Re-post from Facebook Notes 3 (The REAL God)

I thought I would pass this post along from my Facebook from a couple of years ago. Since this fits in with this blog I thought I would put it in a more respectable place. Enjoy and comment! just who is he?? to Christians, he's the reason for living. to others, he's the source of everyone's problems. to many, he is a mystery that some believe that no one will understand. now in this note, i will not try to define who he is...exactly...by putting him in a box or laying out rules that he follows. this will just hopefully help you understand who he is (at least, to me. i do not have the authority to do that... it is my duty, as Prof DeRouchie has explained, to make him more relavant). where do you find him that you might know him better? who do you talk to? really, who can you trust? that is the ultimate question. if you feel that you can't talk directly to him, you may feel like talking to someone that you do trust. and that's fine, it makes you feel comfortable and will probably make you more open to talking about things. for me, he talks to me not necessarily directly, but thru things. these can be people (indirectly), nature, and His Word. that's probably the main source, other than him directly. i haven't devoted myslelf to daily devotions on my own yet, but i've gotten what i've needed in the past from what i have had to read for class. and i thank God for providing me the schools where that was required. really, the teachers that have impacted me have brought me to where i am today. and NO it wasn't brainwashing or strict in any way. it was merely encouragement to study on my own, with them as guides, or in an analogy, shepherds. surely Christianity has been whitewashed to some people, to me i can call that haveing your parent's faith/religion or the equivilent. once it becomes your own, it truely becomes a faith. there are some great examples in the Bible about the nature of God. and not just who he is, but what he's done. some are strikingly tangable and physical. one that should come to mind is in Genesis where it says God walked with them in the garden of Eden. wait, read that to me again please? he actually walked with Adam and Eve?? huh? and what about when he spoke to people. did he speak to them in their hearts, or thru people speaking? well, the Holy Spirit wasn't in the hearts of the people yet, so it wasn't from within. and sometimes, it was just the person and God. so that means he actually spoke to them. and also within the tabernacle/temple. God's presence, the Bible says, was filled them in the Most Holy Place. filled. it was alive, shining, POWERFUL. he led the Hebrews/Israelites thru the desert by way of a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by nightime. and how about the most physical example, Jesus? God in the flesh. thru him he did wonderful miracles...why? wasn't it more than healing people? i think it was ultimately to show God's glory, not what could be done by miracles, but why he did them. by themselves, they are what many people call them, magic tricks. so why did he do them? not only to show the people his power, but to show his care for everyday people...not even, because the people he healed were people like widows, lepers, prostitutes...less than everyday people. this is because he came to save the sick, the lost, because sick people need a doctor, not healthy people. so who is he (once again...to me)? the ultimate analogy that He even uses in the Bible is that of a father and son. truely evident in the picture of God the Father and Christ the Son, and i am a brother to Christ and a brother to the brothers and sisters in Christ. and no, this is not the human father that is found on earth. i've always heard stories of families without a father. i've never known what that's like because God has truly blessed me with a great one. so it's easier for me to picture having a father in heaven because i have one on earth, and the one in heaven is perfect while my biological father is the same as all of us: sinful. but anyways, in this beautiful picture of father and son, he lets me grow up to be a man. in my other note "A Christian Man" i explain some traits that real men should have, and that the Father fulfills. this picture has subcatagories or (i guess subanalogies, maybe making up a word), such as a shepherd to his flock. i could make up notes on each of them, but i'll just explain this one because i like it the most. a good picture of this analogy is found in Psalms 23. as a shepherd with us as his sheep, he makes us lie down in green pastures, beside still waters. he restores our soul and guides us on the paths of righteousness. his rod and staff comfort us (?). goodness and lovingkindness follows us all the days of our lives. aaaahhhhh. paradise, no? what a picture. only one problem, one that i've exposed: the rod and staff comfort part. whaaat? what does that mean? i'm sure i'll get to this in higher detail some other time because i'm starting to get off topic. so just to summarize, they comfort us because it's like he puts limits on our paradise. his rod/staff holds us back from danger, like how a real shepherd would get a grip on the necks of the sheep if they wandered off. my God is my Father, my Shepherd, and my God. as my dad, he guides me in righteousness and keeps me on a good path. he looks out for me, wants to know where i am, wants him to say that i love him. he protects me from danger and keeps me safe from harm. as my personal shepherd, he lets me bask in blessings that i don't deserve as a stupid, wandering sheep. i get to eat green grass, drink cool, still water, but i've got bruises from his staff on my neck from when he tried to stop me from entering myself into danger. sometimes i fought back and lost sight of him by running away. like all who have gone astray, he waits. he waits. he doesn't wait patiently, i think. if you lost something precious, you wouldn't say "gee i wonder where i put that thing. hopefully it will turn up." no! you say "where did i put that? i want it with me now! i'm going to look for it." he looks desperately for his lost sheep. he calls to them, even if he has to do it miracurously. anything to get back what he has lost. who is your god/God? do you picture him as an old man on a throne, whooshing bolts of lightning for those nitcompoops who keep skrewing up; a cloud that brings constant storms in your life, bringing more rain for you to complain about; a judge, perhaps with a double edge sword, ready to smack you down the next time you sin? these are examples of the wrong fear of God. (haha, there's another note.) my God sits on the throne of heaven, bringing order to the world in the universe, holding the stars in place...but personal enough to notice that one other creation is praying to him. one little thing. because all that he has made besides me (well all other humans...) doesn't matter to him, ultimately. if a sparrow falls, he knows about it...but how much more does he care about you when you fall? isn't he big enough the LORD of your life, but also small enough to be as personal as a husband?