In search of God

Romans 8:28, "   And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to  His  purpose." I have been offered these scripture countless times whenever I'm going through a hard patch and I have offered it countless time to others still as a way of comfort. I must confess though that whenever this statement is said to me by well meaning friends, at that moment of unimaginable pain and trouble that seems too much to bear, when the wound is still fresh oozing with blood, and when the eyes are blurred by tears, at that moment I must confess, the above scripture does less than comfort me. I guess that when our perspective is so focused in the moment, so focused in the trouble or pain, the above scripture won't make sense to any of us. But if you read the scripture in its context, then you understand that what God is telling us is to look at the bigger picture. When you understand what God has in store for t...

Judges 16: 16-20 16  And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him,  so  that his soul was vexed to death,  17  that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I  have been  a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any  other  man.” 18  When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.  19  Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, [ a ]  and his strength left him.  20  And she said, “The Philistines  are  upon you, Samson!” So he awoke ...

Ezekiel 18:20, ‘The soul who sins is the one who will die.’ The world has led us to believe that so long as everyone is doing something then it is right, that corporate sins remove responsibility from us. But this is a lie; everyone will pay for their own sins. If you do not live a life dedicated to loving God and your fellow man, only you will be guilty of your rebellion. No one can and will share your guilt. Your righteousness will be credited to you as your wickedness will be credited to you. God is just and will not punish you for the sins of another, therefore rebuke generational curses that have been laid upon your family for in the new covenant you are free from them. Believer, you are covered with the righteousness by faith, therefore through your faith this righteousness will be credited to you. Do not allow yourself to be deceived by the world, just because everyone is doing it, does not make it right before God.

John 12:25, 26, ‘The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.’ We need to be careful not to exhibit this world’s kind of selfish self love that tends to exalt itself above God. Loving yourself in this manner leads to disobedience and rebellion that lead to Satan’s and Adam’s fall. God does not mean that you must hate yourself but you need to hate and resist the selfish desires of that sinful carnal nature in us that desires to control us and that the Devil tries to use to tempt us into disobedience and rebellion. If we are truly followers of Christ, then we need to gain control over this carnal man/ woman in us and submit in obedience to the command of the Lord just as He did to the Father’s will even to the point of handing Himself over to and enduring a death at the cross He did not deserve....

Habakkuk 3:17,18, ‘Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. Our current circumstances might be dire, we might be facing imminent death, destruction might be upon us but at that moment, we should not be overcome by fear or despair but we should rejoice in the Lord. Why? Because He lives and He is our Savior and it does not matter what the situation is, He is going to save us. When the world seems to against you, your friends betray you; your enemies surround you, rejoice in God, shout and sing songs of praise. Do not allow yourself to cower into a corner in despair and self pity but rejoice in the Lord for your salvation is at hand. Just like Paul and Silas who were in prison in chains, in pain, when they rejoiced in the Lord, their chains fell off, the chief ja...

Hebrews 11:20-40, ‘By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and in Esau in regard to their future. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones. By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who was invincible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood,...

1 Peter 2:1-3, ‘Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.’ When you accept Jesus as lord in your life, then you need to make a conscious effort to shun everything that is negative. The only way to do that is by reading the scriptures so that they may nourish you and help you grow spiritually. We are not meant to be stagnant and struggle with the same things since our salvation. We need to put on the armor of Christ as we prepare ourselves for the spiritual war that we face daily. We need some spiritual growth.

1 Peter 1:17-21, ‘Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God.’ Each man, whether a believer or not will ultimately face judgment from God for His actions during the brief stay in this world on The Day. The good news for believers is that because of Jesus the Christ, your sins are blotted out from the sight of God because they were placed on and paid in full by Jesus at the cross. Now God in His divine wisdom saw it fit that men should be redeemed from the penal...

Hebrews 9:16-18 and 9:22-28, ´ In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God´s presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the High Priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now He ha...

Hebrews 4:14-16, ´Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.´ A high priest was chosen of God to offer gifts and sacrifices for man´s sins. Jesus offered the perfect gift that is final and complete, and that is Himself, by dying at the cross, so that there is no need for another sin offering to be made on our behalf. Since Jesus walked the earth as the son of man, undergoing all the tests and temptations that men face, he is able to deal with me gently in my ignorance and when I go astray, guide my steps in paths of righteousness, so that by His amazing and abounding gra...