In search of God

Genesis 2:9, 16, 17, ‘And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.’ ‘And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."’ When God made the Garden of Eden, there were two particular trees that were specifically mentioned, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now the command God gave was for man not to eat the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and His wife were free to eat of the tree of life. Had they eaten the tree of life instead of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would have enjoyed eternal life with their Creator and Father; living a life free from shame and condemnation that came with their choice to eat frui...

Romans 8:29-33, ‘For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.’ Do you know who you are to and what you mean to God? Do you know the extent of the great love that God has for you, His thought about and for you? Before you were God knew you, before the beginning, He knew you, He set aside a destiny for you, that you would be conformed to the likeness of Christ. This means that the plan of the Father is that as Christ is you are; as He is the Father’s beloved son in whom you are we...

Ecclesiastes 6:29, ‘This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.’ When God made Adam, he was perfect, filled with the Spirit of God. But Adam rebelled against God’s authority by disobeying Him. Since then we have been living life chasing our own schemes which is vanity because no matter what we chase, we will never be satisfied. Now through the second Adam, Jesus the Christ, we have been made upright again by faith through the grace of God. In Christ we can now stand confidently before God, because we are clothed by the righteousness of Christ, who at the cross ,became our sin and faced the righteous judgment of God for our sins so that we are now no longer slaves but children of the living God. If you depend on yourself, you will always be chasing after worthless schemes that will lead down the path of death and destruction. I urge dear reader, make the choice of letting God make you righteous again.

Isaiah 61:3, ‘They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.’ Under the new cross, we are clothed with the righteousness of God in Christ, not because of our own effort but because of the efforts of the second Adam, that was judged and found to be without sin and then He was made sin so that we may be righteous. We do not earn our righteousness but receive it by faith through the amazing grace of God, therefore we are a planting of the LORD, so that through us His magnificence can be seen and He may glorifed forever more.

Leviticus 26:3-12, ‘“If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no-one will make you afraid. I will remove savage beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelli...

Exodus 34:6, 7, ‘And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”’ Our God is compassionate and gracious in that even though we were sinners who had rebelled against Him, He loved us so much that He crafted a divine plan to redeem us to Him by giving us undeserved mercy and favour. His love for us is so pure, so true that we are called unto Him not because of our love for Him but for His love for us, His faithful love that never wavers or changes. Let us take advantage of the mercy of God by approaching the throne of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour through whom we have been redeemed to God and we are now free from the yoke of sin but are now...

Exodus 33:20-23, ‘‘“But,” he said, “You cannot see my face, for no-one may see me and live.” Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”’ We all just like Moses wish to see our Holy God, to be in His presence, but because of His Holiness and our sinfulness, we on our own cannot come to Him lest we will die. But our loving God wants us to experience His wonderful presence and for us now it is able to come unto the presence of the Lord, because there is our rock – that is Jesus’, is seated at the right hand of God in heavenly places and we are hidden in the cleft in the rock and can now see the glory of God before us. We can now with confidence approach the throne of God because we are hidden in the rock that has covered us with righteousness before God, so t...

Mathew 6:32,33, ‘For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’ These are dangerous times for the fellowship of believers’ whose faith and trust in God is like what Jesus warned us of as the seed that fell on good soil but was choked by the weeds – the cares and concerns of this world. We have steered away from the path of salvation, seeking first the desires of our hearts instead of seeking God and His kingdom. Our God is a holy God and all of us that are called to Him must live holy lives in Christ. Salvation We need to re ask ourselves if we know why we are saved. Why did Christ die for you and me? Did He do so for us to have wealth and health only, for us to have big cars, for us to be important or did He shed His blood at the cross, facing its scorn to redeem our relationship with God, to restore our relationship with Him, to experience ...

Job 33:14-28, ‘For God does speak – now one way, now another – though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, He may speak in their ears and terrifying them with warnings, to turn from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword. Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones, so that his very being finds food repulsive and his soul loathes the choicest meal. His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden now stick out. His soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the messengers of death. Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for him” – then his flesh is renewed like a child’s; it is restored as in the days of his youth. He pr...

Romans 8:28, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.’ Do not despair if things look bad, do not lose hope thinking that you have messed everything up and you have no chance at reaping any good for in all things God plans good things for those who love Him. Just look at how in Adam man was lost in rebellion and disobedience, cursed to face eternal death because of the sinful life we led, yet in His divine wisdom and mercy and love, God came and lived as man in Jesus, showing us the example by which we should live and then redeeming us unto Himself by His death at the cross thus satisfying the requirement of the law that demanded death for sin and disobedience while giving us the gift of life eternal and clothing us with righteousness in Jesus Christ that we do not deserve. God knows that you are broken, you are a cracked pot and there is no other way that He would want you because only in your broke...

Psalm 118:5, ‘In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and He answered by setting me free.’ We were in shackles of sin, living in slavery to it, submitting to our selfish and sinful desires but the Lord saw our anguish and sent His one and only begotten Son, called Jesus, to take our sins away and by washing our transgressions away with His blood at the cross. He has set us free from the yoke of sin and death and has given us righteousness and life. What a joy to know that you are no longer dead but alive, that your name has been written in the book of life, that you are victorious, a conqueror of this world, that you are a visitor, an ambassador of the Kingdom of God on earth longing to go home to your God because of His Amazing Grace.

Romans 12:2, ‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.’ By meditating on God’s word, by submitting to His perfect and good will for us, our minds will be transformed because His word is alive and when planted in a receptive, faithful and fertile heart, just as a small seed germinates and grows, and when it is continuously and constantly watered by His word, it leads to a transformation of your thoughts and the mind. You will find that your thoughts will no longer conform to the patterns of this world but will be conformed to the pattern of Christ. You will find then that you will be able to test everything that comes and happens in your life, knowing and approving the will of God for your life to pass while resisting and rebuking the attempts of the evil one to mislead, tempt and distract you from that wonderful and pleas...

Titus 3:4-8, ‘But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.’ Salvation comes to us as a gift of God by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ. No one can claim to have earned his salvation because none of us is worthy; we are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God. Through Jesus the Christ, we are credited with righteousness before God and we therefore have the confidence to stand before Him in prayer. At baptism...

Isaiah 12:1-3, ‘In that day you will say: “I will praise you, O Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.’ We were sinners, facing a hopeless and miserable end, but the Lord God, even when we were His enemies; He came down and died for us, to give us salvation. In His great mercy He has forgiven and forgotten our numerous iniquities. He has become our Savior, comforting us, encouraging us, building us up, so that we may become complete, mature in Him. He strengthens us in our times of weakness; he is our only hope of salvation and life. Rejoice as you draw the water of eternal life from Him and quench your thirst.

Isaiah 42:5-7, ‘This is what God the Lord says – He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breadth to its people, and life to those who walk on it: “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness…”’ This is the good news to the world, that we are no longer slaves to sin, we are no longer captives to Satan, sitting in the darkness of sin but have been called to the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. He calls out to us, asking us to place our hand in His in trust and let Him guide our steps, to be the master of our lives. Jesus Christ is our light, lighting the path for us so that we may be credited in righteousness for His name’s sake. Through Him we have access to the th...

Mathew 14:29-31, ‘“Come,” he (Jesus) said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.’ Many of us when we receive an inspiring word from God, we are full of faith and we believe in Jesus. We take hold of the promise God has put in us and move in power in it accomplishing amazing and supernatural feats, walking on water so to speak. At that moment our eyes are firmly fixed on Jesus who is our Lord. But the moment we start to experience some turbulence, opposition, trouble, we start to doubt, we panic and start to focus on them rather than on who gave us the promise and power and our faith in the promise of God start to weaken and then we begin to sink. At that moment our Lord who is faithful and full of love for us reaches out and catches us from sinking in the dark bottomless pit. For our faith to gr...

Luke 1:76,77, ‘And you my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sin.’ John 3:27-30, ‘To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given to him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. John the Baptist teaches us a very important lesson on how we should view our service to God. He knew his purpose on this earth which was to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah. Through his baptism with water, Israel was to be given knowledge of God’s purpose of forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ who would baptize by spirit. W...

1 Peter 2:9,10, ‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.’ God has called us who believe in Christ into His family to be His sons and daughters. We belong to Him through Jesus and as faithful children we are supposed to honor Him with praise and worship for He us brought us out of the clutches of the Devil into His wonderful light that now shines in and through us so that we cannot remain hidden but testify to the world of His glorious love for man and His sweet promise to them that believe in Jesus Christ. We have received mercy for all our sins, not because we are righteous but as a gift from Him to bring us closer to Himself, by our faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9, ‘I always thank God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge – because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. We that have been called into fellowship with Christ have been presented before God’s throne of grace in Him. His sufficient grace is unmerited mercy, favor, love that we have received from Him through Jesus Christ so that we are equipped with everything that we need to live this life in joy, peace and stability. We have the ability in Him to remain steadfast in His love to the end as we wait upon His return because He strengthens us and on tha...

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...