reveal

Seeing The Invisible 

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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

 

Wrap It Up 

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2 Corinthians 4:3-4
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

A few years ago we purchased a pool table for the kids as a Christmas gift. Because of the size of the table it was not practical to wrap, so we set it up in the middle of the living room, threw a table-cloth over it and set our breakfast on it. Our disguise worked. The kids went about the morning without even noticing there was a huge gift right under their noses.

Paul writes, God has given us the precious gift of eternal life. A gift received by recognizing we are sinners, and placing faith in Christ. A gift that results in having our sins forgiven, being made right with a Holy God, and having our lives transformed from the inside out. This precious gift, that is so easily received, is sitting right in front of everyone, yet many fail to see it. The reason they fail to see it is because the Gospel has been veiled to them by the devil.

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe…”

The word veiled, also translated hidden or covered, comes from a word meaning to hide. Webster defines the word veiled as “disguised or obscured by a covering.” God, because of His love for us, sent His Son to make a way for our sins to be forgiven, and to give us eternal life. He placed this message in the hands of His followers, who continue to herald it around the world, in their homes, schools, and places of work or leisure. Even though the death and resurrection of Jesus were public events, the Bible is the greatest selling book of all time, Christians are in every corner of the world, and the Gospel is preached on the airways and internet, still, many fail to see their need for Christ. Paul explains it is because the god of this world (Satan) is blinding their eyes and obscuring the message of Christ.

Just as the ministry of the Christian is to declare the good news of salvation, the ministry of Satan is to obscure it. He desires to cover up the Gospel message, and make it look like something it is not. He has used many different coverings to hide the Gospel. Some have been blinded with pleasure. They think coming to Christ will mean missing out on the real “fun in life.” For others, he uses fear. They are afraid of what will happen to them if they release control of their lives, and put it into the hands of Christ. Still others are blinded with hurt. They have had difficult experiences in life, causing them to question if there really is a God who loves them.

When we look at our friends, loved ones, or our circle of influence, and see those who have yet to receive or surrender to Christ, we must understand it is because their minds have been blinded and the Gospel veiled. Rather than being discouraged or repelled, we ought to pray. Our prayers ought to be specifically for God to remove the blinders from their eyes, so the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ could shine on them.

As you seek to invite your friends to Christ, church, or an outreach event, pray that God would remove the veil, that they might see Christ as He really is, and invite Him to reign in their hearts and lives.

Pastor Jim

 

Hide And Seek 

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1 Corinthians 2:9
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

The things God has planned for each of us are better than anything we could ever imagine. Rather than leaving us to our imagination, Paul declares these things are revealed to us by the Spirit of God. It is the desire of God that we know Him, and we understand the things He has planned for each of us.

When my oldest son was a toddler, I introduced him to one of my favorite childhood games, hide and seek. While he loved to play, he did not quite grasp the concept. I would hide in an obvious spot, where he could easily find me. When he did, I would act surprised, then he would turn excitedly and say, “I am going to hide under my bed and you try to find me.” For him the exciting thing about the game was not hiding, but rather being found. The same is true of God, He wants us to know who He is, and to understand the things He has planned for our lives. Paul declares that the hidden mysteries of God are revealed to us by the Spirit. In other words, we can know God because the Spirit of God makes Him known. “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:11

At times we hide things from others, not because we do not want them to know, but because we do not know how to express them. This is especially true in relationships. Experts say, one of the most common factors that lead to marriage problems is failed communication. Thankfully, God is not limited in His ability to communicate to us. Paul explains that the Spirit reveals God through both the person of Christ, and His written Word.

One of the terms used in Scripture for Jesus is, “The Word”. This term is used because Jesus is the perfect expression of God. If we want to know what God is like, and what He desires from us, we must look carefully at Christ. Every encounter He had with others reveals something about the way God feels about us, and the things He desires out of us. The more familiar we become with Jesus, the better we will understand who God is, and what He desires from us. In addition to the person of Christ, God has also given us His written Word. Page, after page, reveals the unknowable. The hidden things of God are made known in His Word. Had God left creation alone to reveal His nature, we would have a skewed and limited understanding of Him. We would understand His power, but be very limited in knowing about His love. Since it is the desire of God for us to know Him, He reveals Himself in the Word. It is as if God said, “I am going to hide in My Word and you try to find me.”

Will you take Him up on the challenge? Or will the mysteries of God remain a hidden enigma to you, as you wander about, attempting to discover God with imagination and personal experience.

Pastor Jim

 

True Fools

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Psalm 14:1 
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

A modern dictionary defines a fool as, “someone who lacks judgment,” or “a deranged person lacking in common powers of understanding.” As a form of illustration, this sentence was used: “You would be a fool to believe what he tells you.” Often, the Christian is portrayed as a fool, and sometimes, belief in God is treated as folly. More commonly, believing God is looked at as foolishness.

When the Christian is facing a trial and chooses to cling to the unshakeable promises of God, instead of the shifting sand of modern science, he is treated like a fool. Or, when determining how to handle a relationship, the child of God clings to the teaching of Scripture, rather than the immorality of the day, he finds that he is looked at as a simpleton or a prude. It has become common place for the one who trusts in the living God to be thought of as the fool.

The Psalmist is giving us a totally different look at folly. He declares it is not the one who believes in, or follows after God, who is the fool, but the one who doesn’t. Essentially, the Psalmist is declaring it is folly not to believe in God. Why is a person being foolish not to believe God? It is foolish not to believe God because He has clearly revealed Himself to man.

Paul wrote, “Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them” (Romans 1:19). In other words, our own conscience speaks to us of God. We know within ourselves, there is more to life than what we see. The scientific mind can find abundant empirical data to support Paul’s claims. All over the world, and throughout time, man has been driven to look up, realizing there is something bigger than himself; he raises his hands in worship. Not all of this worship is appropriate, or even directed at the true God, but it is evidence of man’s need for worship, because he has been created to cry out to God. Not only has God revealed Himself in man, He has also revealed Himself to man.

The Psalmist sang out; “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

All around us, we see nature speaks to us of God. While science can explain many things about creation, it goes against the basic framework of science to think of design without a designer, or creation without a creator. When looking at the majesty of the sunset, or the miracle of child-birth, the heart of man calls out to worship. Because of what he sees around him, he knows that there must be a God. I heard a man recently declare, “I don’t know if I believe in God, but on that day when I saw the beauty of the ocean waves, I knew there must be something.” God has not left us to guess at who He is and what He is like. While creation calls our hearts to worship, the Word of God tells us who and how. To remove all confusion, God has given His eternal Word. If you are having trouble believing God, don’t be the fool who ignores God, be the one who looks into the pages of God’s Word, to find out what God is really like.

Allow me to share one final thought. It is also foolish not to believe God because of the benefits of believing. The Bible declares that eternal life is given to the one who believes that God sent His Son to redeem man. That, and that alone, is the way to prepare for death. The Bible also declares, the one who believes in the Son of God will see his life transformed as he follows God. Again, empirical data supports these claims. History is filled with people who have put their faith in Christ and found Him to be true to His promises. We don’t have to go far to find these examples; we all know people whose lives were transformed once they began to follow Christ. Instead of taking someone else’s word for it, why not look up, call out to God, then look into the pages of His Word and let Him prove Himself to you.

Pastor Jim

Psalm 14

  1. There are a lot of places we can go to find definitions. This verse contains God’s definition of a fool. How is the fool defined?
  2. Why is it folly to not believe in God?
  3. Why is it folly to say “there is no God”?
  4. Verses 2-3 are heaven’s estimation of humanity. After reading those verses explain why all people need a savior.