Looking for God In All the Wrong Places

Proverbs 8:17

"I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me."

If you're seeking God in the mountain tops or in the gilded skies or in mystical experiences or in a drug-induced state or by star gazing then, my friend, let me tell you: You are going about it the wrong way. You see, in order to find God, you need to look at the one source where His wisdom and will is revealed: the Holy Bible.

Consider the above quoted Scripture. There is a promise made by God to the Reader that will be fulfulled by Him, if you meet the conditions.

The first condition of the promise is that you must love God. Well, do you? If you love God, you must love Jesus.

Look at I John 4:14-16 -

"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

There's no way around it, dear Reader: If you're seeking God, you must come through His Son Jesus Christ who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me." (John 14:6).

And Isaiah 34:16 indicates, "Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them."

Matthew 4:4 further says, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

It's pretty clear that the only place for man to feast on God's every word is found in the Bible.

The second condition is that you must seek Him early. Early in the day; early in your youth; early in your problem. The key word is EARLY, as in the first place, above all things else.

Here's another conditional promise made by God in Proverbs 2:4-5, "If thou seekest [knowledge] as silver, and searchest for [knowledge] as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God."

So, seek God early and through His Word [ie, the knowledge of God]. When you do so, seek His word as if you're looking for silver & gold. That means with an intense, untiring desire. Think about it: How do men seek money? To what degrees do men go to get rich? Reader, seek the salvation of your soul as earnestly as the covetous man seeks wealth. Indeed, what profits a man that he should gain the world and yet lose his own soul?

The weight of your decision - to accept or reject Jesus Christ - will truly be felt in eternity. Do you want to wait until after you die to realize what a great treasure you passed up in knowing God through Jesus Christ His Son?

Ponder this parable by Jesus, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."  (Matt. 13:44)

Stop searching! Put everything aside, friend, and believe what Jesus Christ did for you at Calvary. He is a precious treasure to cherish here and hereafter.

Choose life, eternal life. Choose Jesus! I Choose You, Jesus!

Seeking the lost, yes, kindly entreating
Wanderers on the mountains astray,
"Come unto Me," His message repeating
Words of the Master speaking today.

Going afar upon the mountain,
Bringing the wand'rers back again,
Into the fold of my Redeemer,
Jesus the Lamb for sinners slain. 

The Most Important & Influential Book of All Time

Isaiah 40:8

"The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever."

The Holy Bible has been banned, burned, loved and hated. It’s been outlawed & outcast. It's been smuggled in countries in whole or page by page. It's been denounced, doubted, denied and destroyed. In spite of all of these things, the Holy Bible hasn't been silenced. It continues today to be read by more people today than any other book. The Holy Bible is the most important book of all time.

I Peter 1:24-25 declares, "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."

Did you all out there get that? The word of God endures forever. Forever. All eternity. Without end.

In other words, even though:

A car's engine will burn out and lock up, God's word endures forever.

A computer's hard drive crashes and all data is lost, God's word endures forever.

A legal contract may be breached, but God's word endures forever.

International treaties are broken, but God's word endures forever.

The U.S. Constitution may be attacked and altered beyond recognition, but God's word endures forever.

Man's philosophies and self-help aphorisms may come and go, but God's word endures forever.

Your father's and mother's words fail you, but God's word endures forever.

The President's lofty words may fall under the weight of hyprocrisy and demagoguery,  but God's word endures forever.

The leaders of religion misinterpret, misquote, misunderstand or malign God's word, God's word endures forever.

When all else fails (and sooner or later, they all will), God's word endures forever.

God's word endures forever because God, the Eternal One, spoke it. His Truth, you see, can't help but be true. God's word doesn't come true. It's already true. What was true yesterday, was true also at the beginning of time and is true today and is true forever.

Because Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life..." (John 14:6a) and because He is risen (Matt. 28:6) then Jesus Christ is the only Son of God and the words that He spoke are true. Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8).

Here's a truth I want you to remember for the rest of your life: God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son so that if you believe in Christ, you will not perish and go to hell, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). God is waiting for you to make that decision to trust in His Son Jesus Christ.

Reader, what are you waiting for? Aren't you tired of men's empty philosophies and promises? Aren't you exhausted of looking for the next great idea only to be disappointed and disillusioned? Aren't you weary of religion & rituals that are devoid of meaning?

The only way to know God and have a meaningful and true relationship with Him is through His Son Jesus Christ. The Lord said in John 14:6b, ",,. [N]o man cometh unto the Father but by Me."

If you're ready to know the embodiment of truth, Jesus Christ, click here and see for yourself what peace, love and truth really is: I Want to Know Real Peace, Love and Truth Today!

 

Seasons of the Tree

Psalm 1:3
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, twisted and empty of any value.

The second son said, No. It was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed, saying it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son took issue with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are - and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life - can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

The moral of the story is that if you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

In Psalm 30:5b, God promises, "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

Furthermore in Isaiah 61:3, there is more encouragement: "...to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

Even though the Lord is speaking to the children of Israel, there's a Biblical principle that applies to Christians as well. To wit, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, in John 16:20 declares:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy."

What more comfort do you need than from Christ's own promise? I want to encourage someone out there today to not give up, to not despair and worry. Press forward toward the prize. The travail you're passing through will be nothing compared to the glory that awaits you in heaven if you faint not.

You might be thinking: But, what about right now? I need something now! All I can share with you is God's word. Paul pleaded, prayed and begged God to remove his thorn in the flesh. Let's read what happened next in II Corinthians 12:8-9,

"For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

And for the rest of you who like to point fingers and tsk-tsk at others' predictaments, beware! As Christ warns in Matthew 7:1-5 -

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

So,  let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not! (Gal. 6:9)

To find out more about Jesus Christ, click here: Jesus Christ, the Hope of Glory!