face to face

Colossians 1:15
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

The heart of man cries out for God. From the small child, to the individual who has faced a devastating loss, or grueling pain, their hearts cry out to know God. In an attempt to answer the heart’s cry, men create God in their own image. Some have invented a vast, complicated religious system, while others have checked out. They have decided, with all the different religions, no one can know for sure. To this Paul has a simple answer,

“He is the image of the invisible God, . . .”

While we cannot see God with the natural eye, we do not have to live our lives as though He is hidden from us. In order to answer the cry of the heart, God sent His Son, so we would forever know who God is, and what He is like. There is no need to use our imaginations or experiences in an attempt to create a God who fits our liking. We just need to open the pages of the Bible and see for ourselves who God is. As we watch Jesus walk the streets of Israel, encountering people in their real life situations, we learn how God feels about us, and what He desires to do in our lives. We see Him reaching out to the hurting, with a hand of compassion, and we learn that He cares about our needs, concerns and pain. We watch as He interacts with sinners, and we find, in all our sin, He still loves us. He desires to forgive our sins and bring us to Himself. We know He spent time, daily, with those who chose to follow Him, revealing the secrets of eternity to them. We learn, as we walk with Him daily, He will speak to us. He even takes common men, whose lives would have gone unnoticed by the world, and uses them to make a mark on the world. Their service will outlast their lives, and they will store up treasures in heaven that will last forever.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God. We no longer have to guess who God is, or what He is like. We just need to know Jesus. Instead of listening to all the voices screaming out of confusion, attempting to explain a God they have never seen, let’s go to the pages of the Bible and meet Jesus face-to-face. What an amazing God we have, that He would take on the form of man to reveal Himself to us.

Why not pray right now and ask God to reveal Himself to you?

Pastor Jim

Psalms 17:15
“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”

I remember years ago listening to Pastor Chuck Smith teaching from John 15 on the Vine and the branches. To illustrate our need to bear fruit, he asked, “What does a full grown tree look like?” Immediately, my mind was filled with visions of the massive Redwoods of Northern California. I remember, as a child, driving our car through a tunnel cut out of a tree in Humboldt County. After pausing to let the question sink in, he responded, “A full grown tree looks like firewood.” You see, a tree grows as long as it is alive. The moment it stops growing, is the moment it has died.

We are like that. Once we begin a relationship with God, a process known as “Sanctification” begins. Sanctification is the work that God does in our lives to make us more like Jesus. The process starts with God removing the things from our lives that are harmful to us. Drugs, alcohol, pornography, unhealthy relationships, and the like, are all laid down at the cross, when we first receive Christ. But that does not complete our growth. Christianity is not just about what we don’t do. It is much more about who we become. As daily, we invest in the Word of God, prayer, fellowship and service, we find that the characteristics of Christ are being birthed in us. Paul called those attributes the fruit of the Spirit. The more we grow in Christ, the more we become like Him, until one day, we like David, will see His face in righteousness and be satisfied.

Until that day, lets determine to grow in Christ, by abiding in Him daily.

Pastor Jim