Friday, October 09, 2009

The Benefits of Loving God

This is an oldie but goodie, and I thought now is a great time to re-post it. Enjoy!
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I've been having a lot of spiritual conversations lately. Who God is, what He is about, and why being a 'Christian' shouldn't mean having to following a certain doctrine or religion. And I've been having these conversations for years - why bad things happen to good people, the believability and credibility of God, the hypocrisy of Christians, why one religion is better than the other and, my favorite, how black people in America are only 'Christians' because of being brainwashed by the white majority society.

I'm noticing something strange - it's like we all still believe in God, but we are no longer certain of exactly who He is. Traditional beliefs are falling by the wayside, being replaced by humanistic, general divine-consciousnessness, and dubious 'spiritual' beliefs. Who is God, really, we ask ourselves? Could He also be Buddha? Can He be found in nature? Can we reach Him through internal dialogue? Or are we ourselves gods? We can't agree on what to call Him. Or how we should worship Him. If we need to go to a church, synaogue or mosque at all. If He is a man or a woman. Or if He is one of many gods.

Let me be clear about my beliefs: the God I believe in is the God of the Judeo-Christian Torah/Bible. The One who parted the Red Sea, brought plagues down on Pharoah, sent His son Jesus Christ and made a way for all to find their way to salvation. I am clear on who He is and who He is to me.

In light of these conversations, I very simply wanted to lay out the reasons why loving God (being in fellowship with Him, attending worship services, talking to other believers) is a good thing:

1. He Will Never Let You Down

God is a God of Truth. If He (or His Word) tells you something, it is true. If He promises to do something for you, He will. If He says something will not happen, it won't. If He says something will happen, it will. He will not forsake His children. He takes care of those who claim Him as their own. He doesn't lie, pretend or bluff. He will never let you down.

2. He Will Be There For You During Hard Times

Note - I didn't say He would prevent those hard times;I can almost guarantee you those will come. But, if you are a Believer, God will be there for you during those hard times. It might be through the intervention of a friend. Or getting eight hours of sleep when you didn't think you'd be able to sleep a wink. Or the day you wake up and realize you are healed of that old relationship, or the passing on of your beloved mother. The day you got a new job - or held on to one you desparately needed. God will be there for you during your hard times.

3. He Will Never Give Up On You (Unless you choose to completely walk away)

He has promised to love each of His children and He does - always. No matter how we behave. No matter how much we keep turning away. No matter how inconsistent or fickle you are. Yes - if you choose to live your life apart from Him, He will allow that. And the Bible does tell us that if we choose not to acknowledge Him in anwy way, He will give us over to this way of thinking. But He will never stop loving you. And hoping that you will return. God will never give up on you - only you can choose to completely walk away.

4. He Will Forgive You Your Sins

He knows what you've done. He knows where you've been. And He is still willing to engage in a dialogue with you - to work it out. To take you back into His arms. To help you get through whatever drove you to Him in the first place. He loves you. He won't give up on you. And He will accept you when and if you are willing to return to Him. God will forgive you of your sins - if you allow Him to.

5. He Has Prepared a Fabulous Place For You

Yes, I know the Karl Marx quote that says, in part, that 'Religion....is the opium of the people.' And how Christians are often maligned for thinking they are all going to go to a 'better place' after this mortal life ends. Where there will be no more tears and no more pain and no more sickness. But, just think for a moment - what if there really is a heaven? What if there really is a place better than this one? Where there will be no more tears and no more crying, no more wars and no more pain? Wouldn't you want to be there? Or are you more comfortable with the idea of lying in a cold, empty grave and going on to eternal oblivion? It's your choice - but I promise you this - God has a fabulous place prepared for all those who choose Him.

For simplicity's sake, I did not put in scripture quotes for each of the above points, but if you'd like them, let me know and I will get them to you.

What have your experiences been with loving God? What do you love most about Him?

On another note, have you ever wanted a career with more meaning? Christian Counseling Degrees available online, so you can pursue your new career in the comfort of your own home!

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22 comments:

Barbara said...

Beautifully said, Sonya! I can't understand how anyone can deny Christ!

ms mimi the mocha soulchild said...

Thank you so much for posting about this!

I totally agree. This weekend I took part in my church's evangelism training. One of the fundamental rules was if you want to be a witness for God you have to know who he is? How can we lead anyone else to God if we don't know who he is. How can we inspire others to believe and make disciples if we don't believe? I think that you hit home on many good points, but the biggest is that we have to have a personal relationship with God and grow to learn his character.

Anonymous said...

Barbara:

I don't understand, either, but people seem to do it every day. I recently spent some time with someone who said he was a 'skeptic', and I'm like, skeptical of what - the miracle of life, the Creation of the World? It's hard to believe people do not acknowledge there is a God when He is so much in evidence around us.

Ms. Mimi:

Congratulations on your evangelism training! I'm glad you are working to promote the gospel - it's an understatement to say how much that is needed in today's society. And you are right, we have to be really certain of what we believe - 'cause there are a lot of people with a lot of doctrines who would be more than happy to talk us out of ours!

Anonymous said...

Great post! I've added you to my blogroll.

-Michael McCullough
Stingray:  a blog for salty Christians

Anonymous said...

I just wrote an article about your post at my blogsite. It's called Loving God.

Keep up the good work!

-Michael McCullough
Stingray:  a blog for salty Christians

Anonymous said...

Mike:

Thanks again for adding me to your blogroll. I feel so honored and humbled that you added me. I've been reading your blog and I am truly interested in digging deeper into your archives. It's good for me to see bloggers who have been at it for a while - it encourages me to continue and gives me a roadmap to good, solid, Biblical teaching. Be seeing you soon!

Anonymous said...

can you please send me scripture
quotes to the above five points

Danilo Sergio Pallar Lemos said...

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Nikki (Sarah) said...

Hi. great post. I want so much to point others to knowing the hope that comes from HIm....Sarah

Michael Lantz;s Christian Blog said...

I think that it is a great post.I belive that God will not leave you or forsake you until he has completed the work in you.God bless

Anonymous said...

Great Stuff and we should believe on God!
spirituality advice

dallian said...

not to mention that he loved us first! awesome! God is good.
thanks for the thoughts :)

Joe said...

:) This article makes me happy! I love #3. It reminds me of Romans 8:38-39 and how nothing, literally Nothing, not even our choices, can seperate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Wow!

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mencari kebenaran said...

1 would like to ask you baby..where is the story of jesus when he was at thirteen tiil twentynine years old
in bible??

and the second is when the first time jesus was potreted?
and who was his photograper?
what kind of brand of camera was used?

the third is.. is jesus the GOD OR human being?

did jesus ever give instruction to pray on sunday?

is there in bible if jesus one hundred present human and one hundred present GOD?

is there in bible said if you believe jesus as the GOD you will be entered to the heaven

1 need your answer as fast as possible..ok

Jenny said...

There's probably no god, so stop worrying and enjoy your life.

Anonymous said...

The logic for why to believe in a God is simple and can be visuallized in a quadrant

If there is a God and you believe = eternal bliss + 4

If there is NO God and you believe
= 1 hour wasted in your week 0

If there is a God and you DO NOT believe
= eternal damnation - 4

If there is NO God and you DO NOT believe
= then you were right 0

would you rather have minus 4,0,0, or plus 4???

It is mathematically more beneficial for you to believe in God. If you follow the wisdom in the bible, you may just live a somewhat happy and fruitful life.
www.sunshinecross.com

Abhishek said...

Thanks for the info dear,

Its quite enlightening ..

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Please do visit the same and contribute and also exploit the rich collection of articles here

Anonymous said...

I am not christian , I frankly want to ask a simple question How can a religion be the truth when there are errors in its most holy book?? how can this happen ??

jwcool said...

dear anonymous. to put it bluntly, I do not accept your premise that there are "errors"in the Holy Bible. but out of curiosty, what errors are you referring to?

Nicky said...

I sure couldn't imagine life without God. He is everything!

Church FL said...

I Love God !!

He always help me when I facing some challenges in my life. Thanks God ~

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