In search of God

Psalm 73:2-10,12, ‘But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. This is what the wicked are like – always carefree, they increase in wealth.’ How many of us are envious of the wicked – the liars, cheats, murderers – of the world. Life looks like it is kinder to them, they have the best in and of life. And the world honours and adores them; we aspire to be like...

Ephesians 4:31,32 'Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.' When we surrender to Christ and accept Him as our LORD, we are born again and receive a new spirit that is like Christ. Through conviction, the word of God and faith, we are supposed to transform our minds and renew our thinking focusing on all that is good. Bitterness, rage, anger, brawling and slander all are present when there is no love. They burden us with hate and we end up living sad, miserable lives. In this we grieve the Holy Spirit that is in us, that was sealed with us for the day of redemption. But God is love and demands that we love one another just as Christ loved us and willingly gave up His life for us. In His love God forgave us of our sins and transgressions, vowing to remember them no more, at the cross when Christ was punished as the Lamb of...

Exodus 33:12, 13, ‘Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”’ As members of the church, we are called upon to be leaders to those that are weaker than us, we are called upon to be a refreshing for others. Often when God has placed us in such positions where He is using us to refresh and nourish others, to lead others in the faith, we tend to forget about Him and think it is all about us, we forget that all that we are, all that we have is from Him. Moses found great favor with God. God met with Him face to face! Yet in all humility, Moses still knew that without God, he could not make it. He asked God to teach Him His ways so as to continue to be in right standing before God. How many t...

Exodus 33:3, ‘…But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.’ On my own I am nothing but a wretched sinner not worthy to be in the presence of the Lord. I try to live a right life but I do what I do not want to do and do not do what I want to do. Left to myself, to my own devises, I face certain death and am doomed to destruction for the Lord is not with me. I am arrogant, selfish, all alone. I deserve death, my full pay for my scorn is eternal shame. I thought I had nothing to look forward to but doomed to burn in the lake of fire, that is until I was told about Jesus, how He set aside His divinity and came to live like a lowly creature He had created, how He faced scorn and God’s righteous judgment at the cross for all my sins, how He had redeemed me, how He had interceded on my behalf finding a ransom for me, how he had lifted me out of my death pit and lifted me to heaven and how now I have a received a gift, something that ...

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...

Psalm 116:8,9, ‘For you O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.’ We were dead in spirit but as believer we now live, through Jesus Christ’ death at the cross, we have been given a fresh lease of life, to start a new, to live only for Him who purchased our life with His, to share in His inheritance, to live in joy and peace and love for in sin all we had was heartache, misery, pain and death. God is giving you salvation, reach out with your heart and take hold of this life, this promise from a faithful and just God, to lift you up higher, from being a servant to being a son, do not hesitate, accept the deliverance of the Lord now and be counted among the living whose hope and trust is in the Lord, who are anchored on the Rock, the cornerstone that the builder’s refused that now gives life to whosoever believes.

Isaiah 43:1-3, ‘But now, this is what the Lord says – He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior…”’ In this dying and corrupt world, we who are ambassadors of Jesus are hated by this world and we will face persecution on top of the troubles of this world. But we must remain steadfast because our God has not and will not forsake us. He bought us and redeemed us with the blood of His Son Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. We are now His Sons through Jesus Christ. When we pass through murky waters or are threatened to be engulfed and overwhelmed by the sin in this world, we shall not be swept away becau...

Psalm 32:1-2, ‘Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. Under the throne of grace, God promises to not only forgive us for our sins but to also blot them out from memory. Our slate is wiped clean as though we had never sinned. Isn’t that a great blessing my friends? This now gives us the confidence to approach God’s throne because we are now clothed in the righteousness of Christ and we can ask for anything from God and expect to receive it.