Your Journey to Eternity

Welcome back, my friends. This is the last of a three-part series entitled, “Your Journey to Eternity.”

Through my first series, “Who Am I Really?” you learned about who you truly were in God’s eyes — a sinner who was separated both physically and spiritually from God for all eternity. However, through belief in His Son’s death, burial, and resurrection you were saved for all eternity. Jesus Christ became your Savior. You were made right and justified in the eyes of God, your Father, and this process was called Justification (Freedom from the penalty of sin).

Through my second series, “The Next Step — Living Your Life Through Jesus,” you learned the importance of making Jesus Christ Lord of your life. He purchased your soul by paying the debt of your sin on the cross through His death, burial, and resurrection. He now has become the Lord and Master of your life, you belong to Him. It is only through becoming a bondservant of your Lord, Jesus Christ, that the process of maturing as a Christian truly begins. It is only through the Lord Jesus Christ working in you and through you that you can serve your Heavenly Father in a way that is pleasing to Him. This is called Sanctification (Freedom from the control of sin).

In this third and last of my series I want to talk about the final leg of your Christian life — “Your Journey to Eternity.” It is in eternity where God finally removes sin from the life of everyone who is saved. This becomes the final goal of every believer, when our Lord, Jesus Christ, appears again in the sky to take us home. This is called Glorification (Freedom from the existence of sin).

At the close of my last lesson on “Living Your Life Through Jesus,” I asked you what legacy you would leave behind when you die. Where will you leave that legacy? Will it be here on Earth where the corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment, or in Heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal it?  Do you really care?  Remember, wherever your treasure is, the desires of your heart also will be.

Maybe you are trying to live your Christian life blended with Satan’s worldview:

• A view which is based on moral relativism where nobody is right or wrong, where we need to tolerate the behavior of others even when we disagree about the morality of it.
• A view where you’re in charge of your own life, and the demands life is making on you are your responsibility to solve.
• A view that says don’t make waves, this is the way the world has operated since Satan was thrown out of Heaven. Who are you to change it now?

If that’s what your trying to do so that you fit in with this lost world, just remember, you can’t serve God and Satan at the same time.

There are 7.3 billion people living on this planet today. Do you realize and understand that God chose you before the foundations of the Earth were put in place to live with Him for all eternity? You are one of His chosen so how can you continue to live your life by this world’s rules and regulations, designed by Satan to keep the lost from eternity with God, our Father?  Where does it say in the Bible to just blend in with the other billions of lost souls and quietly go into the night?

Are you satisfied to just sit back comfortably in your salvation rocking chair watching T.V. while the rest of the world literally goes to hell in a hand basket?  Are you just patiently waiting for that glorious day when you’ll finally be absent from the body and present with the Lord?

My dear friend, the Bible doesn’t teach us that this is an option, to sit back now that you’re a Christian and wait for your rewards in Heaven. It’s quite the contrary:

Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers. And so those whom God set apart, he called; and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared his glory with them.      Romans 8:29-30 (GNT)

What are you doing to become more like God’s Son?  What treasures are you placing up in Heaven? Have you truly replaced your natural sinful Satanic worldview with a new spiritual Christian worldview?

Have you even read the instruction manual for Heaven yet (the Bible)?  I don’t mean a verse a day from various books of the Bible.  I mean the whole wonderful book from start to finish. Name one book you’ve read that way, where you read one sentence in one chapter then jump to another chapter and read another sentence. How can you understand what you’re reading? Don’t you think the Bible is the same way? It’s really not that hard to read the entire Bible the way God meant it to be read if it’s truly your heart’s desire. I’ll show you an easy way to accomplish that.

Listen to what the Apostle Paul told the Colossians regarding how to live their new life in Christ.

And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done.

Don’t let others spoil your faith and joy with their philosophies, their wrong and shallow answers built on men’s thoughts and ideas, instead of on what Christ has said. For in Christ there is all of God in a human body; so you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ. He is the highest Ruler, with authority over every other power.

When you came to Christ, he set you free from your evil desires, not by a bodily operation of circumcision but by a spiritual operation, the baptism of your souls. For in baptism you see how your old, evil nature died with him and was buried with him; and then you came up out of death with him into a new life because you trusted the Word of the mighty God who raised Christ from the dead.

You were dead in sins, and your sinful desires were not yet cut away. Then he gave you a share in the very life of Christ, for he forgave all your sins, and blotted out the charges proved against you, the list of his commandments which you had not obeyed. He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. In this way God took away Satan’s power to accuse you of sin, and God openly displayed to the whole world Christ’s triumph at the cross where your sins were all taken away.

So don’t let anyone criticize you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating Jewish holidays and feasts or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.  For these were only temporary rules that ended when Christ came. They were only shadows of the real thing—of Christ himself. Don’t let anyone declare you lost when you refuse to worship angels, as they say you must. They have seen a vision, they say, and know you should. These proud men (though they claim to be so humble) have a very clever imagination. But they are not connected to Christ, the Head to which all of us who are his body are joined; for we are joined together by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.

Since you died, as it were, with Christ and this has set you free from following the world’s ideas of how to be saved—by doing good and obeying various rules[a]—why do you keep right on following them anyway, still bound by such rules as not eating, tasting, or even touching certain foods? Such rules are mere human teachings, for food was made to be eaten and used up. These rules may seem good, for rules of this kind require strong devotion and are humiliating and hard on the body, but they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires. They only make him proud.”  Colossians 2: 6-23 (TLB)

I’m writing this final series, my dear friends, as a wake-up call to Christians all over the world, including you and me. I’m writing to the Church, the body of Christ.  For over the past  2,000 years we’ve tried to fit our faith into Satan’s world religions, and we’ve wasted our time arguing about worthless theologies inspired by Satan to cause dissentions and splits in the body of Christ.  We’ve supported causes with our time and money that have nothing to do with the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.  I believe we have sadly fallen complacent to the fact of who we truly are, God’s children and heirs to His Glory. Instead, as a Church, we’re acting like a bunch of spoiled brats arguing and fighting between ourselves.   We’ve lost our focus of who we are truly fighting against, and it certainly isn’t each other.

For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.  Ephesians 6:12 (TLB)

It is my intention through this final series to get right up in the face of Satan and expose him for who he truly is. “Yes, the devil is a liar. He is the father of lies.” John 8:44 (ERV)

It is the Church, the Body of Christ, that is allowing Satan to distort and disrupt what God expects His children to do while here on Earth. We need desperately to refocus on the one with whom we’ll spend eternity. So let me ask one more time, what are you doing to prepare for eternity?

Join me as we turn once again to God’s Holy Word and understand how we should be living right now and how this new way of living is preparing you and me for eternity. Together we’ll expose Satan’s deceptions and lies that hold us back from being all that our Heavenly Father has planned for each of us.

Until we begin, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.

Eternity!  Have you ever really thought about it?  We’re here on earth for a brief 70 or 80 years and then we die.  Is that it?  No, my friend, for Christians, our journey is just beginning.  What’s ahead for you and me is a wonderful future that God Himself has prepared for us. This future has no end and is spent with God our Father.  It is a free gift that you and I have done nothing to earn, but comes to us through God’s grace and faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.   It is a future with no more tears, anxieties, fears, depression, heartburn, backaches or lapses of memory.

This is such an overwhelming thought that I can’t even wrap my mind around it.  My earthly mind is only designed to comprehend earthly thoughts and dimensions — there is a beginning and an end to everything; time is the element I’m always fighting against.  There is never enough of it.  But, in Heaven time won’t matter, will it?  Everything on this earth grows old, our bodies, the trees and plants around us, our pets and even the machines and buildings we build.  But, in Heaven there will be no end to anything.

Now that you’re a Christian, what does eternity hold for you?  You are no longer a stranger to God; your name is written down and known by the angels in Heaven.  You are one of God’s chosen individuals who’s now a member of His very own family.  You are now a citizen of Heaven and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian. (Ephesians 2:19)

We’ll have a whole new way of thinking and living.  A life where our thoughts will be Heavenly focused on our love for our Father and His love for us.  Our brand new bodies will never age or start to fail us, and for some your hair will never fall out again.  Our earthly sinful thoughts with all of their limits and satanic controls will be gone.  We’ll finally have a mind that is only filled with glory, praise and love for our Heavenly Father.

Haven’t you realized yet that you don’t have to wait for Heaven to fill your mind with glory, praise and love for your Heavenly Father?  The moment you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior you were given the mind of Christ to understand His thoughts (1 Corinthians 2:16), and if you let God, He’ll transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind, (the mind of Christ). Then you will be able to know the will of God—you’ll understand what is good and pleasing to him. (Romans 2:12)
God’s Holy Word exhorts you to begin your journey to eternity now.  You are no longer to live your life bound to Satan’s rules and regulations that run this world.  God’s Word tells us what we need to do now in order to prepare for eternity (1 John 2:15), so that on that glorious judgment day when you stand before our Lord, He will say to you well done, my good and faithful servant.  You have fought a good fight, the good fight for the true faith. You’ve held tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12)

Through this series I want to look at the road blocks, the detours and the wrong turns we take that impact our journey.  I’ll discuss topics relevant to today and the future.  We’ll overlay what our Father tells us from His Holy Word on top of what’s going on in this world. By analyzing these events we will shed light on truths that some of us really don’t want to hear, because we’re trying through our own efforts to change them.

This series “Your Journey to Eternity” now becomes personal for me.  I will be sharing the journey to eternity with you. I will share the views of what God’s Holy Word is saying to me and how I should be living my life now in preparation for eternity.

From now on I will be referring to the Holy Trinity as “My Father,” “My Lord,” and “My Spirit” because that is whom they’ve become to me.  I am learning and growing each day to eternalize My God in every aspect of my life.

All in—Heart, Mind and Soul

Let me begin to share where my journey is taking me.  My Father’s Holy Word tells me that He wants me to become more like my Lord, His Son. The only way I know to accomplish His desire for my life is to focus on following my Father’s command that I spoke about in my last series entitled “All You Need is Love” given through my Lord in Matthew 22:37-40

“‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Keep in mind this is not natural for me or you to do.  Remember, we are all hardwired to sin.  Our thought process is truly hardwired to our Old Nature. Our sinful hearts and minds are only designed to think worldly things, evil desires—the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance—these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. 1 John 2:16 (TLB).  Never lose sight of who you are; like me, we’re nothing more than sinners saved by the grace of our Father.

So how is a sinner like me eternalizing what my Father commands me to do?  I’m throwing off my old sinful nature and my former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, I’m letting the Spirit renew my thoughts and attitudes.  Ephesians 4:22-23

Through my daily walk I’ve decided to make a conscious effort to let God transform me inwardly by a complete change of my mind, (the mind of Christ). I’m staying focused in my heart, my soul and my mind on my Father’s deep love for me.  For me it is breaking the old habit of thinking about myself and worldly things and focusing on changing my thought process to think more and more about my Father’s love for me.

Isn’t this true with the one’s you love here on earth?  The more you think of your loved ones, the more your heart yearns to see them and be with them.  It is no different with your Father.  The more you think about Him, the more your heart will yearn for Him. Simply let your Father do what He’s promised to do.  By doing this I’m finding myself falling deeper and deeper in love with Him.

Let me ask, how often do you tell your Father that you love Him?  For me every time my Spirit brings my Father or my Lord into my mind, I tell them I love them.  I can’t tell you how many times a day I do it, but I can say that as each day passes it is becoming more of a norm for me. When my Spirit flashes verses through my mind of the wonderful things and promises my Father and my Lord have for me, I immediately respond with thank you and I love you. The last thing I do at night before falling asleep is to tell them each how much I love them.

I’m beginning to find that the more I focus on verses 37 and 38 and Love my Lord and my God with all my heart, soul and mind, the natural extension of verses 39 and 40 are becoming more achievable.

I have also found that as I let that focus begin to slide Satan is all too quick to rush in and tempt me to step off the cliff into deep sin.  But I’m finding more and more, at the last moment through the power of my Spirit, my Father pulls me back.  I’m sure you know what I’m talking about— that moment that would have damaged my relationship with my Father.  I once again let the Spirit renew my thoughts and attitudes and I thank Him and tell Him how much I love Him for what He did.

Instead of dwelling on the thought that Satan planted in my mind, I simply let the Spirit renew my thoughts and attitudes.  I simply turn Satan’s attacks into an opportunity to tell my Father how much I love Him.

However, I won’t lie. As much as I try to follow this process, I fail more times than I like to admit.  I’ll discuss this in more depth shortly.

In the book of James, which I refer to as the Christian’s handbook for living, he sums it up nicely.

If your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God. Or what do you think the Scripture means when it says that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, watches over us with tender jealousy? But he gives us more and more strength to stand against all such evil longings. As the Scripture says, God gives strength to the humble but sets himself against the proud and haughty.  So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and let your hearts be filled with God alone to make them pure and true to him. James 4:4-8

The goal is to resist the devil and draw closer and closer to my Father and I know if I do this He will draw closer and closer to me.

I’m learning more and more to love and trust my Father through the process He is using to sanctify me and turn me more and more into His Son, my Lord.  I’m determined not to give up and neither should you.  I will keep focusing my thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Thinking about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8

My friend, for me my journey to eternity means that right now I’m going to change the way I think.  I’m using my Father’s method for decision making that He placed in each of us. I talked about this method in my first series “Who Am I Really”
“God clearly created our mind, emotions and will to work together and in the following sequence, we’re to;

• Gather the necessary information
• Analyze and process it
• Weigh the pros and cons
• Make a rational decision

Once we’ve made a rational decision our emotions kick in and we start getting excited about the prospect of our decision, and then our will begins to drive us to implement and achieve the decision we’ve made.”

I’ve read the Bible, analyzed it, weighed the pros and cons and made a rational decision.  I’m excited and determined to do what it’s telling me to do, and now I’m letting my Father do the rest.

My focus is no longer on the things of this world that only cloud the way I think and act.  Listen to what the apostle Paul said to the Colossians.

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”    Colossians 3:1-2 (NLT)

I really like the way The Message paraphrases these verses, it makes them really come alive.

“So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.” (MSG)

An honest conversation about Sin

Just like you, I am nothing more than a sinner saved by the Grace of my Father through my belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of my Lord, the new Spirit that is inside of me. My Father’s Spirit is leading the way and teaching me to become more like my Lord each day.

However, I struggle continuously day in and day out with my Old Nature and the sin it produces in me.  Just like the apostle Paul said of himself:

It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?

The answer, thank God (My Father), is that Jesus Christ (My Lord) can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.  Romans 7:21-25 (MSG)

I know I sin, my Father knows I sin and my Lord knows I sin, so I’m not going to lie and tell you my life is nearly sin-free.  For me, I have burned 1 John 1:9 into my heart and mind, unfortunately it has become the most needed and quoted verse in my Christians life.

“But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. And it is perfectly proper for God to do this for us because Christ died to wash away our sins.”  (TLB)

My friend, this series is going to be one of honesty with each other, between you and me.  So if you tell me you really don’t struggle with sin now that you’re a Christian, let me simply add vs. 10 for you to come to terms with:

“If we claim we have not sinned, we are lying and calling God a liar, for he says we have sinned.”

However, I will say that the more I seek to become like my Lord the better prepared I am to resist sin’s temptations, but, it’s going to happen.  So when it does ask your Lord’s forgiveness (1John 1:9) and to restore your relationship with Him and move on.

Remember, our Lord faced all of the same temptations you and I do, yet he did not sin, so He understands your weaknesses.
So we’re all living a life of contradictions which we have to deal with.  For me, I will no longer let this slow down my journey to eternity with my Father.  I no longer allow Satan to heap mounds of guilt and shame on me so that I spend days feeling ashamed and sorry for myself ultimately sidelining me and slowing down the work my Father has planned for me.  It didn’t stop the apostle Paul or any of the other apostles, so I won’t let it slow me down and neither should you.

It’s simply a fact we all have to deal with until the day we are absent from this worldly body and present with our Lord. Quit letting Satan beat you up with guilt and shame.

So how’s your journey coming?  Are you still listening to the world around you and allowing the wrong person to influence your mind?  I’ve told you time and again that Satan isn’t just going to leave you alone now that you’re a Christian.  He has to slow down your journey to become more like your Lord. If he doesn’t, he stands to lose more of the lost souls he plans to take with him to hell.  Why?  Because they’re becoming more attracted to your lifestyle as you become more like Christ.

Here’s my challenge to you.  Over the next month tell your Father every chance you get how much you Love Him and worship Him.  That’s it nothing more.  In fact, close your eyes right now and tell Him you Love Him.  I guarantee you the more you do it, the more you’ll think about Him and the more you’ll find yourself telling Him how much you Love Him.

Join me next month as I discuss “Making the Trinity Real in Your Life.” The key to understanding your salvation lies in the Trinity. Biblically, all three Persons of the Trinity have the same spirit and nature (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are not forms of God, each of them is God), but each One has different roles or activities when it comes to how God relates to the world.  I’ll show you the importance each plays in Your Journey to Eternity.  

Until then, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.

One of the first roadblocks many Christians run into when trying to understand God, is trying to understand a word that doesn’t even exist in the Bible — the “Trinity.”

But, does the Bible teach us about the Trinity? Absolutely!  There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4). However, the Father is God (John 6:27; 1 Peter 1:2). Jesus Christ is God (Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9). And the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16).

How can three people be one person — God?  Biblically, all three Persons of the Trinity have the same spirit and nature. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are not forms of God; each of them is God. However, each One has different roles or activities when it comes to how God relates to the world.

Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

So how can we, with our human minds, understand something that comes from the mind of God?  The simple answer is we can’t.  It is impossible to understand how God could be three in one as well as One in three.  Why?

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD.  “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)

I simply cannot adequately explain this mystery. I can only believe what the Bible says without attempting to justify it. Nowhere does the Bible require that we align the Word of God or attempt, through human interpretation, to reconcile its statements. We are simply to believe whatever God has spoken.  Simply put, we have to stop trying to figure it out and just accept, by faith, what the Bible says. I agree.

However, I don’t believe we should ignore a discussion about the Trinity just because everyone tells us we’ll never understand it.  I realize that I will never truly comprehend the complexity of the Trinity. But, this is who my God is and even with our limited understanding, why shouldn’t we at least try and trust God to give us the wisdom and knowledge to understand what He wants us to?

For my journey to eternity, I want to know as much about my God as I possibly can before I join Him for all eternity. I am seeking to know, even with my limited earthly mind, the breadth and depth of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, including the different roles and activities each One plays in my life and the world.

When I view and identify the God of the Universe through His three distinct eternal persons He becomes real to me. What do I mean by three distinct eternal persons?  I don’t mean there are three separate gods; there is only one that exists in three persons — the Father, Son, and Spirit eternally co-exist in the inner being of God.

God of the Universe

There is only one God. He is the God of the universe, the creator of everything.  Nothing exists that wasn’t made by Him Isaiah 40:28-31.  He is the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 1 Timothy 6:15. Through His three distinct persons He plays the role of my Father, my Lord and my guiding Spirit. Matthew 3:16-17

Studying the God of the universe through these three distinct eternal persons has helped me to understand the role God desires to play in the justification, sanctification and glorification of my life.  I refer to this as the Salvation Trinity.  This is the three step process where my God uses my Father, my Lord and my guiding Spirit both individually and together to prepare me for eternity with Him.

We are made in the image of God. The three persons of God are inside each of us when we become Christians John 14:23. Literally, God’s Spirit begins to reveal Himself inside of us. And because we’re made in His image, the more we seek to know Him, the better we understand ourselves, and who we really are, as well as those around us.

One Godhead works through His three distinct eternal persons in this lost world in association with each other, but also in voluntary subordination with each other in order to implement the Plan He developed before time began.  What plan is that?

 Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us; he decided then to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault—we who stand before him covered with his love. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to

low all praise to God for his wonderful kindness to us and his favor that he has poured out upon us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. So overflowing is his kindness toward us that he took away all our sins through the blood of his Son, by whom we are saved; and he has showered down upon us the richness of his grace—for how well he understands us and knows what is best for us at all times.

God has told us his secret reason for sending Christ, a plan he decided on in mercy long ago; and this was his purpose: that when the time is ripe he will gather us all together from wherever we are—in heaven or on earth—to be with him in Christ forever.  Moreover, because of what Christ has done, we have become gifts to God that he delights in, for as part of God’s sovereign plan we were chosen from the beginning to be his, and all things happen just as he decided long ago. God’s purpose in this was that we should praise God and give glory to him for doing these mighty things for us, who were the first to trust in Christ.  Ephesians 1:4-12 (TLB)

Our God is in the process of gathering together all of His Children He chose before time began to spend eternity with Him.  You should be thanking Him every day for selecting you from the 7.5 billion people living on this earth to be one of His adopted children.  What a privilege it is to be called a child of God, knowing the inheritance we have waiting for us. At some point in time which no one knows, not even the angels, when the time is right, our God is going to gather us all together from wherever we are—in heaven or on earth—to be with him in Christ forever.  Praise God for His extravagant generosity.

Before we look at the three distinct eternal persons of the Godhead, let’s take a look at who the God of the Universe is. The best place to find out who God is lies in the many names of God found in the scriptures.  To understand the scriptures is to understand God. Let’s read through the names of God in our search of who He is. They are as follows:

Names of God
Yahweh – LORD “I Am,” meaning the eternal self-existent God (Exodus 3:13-14).
Yahweh-Jireh: The Lord Will Provide (Genesis 22:14)
Yahweh-Rapha: The Lord Who Heals (Exodus 15:26)
Yahweh-M’Kaddesh: The Lord Who Sanctifies, Makes Holy (Leviticus 20:8)
Yahweh-Shalom: The Lord Our Peace (Judges 6:24)
Yahweh-Elohim: LORD God (Genesis 2:4)
Yahweh-Tsidkenu: The Lord Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 33:16)
Yahweh-Rohi: The Lord Our Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
Yahweh-Sobaoth: The Lord of Hosts (Isaiah 1:24)
Elohim – strong One, divine (Genesis 1:1)
Adonai – Lord, indicating a Master-to-servant relationship (Exodus 4:10, 13)
El Elyon – Most High, the strongest One (Genesis 14:20)
El Roi – the strong One who sees (Genesis 16:13)
El Shaddai – Almighty God (Genesis 17:1)
El Olam – Everlasting God (Isaiah 40:28)

The God of the Universe has no beginning or end.  He is self-sufficient and needs nothing, He is our provider and healer. He sanctifies and makes us Holy. He is our peace. He is the Lord of Lords. He is our righteousness and our shepherd.  He is our Father, Lord and Savior and guiding Spirit.  He is full of mercy and grace, as well as compassionate and powerful.  There isn’t anything He can’t do. He is a God of righteous judgment. He is Omnipotent (has all power and authority), He is Omniscient (knows everything) and He is Omnipresent (exists everywhere).

The Three Eternal Persons of God

Now let’s take all of these characteristics of the Godhead I’ve just described and place all of them into the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Let me now tell you about the three distinct eternal persons of God as I view them from God’s Holy Word, the Bible.

1.    God the Father: As God, He is my loving and caring Father.

God’s first person is that of a loving, caring and forgiving Father.  Someone you can trust and confide in with your innermost thoughts and secrets.  Someone who forgives all of your failures and sets you back upon your feet and says try again.  Someone whose love for you is so strong He did what was necessary to reclaim you as one of His children. God’s Holy Word tells me that “17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”  James 1:17 (NLT) and that “3 Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love.” 2 John 3 (NLT) He is also a Father who will display His anger and righteous judgment against this world when the time is right. Romans 2:5-8

God through His person as my Father chose me before the foundations of the earth were ever created to spend eternity with Him as one of His children in the new Heavens and Earth. (Ephesians 1:4-5) But, Satan came along and blocked that promised future for me and separated me from my Father’s love both physically and spiritually.  But this was all part of God’s plan.
Satan stepped in and hijacked my destiny to be with my Father with the Sin that he brought into this world through Adam. (Romans 5:12) Instead of Heaven being my final destination, Satan flipped it 180 degrees in the opposite direction and now I’m headed to Hell with him and his demonic minions for a life of burning sulfur and torment for all eternity separated from God. (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

But, God already knew long ago, before he made the world, that this was going to happen, even before that fool Satan had thought about it. Through His loving person as my Father, He prepared the way for my return back to His loving arms. He never stopped loving me.

God, was determined to regain His lost children that Satan stole from Him. “16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.” John 3:16 

2.    God the Son: As God, He is my Savior, Lord and Master. 

God is now coming to redeem me and the others He has chosen to spend eternity with Him through His person my Savior, Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. (7)

God had to came into this world as a man, born of flesh and blood just like you and me.  So He in His person of Jesus Christ, God the Son, (John 1:1-4) came to earth to be the final sacrifice that would destroy Satan’s power over sin and death. (Romans 8:3)

God through the person of the Son, Jesus Christ, willingly went to the cross to die for us in order to put an end to the control of sin and death in our lives. He opened the door back to God the Father who is waiting to share the Fatherly Love He has for us again.  God, through Jesus Christ, first became my Savior.  He freely gave Himself for me without question or hesitation. (Hebrews 2:14)

The only thing I had to do to get back to God’s Fatherly love was accept the free gift of grace and redemption that was offered to me through the death, burial and resurrection of God the Son, Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:8-10)

My acceptance came through believing in what my Savior did for me, and by asking Him to forgive the sin that was inside of me — the very thing that separated me from God’s Fatherly love — and to become the Lord and Master of my life from that point on. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) I was now justified and redeemed in the eyes of God through His Heavenly Father person.  I was restored to my rightful place in Heaven that existed before Satan came along. (Romans 5:21)

I owe that reunion with God the Father to my Savior, Jesus Christ.  God the Son now moves from being just my Savior to now Lord and Master of my life.  Without His sacrifice I would still be headed to Hell and eternal damnation. (Romans 6:23)

God now owns me through what His Savior, Lord and Master Jesus Christ did (1 Corinthians 7:23). That’s explaining it as clearly as I am able.  For what He did for me, I have happily chosen to serve God through Jesus Christ, to become His slave and do everything He desires and directs me to do without question. (Romans 6:18)

But even though I was back in His Loving Fatherly arms full of grace and mercy, God wasn’t finished with me just yet.

3.    God the Holy Spirit: As God, He is my teacher, mentor and protector.

The next marvelous thing God did for me was to place a piece of Himself inside of me —  a piece of His person that God calls the Holy Spirit, the very same spirit He had placed in Adam and Eve before they sinned. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. This was just His down payment for all of the wonderful things He now has planned for us. (2 Corinthians 1:22)

So now with God’s Spirit inside of me, I am able to understand His handbook for life (the Bible) that He wrote for me to follow. (1 John 2:27)

God’s Spirit helps me to understand the things the Lord of my life wants me to understand. Everything God’s Spirit teaches me comes from my Savior, Lord and Master. (John 16:13-15) My Spirit knows the will of God for my life and leads me in that direction.  How, you ask?  Because Jesus is in me and I am in Jesus, just like Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus. (John 14:20) It is a direct link with my Father through my Lord and is revealed to me through my Spirit.

It all works as one.  One God working in me through His three distinct persons.  God uses each one of His three persons to play a different role in God’s desire for me to become more like His Son, more like Himself.

Since God the Father is spirit and cannot be seen by anyone except the Son, My Lord has become my spiritual and physical example to follow.  God’s Spirit inside of me helps me to understand this and leads me to maturity in my Lord.  This is pleasing to my Father and this is called sanctification.

Yes, there is only one God.  The God of the universe.  But, He is active in my life through His three distinct eternal persons.  God through His Loving Fatherly person of God the Father is my everything, without Him I wouldn’t exist and neither would you.  He rules my life through His Savior, Lord and Master person, God the Son, and directs me in everything I do on this earth.  He also teaches and guides me to the knowledge I need to know for my preparation for eternity through God the Holy Spirit.  I can now know how to please the will of God, and how to worship and praise Him.

There are many places where the doctrine of the Trinity underlies and is interwoven throughout the texts of Scripture. Someone put it well by saying; “the doctrine of the Trinity is in the Bible like the salt is in the sea.” You can taste it everywhere, but you can’t very well separate it out, because it is so grounded in the very nature of God himself.

Join me next month as I continue the discussion of Your Journey to Eternity where we’ll look at God’s Word and find out what it means to be “Chosen as a Child of God.” 

Until then, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.

Welcome back, my friends. I’m sure my lesson last month, “Chosen as a Child of God,” raised a number of questions in your mind. For some, the things I wrote about may not jive with what you’ve been taught or understand about God, and for others, this is a whole new aspect of God you never thought about or expected. Some may be thinking: how could the God of Love turn His back on those who haven’t even been born yet, who haven’t even had a chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accept it or reject it of their own free will?

Once again, let me start by reminding us of what the Prophet Isaiah said about the God of the Universe.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)

The Sovereignty of God

Before I go any further with this month’s lesson, let’s dive deeper into the Word of God and learn more about God’s sovereignty. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of our understanding His sovereignty; it has a direct impact on how you view God and live your life.

Arthur W. Pink in his book The Sovereignty of God describes it this way: “The doctrine of God’s sovereignty lies at the foundation of Christian doctrine and belief, and in importance is perhaps second only to the divine inspiration of the Scriptures.

It is the center of gravity in the system of Christian truth: the sun around which all the lesser orbs are grouped. It is the marker on our journey to which every highway of knowledge leads and from which they all radiate.

It is the cord upon which all other doctrines are strung like so many pearls, holding them in place and giving them unity. It is the plumb-line by which every creed needs to measured, the balance in which every human belief must be weighed. It is designed as the rudder for our souls that guides us amid the storms of life.

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty is a divine cordial that refreshes our spirit. It is designed and adapted to mold the affections of the heart and give a right direction to conduct. It produces gratitude in prosperity and patience in adversity. It affords comfort for the present and a sense of security respecting the unknown future. It is, and it does all, and much more than we have just said, because it ascribes to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the glory which is His due, and places the creature in his proper place before Him – in the dust”.

My friend, without a clear understanding of this foundational truth, you will be open to all of the false teachings and judgmental legalism the world has to offer. You leave yourself open to be caught up in the religious rites and rituals perpetuated by Satan and his evil minions. What rites and rituals, you ask? Those that teach salvation through the gospel of works — the Satanic lie that elevates and satisfies the fleshly desires of men and women, namely Pride.

The reality is that God has complete and total independent control over every creature, event, and circumstance at every moment in history. He is subject to none, influenced by none, and absolutely independent. The sovereignty of God really means that God does what He pleases, only as He pleases, and always as He pleases. He is Omnipotent (has all power and authority), He is Omniscient (knows everything) and He is Omnipresent (exists everywhere).

The real truth is He doesn’t need us for anything! How’s that for a slap in your face and a blow to your pride?

The sovereignty of God means that He has total control of all things past, present and future. He is in complete control of every molecule in the universe at every moment, and everything that happens is either caused or allowed by Him for His own perfect purpose.

Let’s read about His Sovereignty in His Holy Word:

People on earth are not really important. God does what he wants with the powers of heaven and the people on earth. No one can stop his powerful hand or question what he does. Daniel 4:35 (NLT)

Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. Isaiah 46:10 (NLT)

But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken Psalm 33:11(NLT)

The LORD has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything. Psalm 103:19 (NLT)

Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes. Psalm 115:3 (NLT)

The LORD does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths. Psalm 135:6 (NLT)

God’s Holy Word is full of Scriptures testifying to the sovereignty of God and woven throughout the Bible as you will see. These Scriptures are undeniably the most revealing picture we will find of who our God and Father, the God of the Universe, truly is.

Why then is the total sovereignty of God so confusing and hard to understand and believe?

The simple answer to that question is that our old nature of pride is preventing our belief — the same pride that caused the downfall of Satan, the father of sin, and the very pride that made Satan say that I will be like God.

Let’s look at some of those old nature road blocks that prevent our acceptance of the truth of the Bible concerning the sovereignty of God.

The Humanizing of God

First of all, we try to humanize God. We want to bring God down to our level of human thinking and reasoning. We have a natural sinful human need to control what’s going on around us, so we try to use this approach with God our Father. We want be able to reason with and influence God into our way of thinking just like we do with those around us.

We believe now that as a child of God we’re part of His planning team, His advisors. And as part of His team, through our prayers and petitions, we can change God’s mind and redirect how the God of the Universe dispenses His Mercy and Grace.

We place God in a box and store him on the shelve in the bedroom closet, taking Him down when we have a need for Him.

When things aren’t going the right way, we feel a need to argue and justify ourselves (the poor innocent victim syndrome), particularly when we don’t agree with the way God is handling the situation. In the book of Job, Job felt the same need to justify himself to God and prove to Him that he wasn’t a bad person and didn’t deserve the things that happened to him.

When we pray, we often view God as our heavenly bellboy, waiting to serve us when we issue a command, I’m sorry, I meant a prayer request. We think that if God only had half the compassion and understanding as we do concerning this or that particular situation, He would give us what we were asking for and all would quickly be right. After all, we know what’s best for us, don’t we?

We think of ourselves as being number “one” and no one else. We live by the creed “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me” without anyone else’s help. It is no wonder that when we come to the Scriptures and confront the fact that God has absolute power, we become uneasy and troubled by that revelation.

Listen to what the Apostle Paul had to say about advising God:

Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his wisdom and knowledge and riches! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! For who among us can know the mind of the Lord? Who knows enough to be his counselor and guide? Romans 11:33-34 (TLB)

We wrongly treat God as if He is one of our best friends, our buddy. Simply put, such is the arrogance of man’s old nature even in a child of God.

The sovereignty of God is something I believe the Church, the whole body of Christ, needs to study and understand in more detail. If we, as the body of Christ, truly understood God’s sovereignty, we would then understand that becoming a child of God is the highest privilege and honor that we could ever imagine.

If we truly understood the sovereignty of God, the whole body of Christ, His Church, would then appreciate what it means to be called a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The very fact that our God is the one and only sovereign God of the Universe calls each of us to a higher standard of living than the world we live in.

But, if we’re honest with one another, we truly don’t live the life our Father is teaching and calling us to do. Do we?

Let’s return to last month’s lesson on Chosen as a Child of God and continue our discussion on the topics concerning free will and “whosoever will” as I promised.

Free Will

Let’s start with the Free Will conversation. Is the will free to do as it pleases? When God created us, He gave us a Body, Soul and Spirit. The will of man and woman resides in our Soul along with our mind and emotions. I’ve addressed this in detail in my first lesson from the series entitled “Who Am I Really?”

1. Your Mind: Thinking, Reasoning, and Choosing
2. Your Emotions: Feelings and Desire for Fellowship
3. Your Will: Ability to Decide and Choose

God clearly created our mind, emotions and will to work in the sequence described. We’re designed to:

• Gather the necessary information
• Analyze and process it
• Weigh the pros and cons
• Make a rational decision

Once you’ve weighed your options and made a decision, your emotions get excited about the prospect of your decision, and then your will chooses the most favorable or logical option to implement the decision, driving you to achieve your desire.

Let me share an example of how this process God designed works from His Holy Word. Although, I’ll admit that my example isn’t the best, it does show how God designed us to work.

Let’s go back to Genesis, chapter 3 and look at the fall of man. In verse four, we find Satan enticing the woman (Eve) into breaking the one command God had given Adam, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Satan responds to Eve concerning God’s command by calling Him a liar.

“But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree you will learn about good and evil, and then you will be like God!” Genesis 3:4-5

Eve now goes through the process of thinking, desiring and choosing her fate and that of all mankind.

The woman could see that the tree was beautiful and the fruit looked so good to eat (Mind, sense-perception, intelligence), She also liked the idea that it would make her wise (Emotions, desire, self-gratification). So she took some of the fruit from the tree and ate it (Will, choice). Her husband was there with her, so she gave him some of the fruit, and he ate it. Genesis 3:6

So, does the will rule the mind or does the mind control the will? Notice that your will does not think, reason or make decisions. Your will makes choices. After your heart and mind have thought through an opportunity or problem and come to a decision, your will then looks at the options your heart and mind have developed and chooses the one that best suits the situation or desires. Without the options the heart and mind develops, your will would have nothing to choose from. So the will is not free when it comes to making choices; it comes under the influence and control of the heart and mind. “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

So we first have thought (mind), then heart (emotion to desire or hate), and then act (will). To say that the will is free to make its own choices is to say that the tail wags the dog rather than the dog wagging the tail.

The strongest motives of the heart and mind determine the actions of our will. What are some of those motivators? With some, it may be the logic of reason, with others, the voice of your conscience, the impulse of your emotions, the whisper of the Tempter in your ear, or the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.

In other words, the action of the will is determined by the condition of the heart and mind, which, in turn is influenced by one of three things— the World, the Flesh or God.

I’ve spent a lot of time discussing how our will acts, but it is important to understand as we move forward with our free will discussion.

Let’s return to my example of Eve and the apple. When she and Adam took a bite of the apple, we all know what happened to man, you and me.

“everyone has sinned and is far away from God’s saving presence.” Romans 3:23 (GNT)

As sinners we are born with a will that is biased toward evil. Why, because “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)

My friend, our will, yours and mine, is only free in one direction, namely, in the direction of evil. As sinners, our will is enslaved, in bondage to and servants of a depraved heart. Our will is under the dominion of sin and Satan. Therefore, the will is not free.

The Holy Writings say, “There is not one person who is right with God. No, not even one!  There is not one who understands. There is not one who tries to find God.”  Everyone has turned away from God. They have all done wrong. Not one of them does what is good. No, not even one!  Their mouth is like an open grave. They tell lies with their tongues. Whatever they say is like the poison of snakes. Their mouths speak bad things against God. They say bad things about other people. They are quick to hurt and kill people.  Wherever they go, they destroy and make people suffer. They know nothing about peace. They do not honor God with love and fear.” Romans 3:10-18 (NLV)

My friend, before you became a Christian in your old nature state of sin, you were incapable of freely choosing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. The only choice you had was to head straight to hell where Satan waits with open arms, but none to go to heaven. It was only through the Holy Spirit’s almighty power that He performed a miracle of grace in your heart.

That’s the power of grace, my friend. God alone chose you and me before the foundation of the earth was laid to be one of His adopted children. He sent His son to pay the price of our adoption, which cost Him His life— a life He willing gave for you and me.

To the chosen, God sends His Holy Spirit to work His miracle and change our deceitful and desperately wicked heart of stone. He regenerates our heart of stone and gives us a new heart so that we can willingly accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He makes Christ irresistible to us, so it is not by force or obligation that we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but through the desire of our heart.

Where does this leave your will in the Salvation process? If the Holy Spirit makes Jesus the desire of your heart, remember what I said earlier. It is the strongest motives of the heart and mind that determine the actions of our will.

That’s Grace, my friend. God has done it all and we have done nothing to earn His marvelous grace.

However, what I’ve written, sorry to say, is not the widespread popular teachings of today. What is taught from the great majority of pulpits is that man has a “free will,” and that salvation comes to the sinner through his will cooperating with the Holy Spirit.

Let me close this lesson by asking you a question. If it is true that it is through your “free will” cooperating with the Holy Spirit that salvation comes to you the sinner, then what you are saying to me is that you played a role in your salvation.

You are saying then that God chose you, Jesus died for you, and the Holy Spirit has changed your heart so that you can receive salvation through Jesus Christ. And after all they did for you, the three of them now need to stand on the sideline until you make your “free will” choice before your salvation can take effect? Really?

If that’s the way you see it, then you will need to reconcile Ephesians 2:8-9 with your belief.

“I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (ERV)

If you still believe it was by your own “free will” that you chose Christ, then my friend, you should be very proud of yourself and if I were you, I would go out and brag to the rest of the world exactly what you’ve done.

I pray that this lesson has answered your question about “free will,” but there is still one unanswered question — the question of “whosoever will.” Unfortunately, I have run out of time and space to properly address this question. Join me next month as we continue on this topic, “Chosen as a Child of God” Part 3 and pick up where we left off.

Let me leave you with this wonderful quote I’ve run across in my studies. It has put my mind at ease as I struggle to understand the sovereignty of God our Father. “We must trust God, not only WHEN we do not understand, but BECAUSE we do not understand. The psalmist tells us, “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30). If God’s ways are “perfect,” then we can trust that whatever He does—and whatever He allows—is also perfect.”

Until next month, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.

Welcome back, my friend.  Let’s close our study of Chosen as a Child of God by discussing the term “whosoever.”

By our worldly (Satanic) standards, the popular human philosophy is that the will governs the man, but as we’ve seen in the Word of God, it is the heart and mind which dominate the center of our being.

Let me recap the first two lessons so we have a reference point to move on.

The Sovereignty of God can be defined as follows:

• God has total control of all things past, present and future.
• Nothing happens that is out of His knowledge and control.
• All things are either caused by Him or allowed by Him for His own purposes and through His perfect will and timing.
• He is the only absolute and omnipotent ruler of the universe and is sovereign in creation, providence and redemption.

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.   Romans 8:28-30 (NIV)   

• God chose whom He would adopt as His children because he wanted to and has every right to do so. It’s as simple as that.
• Because of our sin, the total Depravity of Man and Woman makes it impossible for us to believe in God on our own. Why? Because 9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.  Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)

Jesus was very clear when He talked about the depravity of man as it relates to the heart of the lost. 

For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts of lust, theft, murder, adultery, wanting what belongs to others, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, and all other folly. All these vile things come from within; they are what pollute you and make you unfit for God. Mark 7:21-23 (TLB)

• Our will, yours and mine, is only free in one direction, namely, in the direction of evil.
• To the chosen, God sends His Holy Spirit to work His miracle and change our deceitful and desperately wicked heart of stone.
• The Holy Spirit regenerates our heart of stone and gives us a new heart so that we can willingly accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
• The Holy Spirit makes Christ irresistible to us, so it is not by force or obligation that we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but through the desire of our heart.
• It is the strongest motives of the heart and mind that determine the actions of our will. It is not our “free-will” that determines the motives of our heart and mind.

With the review of the first two lessons on Chosen as a Child of God fresh in our minds, let’s look at the one scripture most often quoted by those who believe that Salvation is offered to everyone on earth simply because of the word “whosoever.”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.    John 3:16 (KJV)

This is a verse often used by individuals I refer to as The Single Verse Grenade Throwing Bible Expert whom I will address later in my lesson.

Let’s start at the beginning. Why did Jesus make this statement and to whom did He say it? In Chapter 3 of the book of John, Jesus is talking to a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee.  Nicodemus waited until the dark of night to approach Jesus so he wouldn’t be seen by anyone.

Jesus immediately begins to address the question Nicodemus didn’t even ask although I believe Jesus knew why Nicodemus truly came, which was to find out how to be saved. 

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

He goes on to say; “Men can only reproduce human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven; so don’t be surprised at my statement that you must be born again!” John 3:6-7 (TLB)

This is completely outside of the realm of understanding for Nicodemus.

“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked. Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things?  John 3:9-10 (NLT)

Nicodemus was a Jewish religious leader, a Pharisee, yet he didn’t understand what Jesus was saying to him. Why?

 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.  2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT)

Just like you and me, Nicodemus was born a sinner and the total depravity of his soul made it impossible for him to understand, or even want to understand, for that matter.

In lesson 4, Chosen as a Child of God Part 2, we learned how an individual is Born Again. To the chosen, God sends His Holy Spirit to work His miracle and change our deceitful and desperately wicked heart of stone. The Holy Spirit regenerates our heart of stone and gives us a new heart so that we can willingly accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit makes Christ irresistible to us, so it is not by force or obligation that we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but through the desire of our heart.

So it is only the chosen who will believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior through the power of the Holy Spirit with the regeneration of their heart of stone with a new one.

Viewing John 3:16 in the old way, we read:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.    John 3:16 (KJV)

We should actually be reading John 3:16 as follows:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.    John 3:16 (KJV)

The emphasis isn’t on the word “whosoever”, but on “believeth.”  If it is only the chosen (elect) of God who will be able to believe because of the work of the Holy Spirit, then they are the “whosoever” spoken about in John 3:16 

But some will come to me—those the Father has given me—and I will never, never reject them. For I have come here from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to have my own way. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them to eternal life at the Last Day. For it is my Father’s will that everyone who sees his Son and believes on him should have eternal life—that I should raise him at the Last Day.  John 6:37-40 (TLB)

You can see by this example if you just believe and listen to only one verse out of a book or chapter you can easily be swayed to believe anything someone tells you. Your friends and family may say that there are other verses in the scriptures that show a man’s “free-will” defines who becomes a believer and who doesn’t.

I hope you will be as diligent as the Berean Jews and find out for yourself what is true and what is make believe.

My friends, you truly need to read and understand the Bible. You can’t rest your beliefs on the ingrained preconceived notions of what the verse says by someone in authority without checking to see if what they say is true.

Yes, you will be treading on sacred ground, questioning someone who is a religious leader or has a degree in Theology. But who cares? Don’t forget they’re just sinners like you and me. It is your responsibility as a child of God to understand the Bible, what it’s about and who it was written for so that you will not fall into Satan’s trap of believing anything your told.

Reading and Understanding the Word of God

If you are not by now reading and studying the Word of God on a daily basis, you will never truly know and understand who God truly is. This is the one and only divinely inspired instruction manual for living the true Christian life and a must read book for all of God’s chosen children.  If you are not letting your roots of faith grow down and draw up nourishment from Him through His Word, then how can you say that you are maturing in your faith?

We are commanded to go on growing in the Lord, and to become strong and vigorous in the truth we’re taught in His Holy Word, the Bible. If you’re still just grabbing a verse here and there and hoping it’s enough to get you through today, I can tell you, you do not understand who God is and all of the wonderful truths and blessing His Holy Word, the Bible has in store for you. 

Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character.     2 Peter 1:2-4 (TLB)

Trust the LORD completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way. Don’t trust in your own wisdom, but fear and respect the LORD and stay away from evil. Proverbs 3:5-7 (ERV)

If you are not seeking your wisdom and knowledge from God to guide you, then the only thing you have left to depend on is your own worldly (Satanic) knowledge and wisdom as your guide. With the result being a thought process that is no different than the lost souls you live and work with on a daily basis.

Could this answer the questions you may have as to why your personal life just doesn’t seem to be changing, and the new person you thought God planned for you to become now that you’re a Christian just isn’t showing any signs of life yet?

Listen to what the Apostle Paul had to say about the Berean Jews when it came to studying the Word of God. 

That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.    Acts 17:10-12 (NLT)

A strong, deeply rooted understanding of the Bible is the only way you’re going to be able to discern the truth. If you’re not searching the Scriptures day after day like the Berean Jews did to fact check whoever you’re listening to concerning God, how do you know if what their saying is true or false?

You may be listening to Godly men who are ordained ministers or priests or someone who has a PhD in Theology after their name and that’s great.  But, did you ever ask yourself if the person you’re listening to or reading about has accepted Jesus  Christ as their personal savior?

Then there are what I call the Single Verse Grenade Throwing Bible Experts. These are friends or family members who know only enough about the Bible to make them dangerous to listen to. These are individuals who have memorized two or three verses from the Word of God and who then throw them into any discussion about God and let them explode the conversation into confusion and misunderstanding.

If pressed, these individuals are unable to explain the true meaning of what they just quoted or where the verse is found. They simply walk away in a huff and say, “well that’s what I believe and you’re not going to change my mind.”

What makes you think Satan isn’t crafty enough to use these religious individuals to disrupt and distort God’s Word keeping the lost from finding the truth about Jesus Christ?

Listen to what the Apostle Peter wrote to the Jewish Christians scattered throughout Asia concerning false prophets and teachers.

And remember why he is waiting. He is giving us time to get his message of salvation out to others. Our wise and beloved brother Paul has talked about these same things in many of his letters. Some of his comments are not easy to understand, and there are people who are deliberately stupid, and always demand some unusual interpretation—they have twisted his letters around to mean something quite different from what he meant, just as they do the other parts of the Scripture—and the result is disaster for them.  I am warning you ahead of time, dear brothers, so that you can watch out and not be carried away by the mistakes of these wicked men, lest you yourselves become mixed up too.  2 Peter 3:15-17 (TLB)

I am amazed by the fact that the Berean Jews didn’t believe what the Apostle Paul, a man handpicked by God and taught the scriptures by none other than Jesus Christ Himself said until they checked the Word of God to find out whether he was speaking the truth.

Yet for some of us we simply accept what we’re told if the person telling us has an official religious title or college degree. My friends, if you are not taking what they’re saying and checking the Bible for yourself, you truly have no idea if what they are teaching is grounded in the Word of God.  Do you?

I believe the Church, the body of Christ, has failed miserably when it comes to reading and studying the Bible. As Children of God, we should be ashamed of ourselves for not reading and studying our Father’s only book.

Make it easy on yourself

Pick up a version that’s a little easier to understand and read.  I recommend the New Living Translation. This is the Bible we send out to our followers when they request a Bible. There’s also the Good News Translation, The Living Bible, and the Easy-to-Read Version Bible.

There is a wonderful online resource you can use entitled, Bible Gateway, (www.biblegateway.com). This website has 202 different online Bibles written in 72 different languages. You can compare different Bible versions from The King James Version to The New International Version to the ones I’ve mention above. What you will find is the essence of the message in each one is the same. This is why I so often quote my scriptures from the Living Bible or the Easy-to-Read versions because they speak in the language we use today.

There will certainly be those legalists in your life that will tell you it has to be the King James Version or nothing. If you’re like me, I struggle with understanding a language that was used over 400 years ago. I believe God our Father would want you and me to read and understand what He has written rather than just carrying around a version that’s acceptable to your legalistic friends and not read it.

My dear friends, I apologize for going on about reading the Bible (it won’t be the last time), but it’s important.  It is really the only thing in the life of a Christian that is that important. Without reading and understanding the Bible, you remain wide open for Satan to confuse your mind like he did Eve.

Remember, Satan was the brightest and most beautiful angel in God’s realm before falling to pride. So he knows all the scriptures and how to distort every one of them for his own purposes. He sends out his evil minions throughout the world to whisper these distorted scriptures into the ears of believers who are not grounded in the truths of the Bible through their own studies.

Understanding the God of the Universe

The LORD says, “The wise should not boast of their wisdom, nor the strong of their strength, nor the rich of their wealth. If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me, because my love is constant, and I do what is just and right. These are the things that please me. I, the LORD, have spoken.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24 (GNT) 

As a child of God, is this your heart’s desire?  Do you really know and understand who the God of the Universe is in a personal and intimate way?  Yes, he is your Loving Heavenly Father, He is your Lord and Master, He is your Teacher, Guide and Protector, but He is so much more. In the coming months, we will study and learn together all of the wonderful attributes of our God. It is my heart’s desire that one day you will be able to boast to those around you, that you know and understand who the God of the Universe truly is.

Until next month, my friends, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.

Your Journey to Eternity

Welcome back, my friends.  Have you ever thought about how big God is and what he is really like, including His defining attributes or characteristics?  In past lessons, I’ve talked about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit — our Godhead three in one. This month, I want to spend our time together talking about the Godhead, one in three.

If you’re like me, you may have often tried, with limited knowledge and understanding of the God of the Universe, to think about just how big He is.  I even tried to mathematically figure it out. Let me explain. Consider the universe God has made. According to the American Astronomical Society, our own sun is one star out of an estimated four hundred billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, which is just one galaxy out of an estimated 240 billion galaxies in the known universe.

• If there are 400,000,000,000 stars in our galaxy and 240,000,000,000 galaxies in the universe with the same number of stars, then how many stars would be in the universe? The answer is 96,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, or 96 sextillion stars in the universe.
• Let’s say for argument’s sake that each star had eight planets like we do, then how many planets would there be in the universe? There would be 768,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 or seven hundred sixty-eight sextillion planets. 

That’s a lot of planets for one God to oversee, yet in Matthew 10:29, God’s Word tells us “But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.”  How is that possible if He has so many planets to look after?

My dear friends, this example is just a drop in the bucket of what the Godhead, the God of the Universe can do. Let’s take our journey together as we contemplate the Attributes of God.

If the God of the Universe is invisible, and He is, how can we see and understand His characteristics so that we can get to know Him in a more personal way that will increase our love for Him?  We need only to begin outside with nature that surrounds us all.

The Nature of God

 For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made  Romans 1:20 (AMP)

 The Books of Genesis and Job are full of wonderful examples of God’s creation in nature for us to consider:

• He created the universe with all the planets.
• He created the earth we stand on.
• He created the sun, moon and stars to hang in the sky (which He created).
• He created every sort of seed-bearing plant and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit.
• He created the seasons, time, days and years.
• He created the waters to swarm with fish and other life and let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.
• He created every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.
• He created the horizon when He separated the waters to create land.
• He set the boundary between day and night.
• He set the boundaries of the oceans.
• He created rain and lightning, snow and ice.
• He created the beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
• He created us, human beings, in His own image with His very own hands.

In my first lesson on “Who Am I Really”, I talked about what went into the creation of man’s body by the hands of God.

• You are made up of 206 bones that are connected by tendons, ligaments, and cartilage, with over half of your bones in just your hands and feet.
• You have twelve complex biological systems working together inside of you, including:
  • Circulatory — moves blood, nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and hormones, around the body.
  • Digestive — consists of a series of connected organs that allow the body to break down and absorb food and remove waste.
  • Respiratory — allows you to take in vital oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.
  • Nervous — controls both voluntary action (like conscious movement) and involuntary actions (like breathing), and sends signals to different parts of the body.
  • Muscular — consists of about 650 muscles that aid in movement, blood flow, and other bodily functions.
  • Immune — the body\’s defense against bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens that may be harmful.
• You have five vital organs that are essential for survival:
  • Your brain is the body\’s control center, receiving and sending signals to other organs through the nervous system.
  • Your heart is responsible for pumping blood throughout your body.
  • Your kidneys remove waste and extra fluid from the blood.
  • Your liver has many functions, including detoxifying harmful chemicals, breaking down drugs, filtering blood, and secreting bile and producing blood-clotting proteins.
  • Your lungs are responsible for removing oxygen from the air and transferring it to our blood where it can be sent to our cells, and removing carbon dioxide.

Did you know…

• The human body contains nearly 100 trillion cells.
• The average adult takes over 20,000 breaths a day.
• Your heart averages 103,680 beats every 24 hours and beats between 2.5 and 3 billion times in an average lifetime.
• You’re made up of approximately 100,000 miles of arteries, veins, and capillaries, which if placed end to end could go around the world four times.
• Your brain is made of approximately 100 billion nerve cells called neurons that gather and transmit electrochemical signals telling different parts of your brain to carry out different tasks.

Isn’t it amazing how all of these functions and parts work together in harmony, without you even thinking about it? God is amazing isn’t He?

So when someone asks you to prove there is a God, just tell them to look around and then tell them to look in a mirror.

Our God is truly the God of the Universe, the creator, provider and sustainer of the Heavens and Earth.  He is “the governor among the nations” Psalm 22:28 (KJV), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining all things as He pleases. He is our King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

I could stop here and we would have enough evidence through nature to understand His power and majesty and to satisfy most of our questions about the Godhead.

But, there is so much more we need to know if we are truly going to understand all of His characteristics and what they mean to you and me, His beloved children.

Job declares in the Word of God;

Do you think you really understand God? Do you completely understand God All-Powerful?   That knowledge is higher than the heavens and deeper than the place of death. So what can you do? How can you learn it all?  Job 11:7-8 (ERV)

The one thing Job did not have when he asked that question, was the complete Word of God like we have. God has revealed Himself in His Word and in creation so that we can grasp the Supremacy of the Godhead. The Bible provides more than enough scripture verses to describe His characteristics and declare His Sovereignty over every living thing in the universe.

As we look at the attributes of the Godhead, the God of the Universe in our Journey together to Eternity, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will shine His light in our hearts (not intellects).

The God who said, “Out of darkness the light shall shine!” is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God\’s glory shining in the face of Christ.  2 Corinthians 4:6 (GNT)

The Apostle Peter exhorts us to continue our journey so that our regenerated souls will continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus:

But continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18 (GNT)

The Solitariness of God

Let’s start “In the beginning God” (Gen 1:1).  There was no heaven, no earth, no angels or humans to sing His praises, and no universe; there was nothing, no one, but God. He dwelt all alone (though existing equally in three divine persons).

God was alone: self-contained, self-sufficient, self-satisfied; in need of nothing. God was under no restriction, no obligation, and no necessity to create anything. That He chose to do anything was purely a Sovereign act of His own choosing.

The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths. Psalm 135:6 (NLT)

I am the Lord, your savior; I am the one who created you. I am the Lord, the Creator of all things. I alone stretched out the heavens; when I made the earth, no one helped me.  Isaiah 44:24 (GNT)

If it was necessary for God to have a universe, angels, the earth and human beings as part of His Solitariness, they would have existed from the beginning.

We may think that God needs us to make Him complete in His Holiness, but the truth is that God gains nothing from our worship. He is not and never will be in need of our external glory. Listen to Elihu’s response to Job concerning how both good and sinful behaviors affect God:

Job, I want to answer you and your friends here with you.  Look up at the sky. Look at the clouds, which are so much higher than you.  If you sin, it does not hurt God. Even if your sins are too many to count, that does nothing to God.  And if you are good, that does not help God. He gets nothing from you.   Job, the good and bad things you do affect only other people like yourself.  Job 35:4-8 (ERV)

So why did the Godhead create everything if He was in no need of anything? The simple answer is found in Ephesians 1:5 “And he did this because he wanted to! It is as simple as that.

The Knowledge of God

God is omniscient (all-knowing). He knows everything — everything possible, everything actual, all events, all creatures, and God the past, the present and the future. He is perfectly acquainted with every detail in the life of every being in heaven, on earth and in hell. Nothing escapes His notice, nothing can be hidden from Him and nothing is forgotten by Him. His knowledge is perfect. He never errs, never changes and never overlooks anything.

 He knows about everyone, everywhere. Everything about us is bare and wide open to the all-seeing eyes of our living God; nothing can be hidden from him to whom we must explain all that we have done.  Hebrews 4:13 (TLB)

 The Foreknowledge of God

In his omniscience, God knows what the future holds both for individuals and for nations. He knows and sees everything in advance and his will is carried out in accord with his plans and purposes. God foreknows what will be because He has decreed what shall be. The foreknowledge of God always deals with individuals, not events.

this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. Acts 2:23 (NET Bible)

because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” Romans 8:29 (NET Bible)

  God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew!  Romans 11:2 (NET Bible)

 The Supremacy of God

The absolute and universal supremacy of God is plainly and positively affirmed in many scriptures. Before Him, presidents and popes, kings and emperors are less than grasshoppers.

It is God who sits above the circle of the earth. (The people below must seem to him like grasshoppers!) He is the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.  Isaiah 40:22 (TLB)

Yours is the mighty power and glory and victory and majesty. Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything. Riches and honor come from you alone, and you are the ruler of all mankind; your hand controls power and might, and it is at your discretion that men are made great and given strength. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 (TLB)

The Sovereignty of God

Divine Sovereignty means that God is God, in fact as well as in name, that He is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things. There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s Sovereignty.

All things are done according to God’s plan and decision; and God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ because of his own purpose, based on what he had decided from the very beginning.   Ephesians 1:11 (GNT)

O Lord God of our ancestors, you rule in heaven over all the nations of the world. You are powerful and mighty, and no one can oppose you   2 Chronicles 20:6 (GNT)

The Immutability (not changing) of God

God is eternally the same and subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations. Therefore, God is compared to a rock which remains immovable.

 No one is holy like the Lord!  There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.   1 Samuel 2:2 (NLT)

God never changes. Because God has no beginning and no ending, He can know no change. He is everlasting.

Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes down from God, the Creator of the heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning.  James 1:17 (GNT)

The Holiness of God

The Holiness of God is the very excellency of His Divine nature:

Lord, who among the gods is like you?  Who is like you, wonderful in holiness? Who can work miracles and mighty acts like yours? Exodus 15:11 (GNT)

 God’s holiness is what separates Him from all other beings and what makes Him separate and distinct from everything else. God’s holiness is more than just His perfection or sinless purity; it is the essence of His “other-ness” — His divine existence. God’s holiness symbolizes the mystery of His awesomeness and causes us to gaze in wonder at Him as we begin to comprehend just a little of His majesty.

No one is holy like the Lord; there is none like him, no protector like our God.   1 Samuel 2:2 (GNT)

 Praise the Lord our God; worship before his throne! Holy is he!  Psalm 99:5 (GNT)

The Power of God

We cannot have a right conception of God unless we think of Him as all-powerful (omnipotent) as well as all-wise (omniscient). As God has a will to resolve what He considers good, He also has the power to execute His will.

How often have you witnessed a tragedy and wished there was something you could do? You had the will to help, but you lacked the power to do anything.

We find an example of the power of God in Matthew, chapter 9, where Jesus is healing a paralyzed man. The townspeople brought this paralyzed man to Jesus. They had the faith that Jesus could heal the man, but there was nothing else they could do for him.

When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the paralyzed man, “Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.”   Then some teachers of the Law said to themselves, “This man is speaking blasphemy!” Jesus perceived what they were thinking, and so he said, “Why are you thinking such evil things? Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your bed, and go home!” The man got up and went home. When the people saw it, they were afraid, and praised God for giving such authority to people.”  Matthew 9:2-8 (GNT)

God’s power is like Himself, self-existent and self-sustained. Not only does He have the will, He also has the way.

 The Faithfulness of God

By our worldly standards (who’s in charge of the world), unfaithfulness is one of the most outstanding sins of these evil days. In the business world, a man’s word is, with rare exceptions, no longer his bond. In the social world, marital infidelity abounds on every hand; the sacred bonds of wedlock are being broken with as little regard as the discarding of an old item of clothing.

How refreshing, and unspeakably blessed are His children — you and me — that we can lift our eyes above this worldly ruin and behold the One who is faithful in all things and faithful at all times. For God to be unfaithful would be to act contrary to His nature, which is impossible. Faithfulness is one of the glorious perfections of His being.

Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is the faithful God who for a thousand generations keeps his promises and constantly loves those who love him and who obey his commands.  Deuteronomy 7:9 (TLB)

Join me next month as we continue our journey through the Attributes of God. My prayer is that with this lesson and the next you will comprehend just how awesome and praiseworthy our All Powerful God of the Universe truly is. Next month in The Attributes of God Part 2, we’ll look at His Goodness, Patience, Grace, Mercy, and Loving kindness as well as His Wrath. We will have the entire picture of the Godhead and all that He has done for us and will continue to do for those that love Him and follow His commands.

Until next month, my friends, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.

Welcome back, my friends.  After reading last month’s partial list of God’s attributes, how can you not humble yourself and bow your knee to worship and praise the God Almighty for all that He is, all that He has done, and all that He will do?

As we continue our journey of understanding the Godhead, the God of the Universe, let’s continue to build on the attributes we’ve learned from last month’s lesson so that we can have a complete picture of who God is.

The Goodness of God:

The original Saxon meaning of our English word \”God\” is \”The Good.\” God is not only the Greatest of all beings, but the Best. All that comes from God — His decrees, His creation, His laws, His providences — cannot be anything but good.

His goodness can first be seen in the beginning of the book of Genesis. At the end of the sixth day, after He had created everything, including man, the God of the Universe declared “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” (Gen 1:31).  Thus, the “goodness” of God is seen, first, in Creation.

The word omnibenevolent comes from the Latin word omni, meaning “all,” and the word benevolent, meaning “good” or “charitable.” When we say that God is omnibenevolent, we are saying that God is absolutely good and that no action, motive, thought, feeling or anything else about Him is not purely good. He is “all-good.” The Bible provides many testimonies of God’s goodness, including Jesus’ own.  Listen to what Jesus said to the rich man asking what he must do to inherit eternal life.

As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.”     Mark 10:17-18 (NLT)

Although human beings can do good things, only God is omnibenevolent, or wholly good.

The goodness of God appeared most notably when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, to die on a cross for our sins.

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  Romans 5:8 (NLT)

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. Galatians 4:4-5 (NLT)

God has in Himself an infinite and inexhaustible treasure of “all goodness” — enough to fill all things.

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!  Luke 2:14 (GNT)

The Patience of God:

The Divine patience of God can be defined as that power of control which He exercises over Himself, enabling Him to tolerate all of the evil and wickedness in the world and withhold His righteous judgment instead of punishing those that deserve to be punished.  If we stop and think about it, the “those” that I just mentioned would be each and every one of us.   In Nahum 1:3 we read;

 The Lord is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. Nahum 1:3 (NLT)

How unbelievable is God’s patience with the world today? On every side people are sinning, His divine law is trampled underfoot and God Himself is openly despised. Our nation and the world have turned their backs on the God of the Universe by throwing their morals out the window. We tolerate same sex marriages, homosexuality, drugs, murdering, child abuse, spousal abuse, and government corruption all in the name of PRIDE and self-gratification. It is truly amazing that He, the God of the Universe, does not instantly strike dead those who so brazenly defy Him.

Why doesn’t the righteous wrath of God make an end of such abominations? Only one answer is possible. God suffers the flesh to remain in the believer and the evil it creates so that He can exhibit His “longsuffering” toward us.

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.  2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)

The Mercy of God:

God being merciful basically means that when we deserve punishment, He doesn’t punish us, but in fact blesses us instead.

 For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.  Matthew 5:45 (GNT)

It is important to note that the mercies which God bestows on the wicked are solely of a temporal nature; that is to say, they are confined strictly to this present life. Throughout the Bible, God gives many illustrations of His mercy. God fully demonstrates His mercy towards us in His Son, Jesus Christ.

God’s mercy is rooted in His love for us. He is merciful, in large part, because He is love.

Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8 (GNT)

As sinners, we deserve punishment (Romans 3:23).

 everyone has sinned and is far away from God\’s saving presence. Romans 3:23 (GNT)

God’s righteousness requires punishment for sin — He wouldn’t be holy otherwise.

Since God does love us and is merciful, He sent His Son

 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.  John 3:16 (GNT)

The fullness of His mercy is seen in Matthew 27. Jesus is brutally beaten and murdered on our behalf; Jesus received our just punishment, and we received His righteousness through God’s mercy.

Because of His love for us, God wants us to be with Him. His mercy is required for that to take place; there is an inseparable connection between God’s love and mercy.

In our effort to study the mercy of God, a threefold distinction of God’s mercy needs to be made.

1. The general mercy of God, which is extended not only to all men, believers and unbelievers alike, but also His every creation:

He is good to everyone and has compassion on all he made. Psalm 145:9 (GNT)

2. The special mercy of God, which is exercised toward men, helping and supporting them, in spite of their sins. To them also He provides all the necessities of life:

For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.  Matthew 5:45 (GNT)

3. The sovereign mercy of God, which is reserved for the heirs of salvation, which is communicated to them in a covenant way, through the Mediator, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.  1 Timothy 2:5 (NLT)

The Grace of God:

If mercy is God not punishing us as our sins deserve, then grace is God blessing us despite the fact that we do not deserve it. This attribute of God is directed to His elect only, those saved by His divine character of grace through His son Jesus Christ. Grace is the only source from which flows the goodwill, love, and salvation of God unto His chosen people.

Divine grace is the sovereign and saving favor of God exercised in the bestowing of blessings upon those who do not deserve it and for which no payment is demanded from them.

 For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God\’s gift, so that no one can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 (GNT)

The late Arthur W. Pink describes Grace this way:

“Grace is a provision for men who are so fallen that they cannot lift the axe of justice, so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures, so averse to God that they cannot turn to Him, so blind that they cannot see Him, so deaf that they cannot hear Him, and so dead that He Himself must open their graves and lift them into resurrection.”

 But by the free gift of God\’s grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.  Romans 3:24 (GNT)

The Love of God:

Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud,   never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.  It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out.  If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TLB)

This is God\’s description of love, and because God is love (1 John 4:8), this is what He is like.

There is no better way for me to describe the Love of God than to turn to His Holy Word and allow God to speak to your heart about love.

Loving One Another

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.

The Wrath of God:

Finally, we would not have a complete picture of the attributes of God if I didn’t talk about His wrath. Many professing Christians wish there were no such thing, and they’d rather not think or talk about it.

As we turn to the scriptures we will find that God has made no attempt to conceal the fact of His wrath. He is not ashamed to make it known that vengeance and fury belong unto Him.

But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, evil men who push away the truth from them. For the truth about God is known to them instinctively; God has put this knowledge in their hearts.  Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God at Judgment Day.”  Romans 1:18-20 (TLB)

Now the wrath of God is as much a Divine perfection as is His faithfulness, power, or mercy. It must be so, for there is no blemish whatever, not the slightest defect in the character of God; yet there would be if \”wrath\” were absent from Him! But there is a vast difference between the wrath of God and the wrath of man. God’s wrath is holy and always justified; man’s is never holy and rarely justified.

God’s wrath against sin and disobedience is perfectly justified because His plan for mankind is holy and perfect, just as God Himself is holy and perfect. God provided a way to gain divine favor —repentance — which turns God’s wrath away from the sinner. To reject that perfect plan (accepting Jesus as your personal savior) is to reject God’s love, mercy, grace and favor and incur His righteous wrath.

The wrath of God is a fearsome and terrifying thing. Only those who have been covered by the blood of Christ, shed for us on the cross, can be assured that God’s wrath will never fall on them.

We have been made right with God by the blood sacrifice of Christ. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God’s anger.  Romans 5:9 (ERV)

There you have it, my friends, the Attributes of God, the Godhead, the God of the Universe and the Great I Am.

I’ve brought both lessons together and written a summary of the Attributes of God that you can print out and read and reread at your leisure so that you can grasp the magnitude and majesty of God. Remind yourself daily who it is you serve and follow, and why.

 The Attributes of God

When we talk about the Godhead, the God of the Universe, the Great I Am, there is no other god but Him.  He is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things. He is the supreme ruler over everything. Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to Him.  He is the ruler of all mankind.

The majesty and splendor of the hand of God can be seen all around us.  We can see His grandeur in the bright sun, the evening moon and the twinkle of each and every star. We can feel Him in the warm sunshine, the gentle rains and the frosty cold snow. He is alive in the forests, and the deserts and the plains. His goodness and beauty can be seen in seed-bearing plants throughout the earth and all the fruit trees we use for food. Every living creature that walks, crawls, flies, slithers, or swims was created by His every Word. His power and opulence is visible in the mountains, the oceans and the rivers. And last but not least, His love and compassion can be seen in His finest creation — you and me.

Our God is in need of nothing from the universe He created, His angels or you and me. He is self-contained, self-sufficient and self-satisfied. He is eternally the same, yesterday, today and forever. He never changes.  He has no beginning and no ending; He is everlasting.  His Divine Holiness separates Him from all other beings and is what makes Him distinct from everything else.

Our God is omniscient (He is all-knowing). He knows every detail of every being in heaven, on earth and in hell.  God is spirit so He is omnipresent (He is everywhere); He surrounds us everywhere.  The God of the Universe is omnipotent (He is all powerful).  Not only does He have the will and desire to do what He wants, He also has the power and ability to accomplish what He wants. If you remember one thing, remember this:  God is all-knowing, all powerful and exists everywhere.

Before our God laid the foundations of the earth, He knew exactly what was going to happen. He already knew everything past, present and what will happen in the future. Why? Because He has either allowed it to happen or will allow it to happen. Everything that happens is part of His eternal plan. Nothing will ever surprise Him.

There is no one more faithful than God.  He is the only one who is faithful in all things and faithful at all times. He is the God who for a thousand generations keeps his promises and constantly loves those who love Him and obey His commands.

 Our God is not only the Greatest of all beings, but the Best. All that comes from God — His decrees, His creation, His laws, His providences — cannot be anything but good. God has in Himself an infinite and inexhaustible treasure of “all goodness,” enough to fill all things.

The patience of our God is profound. He exercises Divine patience over Himself, causing Him to tolerate all of the evil and wickedness in the world and withhold His righteous judgment instead of punishing those that deserve to be punished. Our God loves us so much that He is being patient for our sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

The mercies that our God shows us each and every day are what keeps us alive. The very air that we breathe comes from the mercy of God. Most important is the mercy He shows to each and every one of us who deserve nothing more than punishment for our sins. But, He doesn’t punish us, and in fact blesses us instead, because of His love for us. God wants us to be with Him. His mercy is required for that to take place; there is an inseparable connection between God’s love and mercy

The divine Grace of our God is directed to His elect only, those saved by His divine character of grace through His son, Jesus Christ. Grace is the only source from which flows the goodwill, love, and salvation of God unto His chosen people. It is the Godhead of the Universe bestowing a blessing upon those who do not deserve it and for which no payment is demanded from them.

Our God’s ^“Love is very patient and kind, He is never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. God’s Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.”  1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (TLB).   Because God is love, this is exactly what He is like.

The one thing we must never forget is that the wrath of God is a fearsome and terrifying thing. Our God’s wrath against sin and disobedience is perfectly justified because His plan for mankind is holy and perfect, just as God Himself is holy and perfect. God provided a way to gain divine favor —repentance — which turns God’s wrath away from the sinner. To reject that perfect plan (accepting Jesus as your personal savior) is to reject God’s love, mercy, grace and favor and incur His righteous wrath.

My prayer for you, my friends, is that this summary will speak to your heart and you will begin to admire and worship God, for whom He truly is— the Godhead, the God of the Universe, the Great I Am.

In closing, my friends, let’s just Praise the Lord!

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods.   Psalm 96:4 (NLT)

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live. I will praise my God to my last breath!  Psalm 104:33 (NLT)

Let all that I am praise the Lord. O Lord my God, how great you are!   You are robed with honor and majesty.  Psalm 104:1(NLT)

You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!  Psalm 118:28 (NLT)

Praise the Lord!  Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heaven!  Psalm 150:1 (NLT)

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  2 Corinthians 1:3 (NLT)

So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.  Ephesians 1:6 (NLT)

Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. Jude 24 (NLT)

Until next month, my friends, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.

Your Journey to Eternity

Welcome back my friends.  As I draw this lesson to a close “Your Journey to Eternity” which will also conclude my series entitled “The Salvation Trinity”, I want to share with you what this writing experience has done for me and can do for you.  In reality over the past three years, you have played an important part in my personal growth (sanctification) in the Lord, and I thank you.

Three years ago, I started this ministry with the help of two dear friends, Sam Huff, Julie Decker, with one goal in mind.  To teach the simplicity of the Bible.  Then another dear friend, Kim Dunlap came along side of me to become my editor and chief.  She had the daunting task of making sure what I wrote was properly written.  This was a huge challenge since I determined at an early age that I wasn’t going to be a writer so I didn’t pay attention in English class.  I could not have done this without her.  Through this whole journey, my prayer has always been that God’s people around the world would just pick up His Word and read it for themselves.

Over these past three years, the lessons I’ve written in “Who Am I Really”, “The Next Step Living Your Life through Jesus” and this final one on “Your Journey to Eternity” have truly come from God, through the Holy Spirit. He has guided me by placing on my heart the things I’ve needed to learn about (1 John 2:27 NLT) The Lord God of the Universe to continue my spiritual growth to become more like His Son, my Lord Jesus Christ, and then share them with you through my writings.  I did not start out this journey with an outline of what I was going to write about or how it would all blend together, but through prayer and the reading of God’s word month’s topic would begin to formulate in my heart and mind.

I had no idea where God was leading me each month nor did I ever expect that I would write over 100,000 words in web based lessons and Bible studies concerning God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit to be viewed and read by people such as you in over 90 countries and on every continent around the world with the simple Salvation message that Jesus saves. My constant prayer when writing was simply Lord whatever I write let it bring honor and glory to your name.

My friends If you’re still not reading your Bible, I can only tell you, you’re missing out on the most life changing book you could possibly read. Think about it.  Who’s the author?  The only true way you can learn about the Lord God of the Universe, your Father and how He wants you to live and act is by reading His Word.

I truly believe the Bible has purposely been portrayed as extremely difficult to understand by the world’s religions, and because of its age we’re told by those same religious leaders that it is not really relevant for today. I also believe, and scripture supports, that Satan and the lost world we live in are directly responsible for this deception and our lack of ability to understand the Bible.

Why am I telling you all of this?  I am simply another example of how God our Father can use anyone for His purpose if we just trust and obey Him.  You too can do the very same thing I have done, and if you say you can’t then you’re simply listening to Satan whisper words of discouragement in your ear.

I do not have a degree in theology, nor am I an ordained minister.  I have been a business executive for over 40 years; my college degree is in the hospitality field, and has lead me to work in the restaurant, convenience store, and healthcare industries.

Let me share with you again what I wrote in my lesson series on “The Next Step, Living Your Life Through Jesus”.  I talked about my journey from knowledge to belief, a journey that has taken me over 60 years and is far from over. Being a Christian for more than 40 years, I had lived too many of those years still attached to the lures of the Flesh and this World. Like many of you, the very thought of becoming a Slave of Jesus Christ never entered my mind.

However, once I finally realized that I truly could not do anything for God through my own efforts, and I was having no major impact on the lost souls of this world, I began using a common sense approach to God’s Holy Word.  Simply put, if God says it, then I believe it with all my heart, all my soul, and all my strength. I moved my understanding and belief from my head down into my heart, the same approach needed for salvation.

I finally began to understand that in order to be His ambassador to this lost world, I needed to rely on the power of my Lord Jesus working through me rather than believing in my own strength. I had to change from the inside out, not the outside in.

I had to stop trying through my own self-righteous efforts to live the way I thought God wanted me to live. I had to stop trying to convince God and everyone else that outwardly what I was doing was exactly what was expected of a Christian. I had to stop believing that I controlled the fruits of the Spirit that I would dole out wisely in just the right situations with my friends, neighbors and fellow Christians. I realized the self-centered Christian life I was leading was really a lie and of no real value to God, my Father, or my Lord, Jesus Christ.  And finally I had to remind myself who I truly was, a sinner (and always will be) who was saved by the Grace of God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Once I finally realized that a sinner like me could do nothing to impact or change this poisonous cesspool of sin we live that is controlled by Satan, I moved my belief from head knowledge to heart knowledge. I was finally ready to believe God’s Entire Word by faith and began to learn to do things His way, not mine.

After I retired I began to trust God completely to lead me through this process called Sanctification rather than doing it on my own, which up to that point on my own I was doing a miserable job (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT).  Through the power of the Holy Spirit’s leading I have studied and written about the things He has laid on my heart, and then shared them with you (1 John 2:27 NLT).  I followed God’s command in (2 Corinthians 5:17-20) that I have been given a ministry of reconciliation and am His ambassador to this lost world. This I do not take lightly.

One year ago I wrote on where I was at in my journey with my Lord. Now let me bring you up to date and share where I am at this point and how my life has changed as a result of continual prayer and study of God’s Word.

After three years, my New life with my Father is full of nothing but Joy and Peace of heart and mind (John 14:27 NLT).  My life is now focused on Worshiping and Praising the God of the Universe (Psalm 146 NLT).   I’ve learned through God’s Word that all that is going on around me in this lost World doesn’t really matter or concern me, (Colossians 3:1-2 NLT) because it is all part of God’s Holy plan.  I look at the problems and difficulties that now flow through my life with a different point of view (Romans 5:2-3 NLT), and I know that whatever He does or allows to happen will all work out perfectly in the end (Romans 8:28 NLT).

I strive to take each step through my Lord Jesus Christ who lives inside of me, and walk on this earth as His living example for all to see (Ephesians 5:2 NLT).  If any of the fruits of the Spirit are evident to those who come in contact with me, they truly happen without me even realizing it (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT).  I go to work each day with Joy in my heart understanding that whatever I’m doing and wherever I am at God has placed me there and is all part of His plan for me and I’m thankful (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT).  I stay focus on Him, I’ve realized that if I trust Him with each step I take He’ll place me where He needs me and He will give me everything I need to accomplish whatever He wants me to do (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT).

Sound unbelievable?  How can I be so naïve not seeing all the bad and inhuman things that are going on around me and in the world?  I can assure you my friend that I am truly living in the same world you are.  It’s just that my perspective and focus of what’s going on is different than yours (Philippians 1:27 NLT), (Colossians 3:2 NLT).

Let me give you an example.  I live in the United States and we will soon be electing our next President of the United States.  Neither of the two candidates we have to select from are worthy of being elected President.  But, elect one we will.  Maybe you think I should be upset and angered with my choices, but I’m not.  Instead, I’m at peace with the decision that will be made.  Why because (Romans 13:1-2 NLT) tells me that all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.  So I’ll wait and see who God elects as my next President.  If you don’t think the Lord God of the Universe has the ability to change the heart and mind of those who will vote, then my friend it is you who is being naïve.  I truly believe and trust that God will give the United States exactly it deserves, nothing more or nothing less.

Over the years I have written on many different topics concerning God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit which I pray have been useful to your understanding of the God of the Universe.  Let me take our final time together and ask you one final question.  It is the question each and every one of us will be required to answer at some point in our life.

What will you do with Jesus?

Let me make it easy for you, because you only have two choices:

1. I believe Jesus Christ is who He says He is.
2. I don’t believe Jesus Christ is who He says He is.

It’s as simple as that my friend.  This is the final message I want to leave with you.  What will you decide?  I’ve written and quoted every scripture that I believe can lead you to make the right decision about Jesus Christ.

If you believe in God and have a heart’s desire to live with Him for all eternity it is quite simple.  The Bible clearly tells us;

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NLT)

The Bible goes on to tell us.

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.  Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)

This is the first step of faith the Bible talks about — God’s gift to you, no strings attached. You can take it, accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is as simple as reading and believing this simple prayer out loud from your heart, not your mind:

Dear God, I realize I am a sinner in need of salvation.  I know that all my own good works and religious rituals can never save me. Only Jesus can save me.  I believe that Jesus, my Savior, came to earth for me and that he died on the cross for my sins.  I believe that He was buried and on the third day rose and now sits at your right hand as my advocate. I am asking Jesus to forgive my sins and to come into my life now and be my Lord and Savior now and forever more. Thank you for accepting me and giving me eternal life.”

If you prayed this prayer with your heart and believe that Jesus Christ is now your Lord and Savior except for your birth, this is the most exciting day of your life. You are now redeemed with God, your Father. You have now secured your place in eternity with Him. The Bible tells us that right now everyone in Heaven is rejoicing with you. Can you hear them?

If you prayed this prayer, and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then my job is finished.  Over these past three years all that I’ve written has been for this very moment in your life.  God has placed in my life, Sam, Julie and Kim just for this moment in your life.  God has lead me to great preachers and teachers such as Ray C. Steadman, Arthur W. Pink, and Matt Kaltenberger just for this moment in your life. God has lead me to wonderful internet resources such as BibleGateway.com, and gotQuestion.org just for this moment in your life.

God has done it all for you, my friend.  All glory and praise goes to Him for this moment.  I have only been a tool for Him to use in His great plan of salvation for you and it truly has been my honor to be used by Him for this moment.

My prayer now for you is that as you been your journey to eternity that God will richly bless you with all of the blessings promised in His Word. As He has me.

My friends, I’m going to take some time off from writing to be with my family.  But, when I return, together we will dive back into God’s Holy Word and discover all of the amazing truths He wants His children (you and me) to know about Him.

Until we get back together, may His mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.

Your Journey to Eternity