If you begin your spiritual journey in Genesis, you see how God created
various parts of the universe and all things necessary for our world. You
also see He created humans and spoke to them. Like children, the humans
did not always respond as they should have. Mankind has always had a
hazy idea of God, but went to all kinds of trouble trying to create a god
rather than having an intelligent, open mind to hear from God. Volcanoes,
the sun, and other objects were worshipped.
As you see, man's attempt to find the real God of Israel, and later of
Christianity, did not bear fruit. The problem was that man wanted to be the
leader frequently, and was not equipped to share or supersede God's
power. So, man's search for God wasn't working.
At the same time, God was often disappointed, and He began a search for
a man who would listen to Him and follow His directions. It became God's
search for a man who would listen and be obedient. Finally God found His
man, not perfect, but an intelligent man with a mind open to hear God's
directions without thinking he knew more than God.
Gen. 12:1-3, "Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country,
From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show
you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name
great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I
will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall
be blessed." There may be people still searching for God today, but unless
they heed the above scripture, they will not find Him.
To be one with God is our goal, and it is necessary to understand the broad
picture of the bible. While most of our journey is spiritual, it is not readily
visible to the naked eye. It is difficult to believe what you cannot see. That
is where faith takes over. There is also a physical side that sometimes is
necessary for the spiritual work to be completed.
No matter how hard we try in our effort to be one with God, we always fall
short. God knows this, and with His mercy, He may overlook our failure if
we have done our best to comply. He gave us a simple set of rules to
follow, and we must adhere to them to the best of our ability. The rules
begin with the Ten Commandments. The first rule of any covenant is
always the unbreakable one. Ex. 20:2-3, "I am the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You
shall have no other gods before Me."
This is a law for Jews and Christians that cannot be broken or bent for any
reason. Some pastors tell me we should be more tolerant of other faiths
and accept their gods. Why should we defy God's first and supreme
commandment? If we won't follow that direct order, we can't expect the
Holy Spirit to help us in any way.
Why do I keep referring to the Holy Spirit? Because He is the power of
God, replacing Christ on earth when He was called to heaven. Christ
served the supreme spiritual sacrifice. The importance of the Holy Spirit is
difficult for most people to understand because some of His work seems
so insignificant compared to major works of miracles. When you deny the
Holy Spirit, you commit the one error that will cancel your membership in
heaven.
See Matt.12:31, "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be
forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven
men." You must have a spiritual driven life, not a material driven life. Our
rewards are to be given us in heaven, not necessarily on earth. 2 John 8 is
only one of many scriptures that warns us "Look to yourselves, that we do
not lose those things that we worked for, but that we may receive a full
reward."
You see, friends, if we are truly Christians, we are seeking fellowship with
God. That is spiritual fellowship. There's nothing wrong with material
fellowship, but a spiritual driven life far supersedes a material driven life.
We all want to be successful, but if that desire is embodied in a quest for
riches (money), fame, or the like, we usually must break some of the rules
God gave us.
When I'm asked to share the pulpit with someone of another faith, I refuse.
The God of Christians and Jews does not stand beside, behind or in front of
any other "god". Christ frequently quoted from the Old Testament, and
we will begin looking at that important teaching next time.
Rev. Walbear
various parts of the universe and all things necessary for our world. You
also see He created humans and spoke to them. Like children, the humans
did not always respond as they should have. Mankind has always had a
hazy idea of God, but went to all kinds of trouble trying to create a god
rather than having an intelligent, open mind to hear from God. Volcanoes,
the sun, and other objects were worshipped.
As you see, man's attempt to find the real God of Israel, and later of
Christianity, did not bear fruit. The problem was that man wanted to be the
leader frequently, and was not equipped to share or supersede God's
power. So, man's search for God wasn't working.
At the same time, God was often disappointed, and He began a search for
a man who would listen to Him and follow His directions. It became God's
search for a man who would listen and be obedient. Finally God found His
man, not perfect, but an intelligent man with a mind open to hear God's
directions without thinking he knew more than God.
Gen. 12:1-3, "Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country,
From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show
you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name
great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I
will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall
be blessed." There may be people still searching for God today, but unless
they heed the above scripture, they will not find Him.
To be one with God is our goal, and it is necessary to understand the broad
picture of the bible. While most of our journey is spiritual, it is not readily
visible to the naked eye. It is difficult to believe what you cannot see. That
is where faith takes over. There is also a physical side that sometimes is
necessary for the spiritual work to be completed.
No matter how hard we try in our effort to be one with God, we always fall
short. God knows this, and with His mercy, He may overlook our failure if
we have done our best to comply. He gave us a simple set of rules to
follow, and we must adhere to them to the best of our ability. The rules
begin with the Ten Commandments. The first rule of any covenant is
always the unbreakable one. Ex. 20:2-3, "I am the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You
shall have no other gods before Me."
This is a law for Jews and Christians that cannot be broken or bent for any
reason. Some pastors tell me we should be more tolerant of other faiths
and accept their gods. Why should we defy God's first and supreme
commandment? If we won't follow that direct order, we can't expect the
Holy Spirit to help us in any way.
Why do I keep referring to the Holy Spirit? Because He is the power of
God, replacing Christ on earth when He was called to heaven. Christ
served the supreme spiritual sacrifice. The importance of the Holy Spirit is
difficult for most people to understand because some of His work seems
so insignificant compared to major works of miracles. When you deny the
Holy Spirit, you commit the one error that will cancel your membership in
heaven.
See Matt.12:31, "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be
forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven
men." You must have a spiritual driven life, not a material driven life. Our
rewards are to be given us in heaven, not necessarily on earth. 2 John 8 is
only one of many scriptures that warns us "Look to yourselves, that we do
not lose those things that we worked for, but that we may receive a full
reward."
You see, friends, if we are truly Christians, we are seeking fellowship with
God. That is spiritual fellowship. There's nothing wrong with material
fellowship, but a spiritual driven life far supersedes a material driven life.
We all want to be successful, but if that desire is embodied in a quest for
riches (money), fame, or the like, we usually must break some of the rules
God gave us.
When I'm asked to share the pulpit with someone of another faith, I refuse.
The God of Christians and Jews does not stand beside, behind or in front of
any other "god". Christ frequently quoted from the Old Testament, and
we will begin looking at that important teaching next time.
Rev. Walbear
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