Does God want people to know Him? I believe so!

All life and matter, a universe without boundaries, all reveals a Creator master mind behind it, that causes people to acknowledge that it couldn’t happen on its own, accidently or by evolution. Creation points to God.

The Scriptures (Torah and Bible) record how God revealed Himself personally to certain men in some way and with His own voice, starting with Adam and Eve in the beginning.  

If God didn’t want us to know Him personally, then why did men write down their experiences of God and what He required of them, and has protected the Scriptures throughout all time?

If God didn’t want us to know Him personally, then why did God send His Son to the earth, through the miracle of ‘virgin’ birth, to live among men and not only claim but to be the sacrifice for all the sinfulness of mankind? Why did Jesus appear to His disciples after His death and burial, confirming to His disciples His promise that they would join Him by the same resurrection from death to life with God forever?  

If God didn’t want us to know Him, then why has the Bible been the only book to stand time, even after many evil men literally tried to rid the earth of the Holy Bible?

There have been things written down about God in other books, but not in the way God’s Spirit wrote through men to form HIS WORD to us. Only by the HOLY Spirit’s “inspiration” was the HOLY Bible formed to be passed down generation to generation so that people can BEGIN to know God.

‘Head’ knowledge alone is not enough if you truly want to know God ‘personally.’ Jesus Christ, God’s Son is called “the mystery of God” in whom are hidden all the treasures of God’s wisdom and knowledge, having the full riches and complete understanding of God. (Colossians 2:2-4) God has made Himself known to us fully through His Son coming to the earth to live among men and then taking upon Himself all the sin of the world as the “once and for all sacrifice” so that we could live with our heavenly Father forever.

The Word of God in its entirety (Old and New Testaments) is for our beginning of knowing God, which can protect our mind from being deceived by all the teachings and arguments of people who reject the Word of God. But when we go the next step ‘by faith with humility’ as a sinner before the Cross of Jesus asking His forgiveness, we receive the grace we ask for.

Ask and receive!

When we take the next step with a committed heart-felt seeking to know God fully and what HE REQUIRES of us, God gifts us with His indwelling Holy Spirit.

Seek and find!

The Holy Spirit is the one who imparts God’s wisdom when we need it. What we read in the Bible, the Holy Spirit keeps it hidden in us and reminds us of what Jesus said, our hope of glory. The Holy Spirit guides us to the truth and leads us on the right path to walk with our Lord day by day. (The Lord and Spirit are one with the Father.)  The Holy Spirit prepares us for the things to come that are recorded in the Bible by God’s prophets and Son. The Holy Spirit brings into us to live and mature: God’s love, joy, peace, strength, wisdom, patience, long-suffering, perseverance, kindness, forgiveness for others, favor with God and men.  

Knock and the door shall be opened!  

This is how I believe we come to KNOW and LIVE with GOD.

I love reading (in the Holy Bible) what GOD says about His Son! When I consider all the evil and wickedness rapidly intensifying in this world - it is calming to know that there is TRUE HOPE! 

As we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas time, I am so very thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ: His first coming with His life, death and resurrection, and His upcoming return, a.k.a "the DAY of the LORD." The Old Testament prophets spoke and pointed to both the "Lamb" and "Lion" of God Almighty. 

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE. Of the greatness of HIS government THERE WILL BE NO END. HE will reign on David's throne (earth's Jerusalem) and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS from that time on and FOREVER. The zeal of the LORD ALMIGHTY will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:6-7

"Salvation belongs to our GOD, who sits on the throne, and to the LAMB." Revelation 7:10

"John (God's servant and cousin of Jesus) sees Jesus coming to him and says, 'Behold the Lamb of God, the One taking away the sin of the world'.....And John bore witness saying, 'I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and it remained upon Him. And I did not know Him; but the One having sent me to baptize with water, He said to me, "Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending and abiding on Him, He is the One baptizing with the Holy Spirit." 'And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.'” John 1:29-34 (the Lamb)

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called FAITHFUL and TRUE. With justice HE judges and wages war. (The last war on earth.) His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His Name is the WORD OF GOD. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean (the holy people Rev. 19:8). Coming out of His mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations (that are against Him). 'He will rule them with an iron scepter.' He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of GOD ALMIGHTY. On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Revelation 19:11-16 (The LION)

"Look, the LION of the tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne, has won the victory. He is worthy to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:4

As you read on from Revelation 19 we learn all that the LORD does to end all evil and rebellion on the earth and in the heavens, starting with Satan (personified - false Messiah) who has begun to rule the world from Jerusalem on David's throne as the one whom the deceived world has been hoping for. But his reign is cut short (7 years) by the return of the SUPREME KING our Lord Jesus Christ. Satan and his false prophets and his beast, along with all people/organizations/systems/governments that were united against the LORD with Satan's "mark of the beast," worshipping its image (the false messiah), are permanently forever dealt with as described in Revelation 19 and 20. 

Ahhhh, and finally "the new heaven and earth!" (Revelation 21) "The old order of things has passed away....the ONE seated on the throne said, 'I AM making everything new!" "I AM the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End." "Those who are victorious will inherit all this: 'God's dwelling is now among the people, and HE will dwell with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain.'" "BUT the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice witchcraft/sorcery/magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (Rev. 21:1-8)

The first death if our physical death, but the second death is for those who rejected the grace of God that had 'continually' (Titus 2:11) appeared to them with the gospel of His Son - for them to put their faith in. But for those who believed in the Savior of the world - were filled with Christ's Holy Spirit: "...to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." John 1:12

The "second death" is what we should be more afraid of! So afraid that we do not resist God's Spirit of grace with the gospel of Christ. 

"Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was physically seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followersd at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw Him. For I, Paul, am the least of all the apostles." 1 Corinthians 15:4-9

Jesus is the TRUTH, the WAY and the LIFE! He is the RESURRECTION, and the 'firstfruit' of it. He appeared to His disciples after His death to confirm what He promised them, and all of us who believe on His Name. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:3

"I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me]." John 10:14

God’s prophet Isaiah speaks to America, describes our nation with the very words from the LORD that rebuked and warned Israel’s rebellion to God. You say I can’t apply to America what God said to Israel? Does God have a two-tiered ‘justice systems,’ one for Israel and one for America and the other nations like the Democrats have been using, one for themselves and another for conservatives (especially Trump supporters)? Does God change or evolve? NO! NO!

Don’t be fooled, the progressive power-hungry democrats are using their narrative: “MAGA/Trumpers are America’s enemies,” to cover what they really fear and is a threat for THEIR brand of democracy. They plan to win the unsuspecting minds and votes of people (illegals and criminals too) in order to keep the democrat party in power over us all with a “one-party government.” This is not a Republic, which America is. They are using every corrupt way they can, knowing they won’t be held accountable since they have ALL the power right now from the top down (except in our High Supreme Court for the time being). A pathetic bunch of hypocrites they are, to say the least.

Yet listen to what God’s faithful prophet was shown and told by our God, the God who is watching America’s leadership evolve (government and church) to see what He can still bless and protect:

“Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD, turned their backs on HIM….Why do you persist in rebellion?...From the top of your head to the sole of your foot THERE IS NO SOUNDNESS….your cities are burning….your fields (land and industry) are being stripped by foreigners (China mostly)….When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you, I am NOT listening. YOUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD! (Abortion) Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong! Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. See what you’ve become: a prostitute! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her – but now murderers! People oppress each other. Mere youths have become your officials, women rule over them and they oppress My people. The young rise up against the old, the nobody against the honored. Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts ($ from special interests, etc.) They do NOT defend the innocent, nor take up the cause of the fatherless and the widow. Their words and deeds are against the LORD, defying His glorious presence. The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide what is shameful. WOE TO THEM! They have brought disaster on themselves. WOE TO THE WICKED! Woe to them who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who are heroes at drinking and mixing drinks. Woe to them who call evil good and good evil. They will be paid back for what their hands have done. (We’re seeing it and feeling it, but it can get far worse!) Therefore, the LORD ALMIGHTY will turn His hand against you so that you are devoured by the sword (overcome by war) IF YOU CONTINUE TO REBEL AND RESIST ME.” (Isaiah 1,2,3 in part)

We (God’s people) are called to pray for those in authority over us so that we can live peacefully and prospering as a nation “under God.” The ‘righteous’ are to lead, not the wicked. The ‘God-fearing’ are to rule, not those who reject God and His Word, or use passages from within the Holy Bible to somehow authenticate their unconstitutional policies and justify their false histories/accounts/accusations/media hype.

Then the LORD says to Isaiah, and he writes: “Tell the ‘righteous’ it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.” (Isaiah 3:10)

So, who does God consider to be “righteous?” Those who truly know the LORD and support what GOD says in His Word, and who seek to live and rule by God’s laws and principles, even if their government does not, even if they are persecuted for it – THEY are the ones whom God deems righteous. They know the difference between right and wrong, truth and lie because they agree with their Maker and Judge. They won’t compromise and partner with the wicked or sit with mockers of God. It’s sickening and grievous to see the progressive destruction of what “compromise” does to a nation that God wanted to keep blessing and protecting from her enemies.

Compromise: giving in to the godless – in what ‘seems’ reasonable at the time, but progressively and unwittingly enslaves a people that once had “liberty and justice for all,” a nation so richly blessed by God that oppressed people from other nations fled to willingly and legally live within our blessed boundaries; a nation that other nations feared because God favored us and showed His obvious DISTINCTION in comparison to other nations that reject Him.

Preparing AND praying for our nation!

As I was talking to the LORD this morning about our nation and the way it is headed under this current administration especially, this passage came to me as to worldly wisdom compared to the wisdom that comes from God, not only for eternal life, but for our earthly life too. 

When I was saved in February of 1975, I wanted to know my Savior who had saved me from going to hell. I wanted to know Him as best I could. I wanted to know what my Heavenly Father thinks of me. I wanted to know how He thinks about everything, especially since He is the Creator and will judge it (us) all. I wanted to know the future He has for me and my loved ones that I pray for. So, I started reading the Holy Bible. I was so hungry ‘to know’ that I read for hours each day until I had read through the whole Bible, Genesis to Revelation. Then I started reading it again, and again and again….studying and meditating on passages that jumped out to me as they were the indwelling Holy Spirit (who is the LORD) speaking to me from God’s LIVING Word. 

The Word of God was NOT ‘inspired’ by men, but by God's Holy Spirit. 

The Word of God is our foundation of knowledge and pure wisdom and is the basis by which I judge everything happening. Yet what is happening in our world, and especially in America these days, it is evident that people do not KNOW what they need to know. They reject what God says in His Word, and yet refer to themselves as Christians. Others have rejected God altogether and think they are the ones to rule and tell everyone how to think and live. They are blind fools according to their Creator and Savior and Judge. 

“The beginning of knowledge and wisdom – is the fear of God.” Proverbs 9:10

When I was first saved, I came to the LORD because I “feared God.” I feared God because I believed what God says in His Word about salvation in Jesus Christ His Son; that without faith in Him I was doomed and forever separated from God and the eternal life He has planned for those who love Him, and whom He loves as His eternal family. Then as I began to KNOW HIM in His Word, I fell in love with Him. 

When I listen to this current administration talk about all the things they have planned to do, and that they’ve already done to this country, this passage in God’s Word says it all:

1 Corinthians 1:18-29 “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.’

“So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

“But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

“Remember, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.”

I’m praying for people to come to KNOW the LORD in truth and spirit. I’m praying for our nation to have leadership with PURE wisdom from above. I’m praying for the LORD’s church to understand their responsibility in “such a time as this.”

As I was talking to my Father God, I asked Him: “What if Jesus had given up and asked You to save him from anymore sorrow and pain as He journeyed to His ‘physical’ end, would You have Father? What a question! Right? But I know that Jesus was also a human being like us with flesh and emotions.

Had Jesus asked His Father that, it would’ve been our Savior’s feelings and flesh asking, that human part of Him. At one point we know that Jesus asked the Father, when He cried out: “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death….He fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as YOU WILL.’” (Matthew 26:38-39)

So I thought, then if I have His Spirit dwelling in me and His Word (truth and promises) locked in my mind, I also can overcome anything in life – like Jesus did. Right? Just think of what He has given us with the Word of God and His indwelling Holy Spirit. And yet, believers in Jesus Christ are overcome by our fleshly desires and the world’s threats and the devil’s lies and temptations. Why?

I’m convinced that most, if not all, of God’s people today do not utilize the Word of God and the power of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit as they could and should. I know I haven’t, and I’m constantly working on that with repentance and moving forward with a new day of all His mercies.

We are called to become more like Jesus Christ. Christ was a physical person like we are, but in Him was God’s divine nature of the Holy Spirit and unwavering faith in how His human life would end up benefitting mankind in making the way for us to come to the Father and live with Him forever.

We need to read and study the Word of God for our faith’s application and daily encouragement. Jesus Christ didn’t need to read the Word of God (Torah or Holy Bible), HE IS THE WORD OF GOD. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.….The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth….No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Himself know.” (John 1 in part)

When I asked Jesus to forgive me of all my sins, and to come live in me (February of 1975), He did. He waits to be asked, and when asked – He moves in and goes to work in us by His Spirit and His Word. We are responsible to feed on God’s words. If you don’t have a hunger for the Word of God, to know Him, and to know what He’s done in the past and is yet to do in the future; and if you don’t have a desire to please your heavenly Father, to understand what worship truly is – then you are not a child of God.

As Jesus said to those in His day who didn’t acknowledge Him as the One they were teaching about, “You are of your father, the devil.” Jesus never spoke ‘worried’ about people’s feelings; He spoke the truth that would set people free from all that besets us in our lives so we can live the life that is truly life. He showed us how to be His humble witnesses, as He lived to glorify His Father. With all the gifts and fruit of Christ’s indwelling Holy Spirit, we can be His faithful witnesses. And, He gave His promise as to what we could expect from God for faithfulness to the end of our life on earth.

Yet, in knowing that I have all the power in me (Word and Spirit) and all God’s favor on me, I stumble and fall. I’m reminded of when our Savior was carrying His Cross to His crucifixion; the cross He bore of all of OUR sins. His human weakness stumbled and fell from the weight. So, He fully understands our human weaknesses. And is why He calls out: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Peter 1:3 “His divine power (Holy Spirit) has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him (Word of God) who called us by His own glory and excellence.”Philippians 4:13 “I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.”

What “thing” do you struggle with? What “burden” are you trying to carry on your own? What ‘hope’ do you have, and where does it come from? I pray it comes from faith in what GOD has said and what Christ has done for us? AMEN?

I’ve asked God why ‘animal sacrifices’ for covering man’s sin back then, and then why His ‘Son’s sacrifice.’ Why blood? How does “blood” cover sin so that the Father’s wrath on man’s sin-nature is held off? 

The other morning the thought came that it’s all about LOVE. God is love: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then this Scripture came to mind: “No greater love than this: that a man lay his life down for another.” 

Animal sacrifices, that God required of God’s people, Israel, to temporarily cover their sin - could never ‘completely’ atone for sin permanently like Christ’s own blood sacrifice on the cross has done. They had to sacrifice on a regular basis. Christ sacrificed once and for all. Love was the difference. An animal doesn’t offer itself; it doesn’t understand this. No animal that was used to atone for sin back then, understood what was happening to it. An animal is not made in God’s image, like man is. Dogs are loyal animals and have been known to protect their master to the point of dying, but that type of ‘love’ is physical only, not spiritual for eternal life. 

We might be blessed to live to be 80 or 100 in our physical bodies, but what then? There is eternity! “God has set eternity in the heart of man” so that man (not animals) would consider ‘life after death’ according to what GOD SAYS about it, not what man has conjured up out of self-deceived ignorance and arrogant unbelief. 

The ’obedience’ of God’s people back then, and of the priest to do what was required for those animal or fowl sacrifices were simply that: out of obedient fear. When God’s priests failed to meet that requirement from God – they suffered the consequence, and so did the people they were to cover with the blood sacrifice. 

God still says to us, “If you love Me – you will obey Me.” What do I obey? I obey the will of God by loving and trusting what Jesus Christ did for me on the Cross and then living in me with His indwelling Holy Spirit of eternal life. What our Savior did with His own body, was out of PERFECT love for us; perfect because it provided life eternal. 

When someone like you or I lays our life down for another – that act does not provide eternal life; it just allows the person we died for to live a little longer on the earth. And that’s why Christ’s sacrifice was a “once and for all” sacrifice that brought our pardon from the Father’s eternal wrath on our sin-nature we are all born with. 

With Christ standing at the Father's right hand as our High Priest, we are favored by the Father because we have believed in the life and blood of His Son. But why blood? “Life is in the blood.” How long will you live without the flow of blood? The flow of blood keeps everything in our body doing what it’s supposed to do for us to keep living. God was showing us in how He created our bodies how the physical life-flow has a spiritual meaning with the eternal life-flow of Christ’s blood. Our body’s blood gives life to our physical body. Christ’s blood gives us life eternal with God (in our new imperishable body). 

Wow! What a SAVIOR!

Sometimes I'm just warn out from all the battles in this life. Both inwardly and outwardly wars are waged. My mind is drawn continually into the fray. But how many of my battles are a normal and beneficial part of the Christian life and how many are not? How many are intended by God as a means to my sanctification and how many are a distraction from it? How many are a waste of time? 

I think we can all agree, people are at the center of every battle. Whether it's politicians or the news media, previous spouses or estranged children, church leadership or fellow congregants, we can all tell stories of how we've been wronged or are being wronged. (I forgot to throw in bosses and coworkers.) It seems neverending. No one would argue that this stuff has a way of messing with our minds. It robs us of peace and joy and unsettles our lives. People get into our head and never leave.

The standard Christian response to this is to forgive the offender and trust our heavenly Father. This is a biblical solution and it is correct. But I find that past memories and hurts still remain. They don't magically go away with a wave of the Scriptures. Our minds are a storehouse. Nothing leaves. Like a hard drive, all the data that was put in stays in. So I pray, God, is there more to this? The answer is yes. 

The solution doesn't end with forgiveness. This is only the first step. What follows is also found in Scripture. Job 42:1–6 (NIV): Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ MY EARS HAD HEARD OF YOU BUT NOW MY EYES HAVE SEEN YOU. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

God never told Job why he put him through all those painful trials but we do get a glimpse into one of the results. At the end of Job's difficulties his view of God had changed. He experienced a greater revelation and understanding of the character and nature of his Lord. He knew God in a way he never did before and it forever changed him. 

John 17:3 says this: "And this is eternal life, that they KNOW YOU, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." Every painful thing we experience in this life is meant by God to reveal himself in greater ways to our hearts. He wants us to KNOW HIM, and suffering is one of the ways this is made possible. 

As believers in Jesus Christ we have something the unbeliever doesn't, confidence that pain is never a dead end for us but a window into God himself. Suffering rewards us with the very person of Jesus Christ. And this makes it all worthwhile. So the answers to the questions I began with is that ALL our battles are meant for our sanctification and none of them is a waste of time. Only hopelessness and wishing them away is.