In the Begining , God!

In The Beginning, God

An atheist said recently: "All the Bible does is raise unanswerable questions".
Do you suppose he is starting with the wrong first assumption?

All truth flows from our first assumption and postulation, "God is".
The book we have called the Bible or God's Word begins that way.
The first words John wrote in his gospel: "In the beginning was the word and the word was God and the word was with God.", shows that he was in line with Moses whom we suppose wrote the first book. The writer to the Hebrews says in his treatise:
'We must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him'
The Psalmist wrote:" The fool has said in his heart there is no God".

We know that our finite minds cannot possibly answer all the questions life throws at us. But when the basis of our quest is belief and trust in an infinite, almighty and all knowing God, there are no unanswerable questions. We do not know all the answers, but God does, and because He is also a loving and caring God He gives us all the answers we need to know in his Word. John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
2 Peter 1:3
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit,
The Proof and Power Of Our Salvation.

1. Jesus proved to us by His virgin birth, His sinless life, His matchless teaching, His sacrificial death, and His miraculous resurrection, and that He indeed was God's Son, and at some point we have, or will have believed on Him and will have become a Christian.
2. At this time we have become God's children, heirs with Christ, receiving the Holy Spirit, which He promised us. Paul calls Him the "Earnest". He is our birth certificate. "His Spirit witnesses with our spirit". We now can call God our Abba! The Spirit is our engagement ring we "now are espoused to Christ". He is our passport; He opens the Gates of Heaven to us. He is our debit card to all the riches of God's grace credited to our account in Glory!
3. Not only all of that, He fills our hearts with Love, comforts us in our trouble, guides and directs our every step if we listen to His voice. And produces His fruit in our life.
4. Have we welcomed Him in? Or have we resisted Him, grieved Him, disobeyed Him, or polluted His temple with sin? He is very tender and holy!
5. Do we walk in the Spirit and thereby fulfill the law if Christ?

Trobleshooting

Troubleshooting

How are you doing spiritually?

I see and observe many Christian people who don’t seem to be very well satisfied with the spiritual life they are living. I know that God did not intend for a Christian’s life to be boring or frustrated or disappointing. He promised us peace, joy and satisfaction. His call to us was to abundant life, full of blessing and praise. Recently in my reading of the Word and the writings of people like Chuck Coleson, Ann Graham Lotz and Brennan Manning I have discovered some principles and exercises that may help you find out what is wrong with, and how you may correct the shortcomings of your religious experience. Peter tells us that God has provided us with everything we need for life and godliness. Among these I am sure are plenty of the sunshine of His love, a grand sufficiency of living water, and the wonderful nourishment of His word. Then why are we not flourishing? We know that “God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory.”

Let’s do a little troubleshooting. OK?

This may seem elementary, but my first question is:

How is your faith?

Faith is basic. No one can have a Christian life without faith. In Hebrews it says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God. If we are not in position to please God how can we expect to have a joyful life? “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” To believe God’s word, we must. “Believe that he (God) is and that He will reward those who diligently seek him. What I am getting at here is: Do you really trust God’s promises of salvation? Do you truly honor him as your creator and the creator of the universe? “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” When you truly believe God, His Spirit will witness with your spirit that you are his child. Then you know without a doubt that God is real, for you will feel it in your soul. Say from your heart: ”God said it. I believe it. And that settles it!” Jesus told us that if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed we could move mountains”. It doesn’t take much, but we must have it.

When Abraham believed God it was counted to him as righteousness. When we exercise our faith in God, we become spiritual descendants of Abraham, and are heirs of the promise of God.

Abraham’s faith was tested when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac, his only son and heir. Abraham’s response was: “ I believe God will raise Isaac from the dead or do whatever it takes to keep his promise.” And went ahead and prepared to sacrifice his son. Is your faith like that? It can be!

Faith in God must have three facets:

1. Faith in the person(s) of God. Believing that he IS. Believe that his nature is love and justice. That he is everywhere. That he is the powerful creator and the source of all things.

2. Believe in his precepts. Believing that his word and his will are the ultimate wisdom for life.

3. Believe in his provision. Knowing by faith that the gift of his Son, Jesus, for our salvation, is the proof that he will give us everything we need to live a worthy and productive life here and life eternal with Him.

MORE To Follow. Love, Howard. Email: howarddimmick@juno.com

What Kind Of A God Do You Want

What Kind Of A God Do You Want?

The truth is that many of us produce out own perception of a god. If your idea of God is not what you would like him to be, do you think you can change him by your choices?

If your god is that small then he is no bigger or better than you are. There were in times past people who would make a god out of wood or stone and worship it as though it were alive and powerful. That seems like nonsense to us, doesn’t it? But isn’t it just as foolish to create for ourselves a mental image of god the same way?

One of the ancient writers put it this way: But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

So God said, in effect, "If that's what you want, that's what you get." It wasn't long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes! Romans 1:20-24(The Message)

To read more of this quotation; http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%201%20;&version=65;

Our concept of God then is very important. Besides being the Creator, unchangeable, and eternal He has many more very desirable qualities.. There is something deep within them that echoes God's yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God's yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman.

Who is the true God? Seek Him today!

Love, Howard

Have You Made The Right Choice?

Have you made the right choice?

We make many choices, some trivial, some important, and a few with eternal consequences. Some choices are influenced by trivial things, others by people in our lives, some by government or circumstances. Some we are pleased with some we regret. Some lead to happiness or gain others to despair.or loss.

We generally enjoy the freedom we have to choose for ourselves our path of life.
God gave us that freedom and because we are his creation he loves us, all of us. And will never deny us the privilege to make our own choices.

However, because He is the master and creator of all things he knows what is best for us. He told Adam and Eve exactly the truth and consequences of what could happen in the Garden of Eden. It was their choice to disregard His advice. They had known the presence and fellowship of their creator but because the tempter got her attention and told her lies she made a terrible mistake and chose to believe Satan rather than God. Adam was just as gullible.They had been clearly told that sin or disobedience produces death. When we read "death" we might nor know exactly what is meant. I am sure that Gods communication with Adam and Eve left no doubt in their mind about what was meant. It wasn't instant physical death, it was something far more hideous than that. They were God's creation, created in His image. That means eternal as he is eternal. This death is a change in character, With the rebellion against the creator comes the loss of His character in them. God is love. Now they have selfishness. God is truth. Now they have deceit. God is faithful. Now they have faithlessness. God is holy. Now they have sin. They have taken on the character of Satan himself. And at that time they could not reverse the choice. And because we are all of Adams family, we inherit the curse of his spiritual death and physical death as well. God later told Eve that someday that Satan would bruise her offspring's heel and that He; Christ would bruise Satan's head, so that the curse could be reversed.

God's new offspring through Eve came as a baby named Jesus, born to a virgin, born in a manger. He came to save His people from their sin. It was His choice to atone for our wrong choices through His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. He came as our savior to "reverse the curse" and to restore us the spiritual life of our creator with the love, truth, faithfulness, and holiness that he created us for.

The best choice you could make is to make Jesus Christ, the way the truth and the life, your Savior. He loves you. That is why He gave His life for you. You can become a new person. Old things will be gone and all your thoughts, deeds, and attitudes will be transformed by the love of Christ. Will you ask Him to forgive your sins and come into your life today? He longs for you to choose Him, he will hear you, forgive you, and change your life. Now it's not His choice. It's your choice!
Love, Howard