Moments You Most Look Forward To

Grace, mercy, and truth will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 2 John 3 (NKJV)

In the precious and beautiful name of Messiah Yeshua “Jesus,” greetings.

As I listened to the local “Christian” radio station I heard a question that caused me to think about a lot of things.  The speaker asked, “When did you learn the most about God?”  This question is one for both believers and non-believers in Messiah Yeshua “Jesus.”  God’s plan of salvation does speak to both, and it can’t be improved.  For the purpose of this post, as one who loves Jesus, and who’s not ashamed to tell others about Him, I’m going to answer this question for myself.  My prayer however is that non-believers will learn the truth about the God of the [Bible] for themselves.

Thinking about this question and looking back from my early days in the Catholic Church, to now where I speak out against the Anthanasian Creed, in my mind one period of time kept hovering over all the others.  The time when I decided to treat what I [now] call the tree of opinions (i.e. gossip) differently, that is when I learned the most about God. 

I let people know that I am not interested in hearing about someone who is not present to speak for themselves.  From that moment on (by the grace of God), I look for a window of opportunity to talk about Jesus.  I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve thanked God for showing me how lives’ can be changed by refusing to [nourish] the tree of opinions.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” John 1:29-34 (NKJV)

For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. John 3:34 (NKJV)

I paused while writing this post and, after a good night sleep, I was reminded of the time when I looked at the life of John the Dunker “Baptist” and how I learned so much about God.  Think about it.  John “did not know Him,” Jesus.  Yet he [John] was given every reason to believe “Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit,” “that this is the Son of God,” who “speaks the words of God.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” John 14:23-24 (NKJV)

I don’t know if John the Dunker was aware of what Jesus said in John 14:23-24, or not, but I was thankful to learn that his words, “the Son of God” “speaks the words of God” agrees with “My words,” what Jesus said in John 14:23-24.  “And the word which you hear is not” Jesus’ “but the Father’s who sent” Jesus.

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds.”  Hebrews 1:1-2 (NKJV) 

God is God and “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,” Jesus, “the Son of God.” 

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  1 John 4:15 (NKJV)

Those times when I learned a lot about God goes hand in hand with the times I was most thankful to God.  On the flip side, not seeing sin for what it is and leaning on my own understanding go hand and hand as well.

The consequences of our actions, will eventually come down to whether or not we [believe in] accept what Jesus accomplished in the first century.  If our faith and destiny is in Jesus that is saved according to the [Scriptures] then those moments when “you learn the most about God” are moments you most look forward to.

God bless.

In His Care… Jim