I Never Have A Real God...

"I never have a real God until I come face to face with him in Jesus Christ." (Utmost For His Highest, Chambers, Nov. 17)

Just sit and think about this. Is this not truth? Without Jesus Christ we have no example of God in our lives. Without Jesus Christ we have only our own perception of God. Only our minds eye of Him and nothing else.

Scripture reveals to us who God is, what He likes and dislikes, what He wants us to be and what we are. The Bible is the progressive revelation of God to man. From the beginning of time through the future end times God is revealing himself to us. We only get a picture of Him through His word.

I grew up as a Catholic, well at least until my first communion. From that point on I think our attendance at Church declined until maybe Seventh grade or so when it pretty much stopped. I know that here and there I would go to Mass and feel good but on a day to day basis God didn't matter much.

As I went through my really intelligent years, called "Teenage", I had God all figured out. My best line was that God didn't care how you believed in Him as long as you believed in Him. That He primarily wanted people to be good and treat others well and that was enough to get you into heaven. Heck by my own standards I was on my way to being an Angel. Isn't that the case for most of us? We come up with our own standard for what good is and general the bench mark is just below the level where we stand.

So my life went on like this, creating my standard of goodness and applying my philosphies to who God was. With this, and through all of my young experience as a Catholic do you think that I ever once opened the Bible to read more than a few lines? Probably like most people, the answer is no. How many times have you read the Bible? Anyway, so withouit, any information on who God was, I made Him what I wanted Him to be. He fit perfectly into my life style.

For those of you who did not know me into my adult life a brief Testimony. I started off as an avergae guy. People liked me. I had a few good friends. Lots of other friends. I could be pretty helpful to those that asked for a hand. A good sense of loyalty to those that were close to me. All the good things a guy should be. Catherine and I got married and we were pretty happy as we moved along in our lives. When I got angery howevr look out! Violent tempor. I could get to the point where I really didn't care about anything or anyone else. Pornography and alcohol, all the things that the average guy would go through, right? Eventually I became and angery functioning alcoholic that and very destructive to the things around me.

As far as God was concerned I allowed Catherine to raise the kids as she saw fit. I would not discuss with them any of my views until they were older. This was well and good but for Catherine, every opportunity to diswade her from her faith I would try. The etrnal protagonist you might say. Still sound like a good man? Of course as it was my standard of goodness.

So as my life spiraled out of control and my drinking got worse my anger got worse. Still on the outside most people would have said that I was still a good man. That I fit the steriotypical guy, not to bad, certainly not a murderer or anything. In my mind for the most part I was alright.

Four years ago December 15th, just how good I was finally came spilling out. Eventually it will catch up to all of us good guys somehow. The last drinks I ever had were that evening and that evening was the start the rest of my life. On February 4th of that year, while sitting in my car at my therepists office, waiting for him to arrive, I met the Lord Jesus Christ. All of the events to that point led up to this. The people that spoke into my life, the circumstance of each day all brought me to acceptance Jesus Christ sitting alone in my car.

On that day, all of my ideas of who God was, what God was and what He wanted for me changed. I no longer thought that what I was doing and who I was was good. I certainly found out that it wasn't good enough for God. On that day I began to see God in the face of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ I have found what God is, what He wants us to be, who He wants me to be. In Jesus Christ I have found all of the areas of where I was totally mistaken about God. In Jesus Christ I found how to have the life that I am supposed to have.

God reveals Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. He sent Jesus to us 2000 yesra ago so that we would have the perfect example of all the things that He gave to us in His Word before then. So that all of the history that is written, that God ochestrated so that we knew Him could be seen alive and walking with us. We didn't understand Him any oter way. We went often to our own understanding of Him and therefore He made it easier for us. He is our perfect example in a perfect way.

Until I saw the face of Jesus I never had a real God, I only had the one that fit.

Stop making God what you want Him to be. Stop fooloing yourself or others into thinking that God is something that He is not, that you are something that you are not. I will gaurentee that not everone has a bad life, or is a bad person full of sin, but I will also gaurentee you that every person that does not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior does not know God.

Lord, come face to face with all tha read this today. Let them see, if only for a brief second what they are now and what they can be if they know you. Bring them to know God through you Lord. Give them the freedom from their "goodness" and bring them into your Greatness. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.