How do you view God?

How do you view God? Do you view Him as someone who is a "higher power" that you seek when times get tough or you need a new promotion, or healing, or...whatever? Do you view Him as someone who sits on high allowing turmoil without doing anything to stop it or protect the innocent? Do you view Him as Loving, but not also full of righteous wrath? Or perhaps you view Him the opposite, full of wrath with no love. Do you see God as non existent? Or is He your All in All? Or do you feel you're somewhere in the middle - not "too religious," but you have a "healthy respect?"

God's character never changes. He is Love all the time. He is also Judge all the time, but His justified wrath is the far opposite of what our human anger is; His judgement and anger is deserved. God cannot be around sin, because He is also always Holy; "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).

You might wonder, "why do bad things happen, if God is so loving, if He is so Fair?" Why is my loved one dying of cancer? Why is there war? Why is there famine? Abuse? Devastation? Why did my spouse cheat? Why can't I get pregnant? Why are the kids mean to me at school? Why can't I have the family I so desparately long for? Why am I alone? Doesn't God see?! Doesn't He care? Surely not, perhaps you reason, or else He wouldn't let this happen.

To answer the question with a rather broad stroke, human beings must suffer all kinds of things because of our sinful nature. When Eve disobeyed God and took that bite of fruit in Genesis 3, all of humanity was effected. No longer were we a race who could walk & talk with God, no...sin separates us from Him. Unfortunately, we also fight with our loved ones, cheat, lie, get sick and die and so many other things, many done out of our selfish will. So some suffering is unfortunately inevetiable until the day Jesus returns to judge and every knee bows and every tongue confesses Him as Lord. Second, sin bears consequences. Sin against our bodies bears consequences. Sin against others hurts ourselves and others, sometimes on a very huge scale. The only way to be reconciled to God is through Jesus Christ who took our sin on the cross to pay the full penalty for it.

God doesn't want our happiness to be in the pleasures of this world. There are certainly good things that He's given to us; many of our desires are healthy (marriage, having a baby, having food to eat, having there be peace in our own family and worldwide). The problem comes in when we make these things an idol (something we place above God in our lives). The problem comes when you would do anything to get what you want: lie, cheat, steal, hurt someone else, turn your back on the right way of living God has called you to. God wants to be first in our hearts. Why? Because He loves us. He wants His best for us. What is His best? Holiness. Heaven. Communion with Him. The blessings that come with a life of serving Him.

Let me be clear: there is no middle ground with God. You are either for Him or against Him (John 8:42-47). He wants all of you. He doesn't want just the Sunday-church-going-person who then goes out into the week and doesn't give Him a second thought. He wants to walk with you daily. He wants you to talk to Him in prayer about more than just your urgent problems; He is Holy and deserves our praise, our confession and our thanksgiving in addition to hearing our pleas. He wants to talk to you daily through His living and active Word. He says that the Bible is "God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). He wants you to open it and hear from Him about what to do about your current problem. He wants to give you hope for that situation you think is unbearable. Are you on the fence? Do you think that the claim to being a Christian is enough, that you don't need Him to change you? Do you think that the stuff you do that displeases Him is ok, because, hey, you're "already forgiven?" God desires sanctification (for us to be made holy). He didn't just send Jesus to give us a free pass to act however we want.

God never ever changes. But we do. Do you want to be changed for Him, or do you want to stay the same? I'm not going to sit here and say the process is always 100% comfortable. I'm not going to say that when you accept Jesus or decide to finally take the next step with Him He's been calling you to take that your will is always going to like it. Most of the time, you probably won't. I'm not going to tell you that all your problems will go away. What I will say, and I can promise, because the Bible promises, is that if you fully hand your situations over to God and ask for Him to be glorified in the midst of your suffering, that He will use you for His Glory and not waste your pain, that He will do just that. And He'll grow you up in Him in the process. And let me tell you, even though it sometimes hurts like any growing pains do, it is so well worth it in the end.

"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what the nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you." Romans 8:5-9

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen." Romans 11:33-36

"Therefore,we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternl." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." 2 Corinthians 7:1

If you would like to know how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please e-mail me.