God Wants You to Know The Real Him
How to Know What God is Really Like
Are All Religions Basically the Same?
There are a zillion different opinions on who God is, what He is like, and how He designed us to live. Some have similarities: i.e. many religions believe there is one God. Many religions and philosophies emphasize being kind and loving your neighbor. But if you go much past that, to the beliefs that undergird and drive those ideas, religions and philosophies eventually go in irreconcilable directions.
Islam teaches that the Koran is God’s inspired word and that Christians and Jews have distorted the messages of the prophets. Christians believe that the entire canon of Scripture is God-breathed and that the Koran is not God’s word.
For Buddhists, it does not matter if there is a God or not. It is about taking steps towards enlightenment and eventual oneness with the Universe. Jews believe Jesus was at best a good teacher and at worst, a false prophet. Muslims believe Jesus was a great prophet, but certainly not the Son of God and Savior of the World. Most others believe Jesus was a great man and enlightened teacher, but not God.
How Do You Know?
So how do you know which path is right? Picking and choosing doesn’t work. How do you know that you are choosing the parts of your new belief system that are actually true? We all know people who have sincerely followed ideas that were not true; to great harm.
People that create their own “way,” “religion,” or “creed” are assuming that they have enough information, experience, and good judgment to decide what God is really like and how He created us to live. However, even the most brilliant scientists are now discovering that we can see just five percent of the universe.
That means we are making judgements about reality based on the tiniest overviews of our physical universe. There is simply so much we do not and cannot know. So with all those voices shouting “follow me,” “my way is the right way” or “the truth is in you, choose your own path” there is a lot of confusion about what the truth is.
In reality it is impossible for us to figure out what God is really like on our own: we cannot know God unless He reveals Himself to us. The good news: He has!
How God Has Revealed Himself
He has revealed Himself in nature: those are the signs that all people see.
He became a person: in Jesus we see God in human form.
He reveals Himself in His words so we can know the truth about Jesus, life, and the Creator.
Jesus said if we remain in His words, then we would be His devoted followers (disciples). As we interact with God through His written words we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. (John 8:31–32 paraphrase).
Receiving the Bible as true and interacting with God in those words is the most important step you can take in knowing and experiencing God, from planet earth, right now.
How I Personally Practice This
99% of the time I have some interaction with God through the Bible. Especially on the days when I am feeling down, confused, or wondering if God even exists (yes, even experienced Christians have those days), I go to Scripture because those words are “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16) and something concrete I can start with.
I emphasize the New Testament more but I also regularly read and interact with God through the Old Testament as well (because both the Old and New Testament are God’s word); but through New Testament eyes.
By that I mean, seeing Jesus life, death, and resurrection as the key to understanding all of Scripture and experiencing God as He really is.
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