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Who is God?

There often seem to be as many Gods as there are groups of people claiming to worship God. And every group claims that their God is the only one that should be worshipped. (Even those groups who say that they are tolerant of many gods, in the end are intolerant of other groups who hold exclusively to one God). So, how do we know which is the right God?

The God of the Bible does not stand in a long line next to all the other Gods, trying to sell his good points and desperaterly waiting for us to choose him. Just the opposite! The message of the Bible is that God has decided to choose us. It is God who takes the initiative. It is God who makes it possible for us to know him.

To know God is not something that comes easily and naturally to us. Without God's revelation of himself we would be doomed to stumble around in the darkness and never get to know God at all. The Bible's message is that God has chosen to reveal himself to us in and through Jesus.

But is this revelation only in Jesus? And why Jesus?

How do we fit into the picture?

The Bible says that God has chosen to reveal himself to us because He loves us. Now let us think about ourselves for a bit. We sometimes take it for granted that God should love us. We often think that we deserve it. If God is good and loving, it is his job, we feel, to love us and look after us. At the same time we are also aware that we are not always very good and full of love in and of ourselves. In fact, few of us would ever claim to be perfectly loving and good. We all know that, at times we have treated others badly, choosing to serve our own interests at a cost to others. The problem comes when we place ourselves before a God who is perfect in love, so perfect in love that he cannot tolerate anything or anyone that is not perfectly loving.

What does the Bible say about God?

This is how the Bible describes God. We are told that God is love. Fully and completely love. So perfect in his love that He defines what love is. We need to know God to know what love is - we do not first know love and then try to say how God measures up to it. It is God's love which sets him apart from everything else. His love is a holy love. There is nothing in God that is not perfectly loving.

Another way of describing this is to say that God is light and that there is no darkness in Him. This means that everything that does not share in God's perfect love, stands in opposition to him and is said to be evil - something that God hates. God's hate is the Bible's way of saying that God, in love, acts to destroy all that which is not love.

This means that God cannot tolerate people who are loveless and evil, who hurt others while they selfishly look after their own benefits. Instead God acts positively to judge and destroy all that does not share in his perfect love.

God's active hate of all that is evil also puts paid to the idea that God can simply forgive us when we do wrong things. To do so, would mean that God can find some way of saying that our wrongdoings are not really that bad. To forgive sins in this way would mean that God has the capacity to tolerate evil, to live with it, to give it a place to exist alongside himself. God becomes like a little old grandfather who, while not liking the wrong things that his grandchildren are doing, can do nothing about it and ends up finding excuses why those things are not really that bad.

Do we have to please God to earn his favour?

Religions have many ways in which people, aware of their wrongdoing, try to regain favour with the God, or gods, that they worship. The Bible says that there is nothing that we can do that will be able to balance out the wrong things that we have done. And because we do these wrong things, God has to deal with us: we have to be destroyed.

The good news is that God became a human, in Jesus, to be destroyed in our place. In Jesus we encounter the God of love who is for us, so much for us that He was willing to suffer and die in our place.

The Bible tells this story of God who became a historical person, Jesus of Nazareth, who lived on earth in such a way that his first disciples saw the power of God working in and through him. The story depicts Jesus who died in such a way that his first disciples saw the humility and love of God revealed in and through him. It also tells of his resurrection from the dead, the resurrection of a human who should have been destroyed forever at the hands of God, and yet was raised again in such a way that humanity could live forever. The story goes on: How He gave his Spirit to come and live within Christians....too much to cover in these few short paragraphs. (Why not read one of the gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke or John if you want to know more?)

This is faith...

To know this God of love and grace we need only trust in Him, trust Him enough to start following him. The Bible calls it faith. Millions of people throughout the ages have done just that and have found that He has revolutionised their lives. If you are in need of knowing this God of love, please do not hesitate to contact us or another evangelical Christian church.

Useful resources

Meandering musings

Michael, our guitarist, wrote:

Is living marketing?

The church is a service, but it is also a lifestyle. People judge the validity of the messages of the church in the light of the actions of its members.

If someone says to you, be happy for you have been saved. But all their associates walk around sad, you would say I don't believe you.

If a medicine man told you, eat this it will cure your hair loss like mine, but the man is bald, there is no way that you would eat what the man offered.

So yes living as a Christian and a member of a church is important, however, you should live in accordance to the teachings of your church and ensure that the teachings of your church correlate to the activities of your parishioners. Many churches point out that Christians have been born again, but neglect to mention that they are only faultless in God's sight, I know allot of Christians and they are definitely not faultless in my slight.

Ensure that your message and your life are an accurate portrayal of the gospel. If what you say and claim to believe is not generating the same response in your life as you are communicating that it should, then stop proclaiming it.

If you are interested in reading any of Michael's other blogs why not visit his site at http://www.marketing-and-the-church.com

Another year, another opportunity?

Sitting this afternoon watching the waves breaking in on the shore at Trigg, I wondered whether this year would be any different from the last? As Ecclesiastes says, "A time for this and a time for that..."

But with God there will always be unique opportunities, things that come our way that we can either respond to or ignore; single-occurring, once-only things which we can embrace or turn away from. We don't know what lies ahead but we can decide on our attitudes now and go into the future with eyes that aim to find the things God has for us in the rush of everyday life.

"Lord, help us to see the opportunities you give us and give us the wisdom to respond in your love and grace. Amen."


	Home Services Bible Studies Community Contact Us SB OSHC About God About Us Quick Links: Who is God? » Useful Resources » Meandering Musings Who is God? There often seem to be as many Gods as there are groups of people claiming to worship God. And every group claims that their God is the only one that should be worshipped. (Even those groups who say that they are tolerant of many gods, in the end are intolerant of other groups who hold exclusively to one God). So, how do we know which is the right God? The God of the Bible does not stand in a long line next to all the other Gods, trying to sell his good points and desperaterly waiting for us to choose him. Just the opposite! The message of the Bible is that God has decided to choose us. It is God who takes the initiative. It is God who makes it possible for us to know him. To know God is not something that comes easily and naturally to us. Without God's revelation of himself we would be doomed to stumble around in the darkness and never get to know God at all. The Bible's message is that God has chosen to reveal himself to us in and through Jesus. But is this revelation only in Jesus? And why Jesus? How do we fit into the picture? The Bible says that God has chosen to reveal himself to us because He loves us. Now let us think about ourselves for a bit. We sometimes take it for granted that God should love us. We often think that we deserve it. If God is good and loving, it is his job, we feel, to love us and look after us. At the same time we are also aware that we are not always very good and full of love in and of ourselves. In fact, few of us would ever claim to be perfectly loving and good. We all know that, at times we have treated others badly, choosing to serve our own interests at a cost to others. The problem comes when we place ourselves before a God who is perfect in love, so perfect in love that he cannot tolerate anything or anyone that is not perfectly loving. What does the Bible say about God? This is how the Bible describes God. We are told that God is love. Fully and completely love. So perfect in his love that He defines what love is. We need to know God to know what love is - we do not first know love and then try to say how God measures up to it. It is God's love which sets him apart from everything else. His love is a holy love. There is nothing in God that is not perfectly loving. Another way of describing this is to say that God is light and that there is no darkness in Him. This means that everything that does not share in God's perfect love, stands in opposition to him and is said to be evil - something that God hates. God's hate is the Bible's way of saying that God, in love, acts to destroy all that which is not love. This means that God cannot tolerate people who are loveless and evil, who hurt others while they selfishly look after their own benefits. Instead God acts positively to judge and destroy all that does not share in his perfect love. God's active hate of all that is evil also puts paid to the idea that God can simply forgive us when we do wrong things. To do so, would mean that God can find some way of saying that our wrongdoings are not really that bad. To forgive sins in this way would mean that God has the capacity to tolerate evil, to live with it, to give it a place to exist alongside himself. God becomes like a little old grandfather who, while not liking the wrong things that his grandchildren are doing, can do nothing about it and ends up finding excuses why those things are not really that bad. Do we have to please God to earn his favour? Religions have many ways in which people, aware of their wrongdoing, try to regain favour with the God, or gods, that they worship. The Bible says that there is nothing that we can do that will be able to balance out the wrong things that we have done. And because we do these wrong things, God has to deal with us: we have to be destroyed. The good news is that God became a human, in Jesus, to be destroyed in our place. In Jesus we encounter the God of love who is for us, so much for us that He was willing to suffer and die in our place. The Bible tells this story of God who became a historical person, Jesus of Nazareth, who lived on earth in such a way that his first disciples saw the power of God working in and through him. The story depicts Jesus who died in such a way that his first disciples saw the humility and love of God revealed in and through him. It also tells of his resurrection from the dead, the resurrection of a human who should have been destroyed forever at the hands of God, and yet was raised again in such a way that humanity could live forever. The story goes on: How He gave his Spirit to come and live within Christians....too much to cover in these few short paragraphs. (Why not read one of the gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke or John if you want to know more?) This is faith... To know this God of love and grace we need only trust in Him, trust Him enough to start following him. The Bible calls it faith. Millions of people throughout the ages have done just that and have found that He has revolutionised their lives. If you are in need of knowing this God of love, please do not hesitate to contact us or another evangelical Christian church. Useful resources Meandering musings Michael, our guitarist, wrote: Is living marketing? The church is a service, but it is also a lifestyle. People judge the validity of the messages of the church in the light of the actions of its members. If someone says to you, be happy for you have been saved. But all their associates walk around sad, you would say I don't believe you. If a medicine man told you, eat this it will cure your hair loss like mine, but the man is bald, there is no way that you would eat what the man offered. So yes living as a Christian and a member of a church is important, however, you should live in accordance to the teachings of your church and ensure that the teachings of your church correlate to the activities of your parishioners. Many churches point out that Christians have been born again, but neglect to mention that they are only faultless in God's sight, I know allot of Christians and they are definitely not faultless in my slight. Ensure that your message and your life are an accurate portrayal of the gospel. If what you say and claim to believe is not generating the same response in your life as you are communicating that it should, then stop proclaiming it. If you are interested in reading any of Michael's other blogs why not visit his site at http://www.marketing-and-the-church.com Another year, another opportunity? Sitting this afternoon watching the waves breaking in on the shore at Trigg, I wondered whether this year would be any different from the last? As Ecclesiastes says, "A time for this and a time for that..." But with God there will always be unique opportunities, things that come our way that we can either respond to or ignore; single-occurring, once-only things which we can embrace or turn away from. We don't know what lies ahead but we can decide on our attitudes now and go into the future with eyes that aim to find the things God has for us in the rush of everyday life. "Lord, help us to see the opportunities you give us and give us the wisdom to respond in your love and grace. Amen." Page design copyright © 2007 Barry van Oudtshoorn.