Does God Reveal Himself

Why does God not reveal himself?  I cannot believe in something or someone I cannot see, hear, smell or touch.  Have I truly been forgiven or is there one more act of repentance that I need to do? If there is a God, why does He permit all the suffering of innocent ones?

The questions asked above are ones that have been asked by man since the beginning of time.  God has revealed to man answers, but God’s answers have never satisfied the ponderings of those who do not know Him or who are unwilling to accept Him. For many of the Christian faith, the answers are taken by faith.  As an example, there are scientific explanations for the marvels of wind, waves, heat, light and sound, but for the vast majority of people the principles behind these forces of nature have to be accepted by faith.

The Bible tells us that God has revealed Himself in nature, but man simply refuses to recognize God in His creation. We find in the book of Romans 1:18-20 NIV, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. “

Some would have you to believe life evolved out of a cesspool of muck over eons. “Life just happened,” they quibble.   There was no divine plan.  Man just evolved; a human life has a beginning in the womb and at death the body is left to rot and decay. I have often pondered to myself, “if there is no life after death, then why prolong your life here on earth if it is not easy and good.”  Why do some suffer through terrible physical hardships if they have no hope for a future life? 

God gave man a spirit.  That spirit can commune with God.   Those who have found God through His Spirit can attest to it.  You too can find God, but you must have faith and a belief that there is a God.   It is not easy to hear the voice of God if your mind is cluttered with worldly desires.  God gave you self-will to live your life as you please.  However, living your life as you please is fraught with dangers that will cloud your mind from finding God. 

Do you still struggle with guilt?  If you accepted Jesus Christ in true repentant faith and accepted His grace and forgiveness, your sin debt was paid by Jesus Christ’s death on the cross.  Do not continued to question your salvation or erect legalistic hurdles that you must jump through.  As Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9,  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”  You were set free from the law; “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2 NIV).

As a “born again believer in Jesus Christ,” do not allow Satan to bind you to works and legalism and cause you to question your salvation. Satan cannot live in your body’s spiritual “compartment” that is reserved solely for the Holy Spirit and it angers him greatly. If you allow Satan to rule your conscience and become dominant he will use your conscience to recall forgiven sins and cause you to question their forgiveness.  The more you trust and exercise the Holy Spirit, the stronger and more dominant it will become in your life and the weaker Satan’s influence will become.

To search and agonize over scripture verses questioning your salvation based upon your interpretation of scripture or the interpretation of scripture by scholars is fruitless and counterproductive to the redemptive works and grace of Jesus Christ. For example, if you committed adultery, divorced or engaged in sexual immorality prior to your salvation, do not seek to do “penitence of works” or continue to perform personal sacrifices to atone for your infidelity—Jesus Christ has already done that for you. Do not keep crucifying Jesus Christ over and over.  Jesus forgave you of your transgressions at your conversion. Accept his forgiveness and move on by serving Him with your talents and gifts and by following the lead of His Holy Spirit. 

God is not sitting in heaven at a control panel following or controlling your ever move.  If God wanted you to do only as He pleased, He could have programmed your body, soul and spirit to do just that.  Instead He gave you a body, soul and spirit that you could control at your will and by your will; however, choices can have positive or negative outcomes and “various shades in-between.” 

Within your body you have the God given pattern for achieving a successful and rewarding life if, and only if, you accept God as your creator, and allow His Spirit to dwell within you and to provide directions that your body, soul and spirit will willingly submit. 

Man’s free will to call his own shots, so to speak, led man to follow other spirits and man’s own humanistic nature to seek the pleasures of life that God told man not to do.   Adam and Eve in the garden chose to eat of the forbidden fruit even thought God commanded them not to eat. 

By doing what God commanded man not to do, man brought disease and mental illness upon themselves.  Many of these diseases and illnesses changed man’s genetic or DNA structure and were passed on to their children. Man’s participation in sexual immorality is a perfect example.  Man was told that this was a sin, a devastating health issue (AIDs is but one example), but man refused to accept and willingly participated to the damanging of his own body and in many cases the damaging of his off springs (future generations).

I do not have a scriptural basis for my view on sexual immorality as written above.  In the Biblical book of Leviticus (chapters 15, 18 and portions of 20) specific warnings and punishments regarding sexual discharges, sexual relations with relatives, animals and the opposite sex were given.  Many offenses were punishable by death.  I personally believe sexual diseases can be spread from one generation to another, and that is why God dealt so harshly (demanded death for certain atrocities) with those who violated His commandments. 

Do I think that God gave man sexual diseases because they did not keep His commandment? No, I believe God knew that sexual diseases would result from man’s unrestrained sexual lust and unclean hygienic practices and gave man the commandments as cautionary warnings.  Man, however, refused to listen and suffered then as he suffers now for his disobedience. 

I cannot answer the question of why God allows bad things to happen to good people.  I do take solace in the words of Isaiah written in Isaiah 57:1-2, “The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.  Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.”  When bad things happen to people you love, look to the cross of Jesus. Can you understand what God allowed Jesus Christ to endure on the cross for you?  A loved one is not your possession; they belongs to God and He loves them.

Life is hard to live without hope.  Do you have hope in a life after death? If not, will you consider Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? 

Bow you head and confess your sins and transgressions to God; ask Jesus Christ to come into your heart and forgive you; accept his Holy Spirit and accept His grace and salvation.  You are now a child of God.  Find a fellowship of believers, find a Bible and read it daily and walk with the Holy Spirit in a new life.  Grow in His Spirit and tell others what Jesus Christ has done for you.

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This entry was posted on 24. August 2010 at 01:19 and is filed under Religious. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.