How do I get the image of God as imposing and angry out of my mind?
Perhaps it will help to consider one of the most profound statements in the Bible: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Never was a more important declaration made than this—God is love. This is a profound statement. God doesn’t just love; He is love. His nature and essence are love. Love permeates His very being…
Why does God demand, seek, or request that we worship Him?
As the Lord Jesus conversed with a Samaritan woman whom He encountered at Jacob’s well, He tells her something about God the Father: “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks”…
What is the favor of God, and how can I get it?
The best definition of the word favor is “demonstrated delight.” The favor of God can be described as “tangible evidence that a person has the approval of the Lord.” When we favor someone, we want to be with him or her. We delight in him. We connect with her in a way we don’t connect…
What does it mean to test God?
In the Bible, there are examples of both an acceptable and unacceptable kind of testing God. It’s acceptable to “test” God in regard to tithes and offerings, for example, but unacceptable when the test is rooted in doubt. Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my…
Is it wrong to be frustrated with God?
Frustration is that feeling of impatience and anxiety that we get when we think our needs are not being met or when we deal with seemingly insurmountable problems. Sometimes, God is the focus of our impatience and dissatisfaction—we become frustrated with Him. Frustration with God, His ways and His dealings with us can be a…
What is the key to truly knowing God?
Within all of us there exists a strong desire to be known and to know others. The most important Person to know is our Creator. In fact, Jesus taught that eternal life is not just a span of time; it is a relationship: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only…
What does it mean to seek God’s face?
Many times in Scripture, God’s people are encouraged to seek the face of God. A familiar verse declares, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and…
What does it mean to have the fear of God?
For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God. Hebrews 12:28-29 is a good description of this: “Therefore,…
What does it mean to find God?
To “find God” is a rather nebulous expression that can mean different things to different people. For some, the phrase find God is synonymous with getting religion, whatever religion that may be. For others, to “find God” means to “clean up one’s life,” usually with the help of a higher power. It is sometimes used…
Why does God require faith?
Our relationship with God is similar to our relationship with others in that all relationships require faith. We can never fully know any other person. We cannot experience all they experience nor enter into their minds to know what their thoughts and emotions are. Proverbs 14:10 says, “The heart knows its own bitterness, and a…