your path. He leads you not the other way around. How far would a herd of sheep get if the shepherd walked behind them? They wouldn’t go anywhere. That is why God spoke of us as His sheep. Our ideas and our ways are not His ways but in order to follow Him and learn from Him we have to follow Him every day!

God is our Savior and our Shepherd in this life so that we can get to our eternal Life. The pathway goes where God leads us, not in the direction which feels comfortable all of the time. There could be some rocks and some thorns and the path may be a bit steep and narrow but as long as we are following the Shepherd that knows the path from one end to the other then we will get to our destination.

God is the Creator of everything and even if you don’t believe that, even science is beginning to show that life would not be possible if it weren’t for the finely tuned physical processes in the universe. I can’t go into the many different things which are part of that fine-tuning but there are a few that many of you know about. Like the distance which Earth orbits our Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Both are exactly the amounts which life on Earth needs. Any deviation in distance or rotation speed and life might be possible but it wouldn’t be the way it is now. These did not happen by “a lucky strike of another planet” or by chance.

God had a hand in Creation!

I know there are many people who don’t believe the Bible is true, but I do believe that God gave the details of Creation to Moses while he was with Him on the mountain. How else would Moses have known? Read it, learn about Him and how HE brought everything into being, then seek Him out as your Savior. He provided a way for your salvation so all you have to do is seek Him out for it. I pray that you will.

Life goes on….

Pain and grief, disease and heartache all of these are part and parcel of our lives on Earth. Even though it is hard to see that God is present even during the times of “testing” in our lives, He is there. At times it seems that we can’t feel His Presence in the days which bring pain and depression…but God is there. He doesn’t leave us, even those of us who don’t believe in Him. How can He leave us alone when He occupies all of Heaven and Earth?

Good shepherd When we don’t acknowledge His Presence, it doesn’t cause Him pain. It just magnifies our suffering because we are not seeing His goodness in things which seem to be hurtful to us. Allow Him to be in your painful days, ask Him to give you the strength to go on during those times of feeling without strength or even the faith to believe that He will do it! God is there in the dark with you and He is there when you come out of the dark places. Whether the dark is caused by a personal problem or by a death in the family or even by some other happenstance, God has not left you alone.

He was present when Job was going through all of his trials and Job didn’t give up his faith in God. He questioned God and was angry with God for his suffering but he didn’t lose faith in Him. That is how we are supposed to live our days out on this Earth. Whether we are battling cancer or having to handle the death of a loved one, God is there when we go to sleep after a long night of grief. He will be there to wake us after we have rested and He can carry us through the next day and the next if we will allow Him to do so. Don’t do this on your own strength because it will tear you down physically and emotionally!

We were never designed to live our daily lives without God, so be mindful of His Presence in your day. The drops of rain which fall to nourish the Earth and its plants also causes floods which can be dangerous. God is still present in all of this no matter what the outcome is. Seek Him out in your pain. Ask Him to give you strength to get through today, then make sure you do it again tomorrow. That is what Jesus meant when He said to walk with Him daily.

The walk of a Christian is not one that is to be done alone. It is one that we must acknowledge our Savior as our Messiah and determine to walk with Him every day. It is a walk of purpose not a casual walk. That is why Jesus said that we had to take up our cross and follow Him every day. Meaning that you are to “die to yourself”. You are to give your life to Him as a sacrifice on a daily basis. It isn’t a burden to carry or a problem that you alone have to handle. Give your LIFE to Jesus purposefully, every day, determine that He is in control…not you! Follow Him as a sheep would follow the shepherd because they know that by following him they are safe and cared for!

The same with us. As long as you and I follow along with Him every day, He will keep us on the path with Him. Don’t try to do things on your own, seek His guidance and His strength in all things so that your days will be productive and useful to yourself and to His Kingdom. This is what is called “storing up treasures in Heaven”. It may not be spendable here on Earth, but the reward is eternal.

Give …. a chance!

There are many, many things which could go in that space and I don’t want to even attempt to go over all of them. Today, you could say that our country should go in there or the President-elect, Donald Trump, should be in that spot. There are many more that could go there but my point here is that whatever you place in that blank space, do it!

Don’t just say it, do it! What is the most important part of your life which needs to be in that place? Is it your job or something concerning school or your marriage which needs a chance to work? Is it your relationship with your Savior? Is there a multiplicity of options in your life which needs a chance to work?

We all have things which need a chance to work, in one way or another. For some of us it is a relationship, whether it is one with our Savior or our spouse or another family member, really doesn’t matter. The point is that relationships have to be worked on, taken care of, nurtured if we want them to grow. So much is going on in the world today, and if it was broken down to what the REAL problems are and what or maybe Who would fix it, the choice would be simple.

The problem with that is this: nobody likes a simple solution.

Simple solutions to complex problems involving cultures and religions which have been at odds for centuries are not achievable in our world. Why? Because we are human and our solutions involve other human beings, each of us has their own idea about a solution to a specific problem. When we don’t cooperate with each other to implement a solution, the problem gets bigger and it isn’t solved in the long run.

The point that I am attempting to get across to those who may read this is that human problems don’t have a human solution. Our solution is found in the Bible, in His Wisdom and faith in Him, not in our fallible ways and understanding. I don’t claim to have those answers, but God does. They are found by reading and studying His Word and asking Him for wisdom in our daily lives.

Living by His Word, studying His Word and His wisdom and asking Him to show you and me the way through a problem or around a problem is the best way to live. It isn’t easy because most of us don’t like to admit that we can’t find the solution. It isn’t easy because we don’t really like to study any book, regardless of which one it may be. God’s Word isn’t hard to understand if you ask Him to help you to understand it.

Seek Him out in the Bible, because when you go looking for Him…you will find Him or He will come to you. He hasn’t lost you, but you may have forgotten where to look for Him. Don’t forget that God loves you and has loved you and me since before the world was created. Each of us has a job in His Kingdom, mine is being a preacher, yours may be something totally different. Just like any government in the world, all jobs are important in some way and if someone isn’t doing their job then the rest suffer for it.