Bulletin 5: GOD MOST HIGH

Today we discuss God, the great mystery whom we worship as love, forgiveness and justice, the almighty creator. The Bible is largely the doings of God, our King, and first let us identify Him.

Amos 4:13 says: He who formed the mountains, who created the wind, and who reveals His thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the height of the earth -the Lord God Almighty is his name.

Let us not forget that our Doctrine includes three persons in one, a vast subject even if we consider one aspect. Our relationship is all important.

So there are a few practical steps for relating to God that begin with God's calling, living prayerfully with regular study of the Bible, contemplation and prayer.

In 2 Peter 1:3-8 NIV it is said; 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.4 Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of the world from evil desires. 5 For this reason make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you have these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God's communication is for universal understanding, for different cultures so people may receive the Holy Spirit and comprehend Biblical messages that can lead to a commitment to Him.

We begin by being drawn to God, sometimes after severe suffering, that is when we are very receptive to help. Be aware of the great power of conversions such as that of the Apostle Paul who worked for the gentiles.

For approaching God, two lines of thought have existed in Christendom, firstly the 'holiness' or 'righteous' crowd. They hold up a standard, preaching a message of moral purity for which it is said there are mixed results, some morality and lots of sin and guilt. The other major camp is the 'grace' one that is well known. The message is that we cannot hope to satisfy God, but we are forgiven our sins through Jesus's death on the cross, a dominant theme in mainstream Christianity.

Does God only speak to us through the Bible, and only just that? Actually additional advice is: Be still and know that I am God , from the Psalms Here is a vital clue for us about responding to the Holy Spirit, so we are talking about relationship to God. Has it changed from ancient times? No, as God is consistent with His Children even today. Sometimes we fail to realize it because of earthly distractions and not slowing down to listen. There is so much worldly business, much noise and chatter going on in this testy age, such as the mobile phone that we need a break from. Sometimes a quiet and secluded place may be better, such as a corner of your garden, away from most distractions, not only a church is suitable though preferred.

The West has largely got away from the sacred, yet God wants to share his Holiness with us, avoiding battles with the demons. Much of the common entertainment is about the profane, the 'hear and now'; that is often very overwhelming and should be persistently filtered out of our lives. What other factors exist?

As we know, energy does not just disappear, it works with other forces to affect us. The Collective consciousness of humanity is enormous energy that includes all the beneficial and the harmful thoughts and actions on earth, contributing to today's crisis, even though we may lose track of it. We reap the results of past materialistic attitudes, including over-population, fires, droughts, famines, floods, climate change, pandemics and wars, all being undesirable workings of nature with humans. Yes God still works through nature just as in ancient times and wants our praise, loyalty and devotion. And we know that God is patient with his children and redeems those who will try.

Our relationship is secured through Jesus Christ our Saviour and we can grow in developing that relationship if we want to. Are you hot, lukewarm or cold?

Have you suffered from not having your prayer answered? It is discouraging, not that God is disinterested, but as Lord, He has His own agenda, that is about us and our relationship to Him. Sometimes we take the wrong path, following the satanic powers that we are drawn to and not recognising the temptations of the beast. Does God speak to us all of the time? Yes, but we are not always hearing Him. So what are we likely to perceive?. It's often limited to just a word or two, an impression or intuition, a dream in His language that is puzzling, so contemplation is required.

Do we need to strive for worldly riches? 1 Timothy 6:6-7 says:, Serving God does not make us very rich if we are satisfied with what we have. We brought nothing into the world, so we can take nothing out.

So we hope fervently to make the best effort for a productive relationship with God and I now conclude this discussion on the practical suggestions.

Amen

Blessings to all,

SRD