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Ten Great Reasons for Loving God
by Dr. Henderson Ward Decent people everywhere, if they are motivated, will instinctively do some amazing things but most times they need good and proper reasons to act. It is a constant of human nature that given a good enough reason things of an extraordinary nature can be accomplished; the first marathon runner (Phidippides) who ran 24.2 miles from the battle of Marathon to Athens with the news that Greece had beaten the Persians, and then dropped dead from exhaustion; the Prophet Elijah who travelled miraculously for 40 days on the strength of one meal (1 Kings 19:8) unto Horeb the mount of God; the construction worker, Subway hero Wesley Autrey who, in January 2007, jumped on live tracks in front of an oncoming New York train to save a sick man and afterwards said, "I don't feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help; I did what I felt was right"; the most excellent Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who refused to be intimidated and went on the long march from Selma to Montgomery and was met with vicious attacks by state and local police with clubs and tear gas. All these had the good and proper reasons to act the way they did. Whatever your reasons for acting in a particular way, it is certain that some will not be in sympathy for you, but that is alright for each individual has a responsibility to his own conscience and ultimately to God. You should not be bothered when your noble and lofty reasons for acting in a selfless and caring way draw the ire of a degenerate world for they derided even Jesus, "... who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2) There are many excellent reasons for loving God and in truth each of us would have different reasons and would list them in a different order but here are what I think are outstanding reasons for anyone to love God. I so wish that reasonable people would examine this list and see if God, by his very nature and conduct, does not commend himself to them. Here are ten great reasons for loving God 1. JESUS CHRIST If God did but one thing to demonstrate he is worthy of being worthy of our love it is by giving us Jesus Christ. If the only interaction between God and Man was Jesus Christ then God would have been overwhelmingly gracious, exceedingly generous and thoughtful to humanity. The truth is that until the incarnation of Jesus Christ, yea until Jesus began his earthly ministry, people's idea of God was a heady mixture of Greek mythology, Jewish fetid traditions and an accumulation of primitive superstitions. No one had ever seen God face to face but Jesus (John 1:18) so Jesus was able to explain things in a way vastly superior to that of scholars (John 7:45-46) and he taught with supreme authority (Matthew 7:29) and clarified a lot of misunderstood, complicated doctrines. It was Jesus who explained and introduced the mystery of the church, giving it its first reference (Matthew 16:18); who laid out the iconic chronology of end times (Matthew 24:1-42); who threw light on knotty issues that had mesmerized scholars for centuries, like the location of the dead (Luke 23:43), the angel of death (Revelation 1:18), the subservience of demons (Luke 8:29), who will judge the world (Matthew 25:31-46), and details of the resurrection. Truth be told we would have known little about God beyond the prevailing myths and mindless superstition that had taken hold of people and captivated their minds over the centuries. Above all Jesus Christ showed us that the twisted, accursed thinking that God was cruel and unjust, bias even as per the Jews of the Old Testament, was far removed from the truth and instead showed us a God of majestic grace, long-lasting mercy and matchless love and profound compassion for all humanity. 2. GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION It would be reckless and thoughtless to put people you love in situations that are fraught with danger and do not give them the means of escape and survival. God is neither reckless nor thoughtless and, as we have come to expect, He has made marvellous provision for every human that has ever lived to be saved. God's plan of salvation is explained in scriptures like here (Acts 2:21) and here (Romans 5:9-11) and here (John 3:16-17) and it is predicated on the following principles: You are a sinner; you need to acknowledge that. (Romans 3:23) As a sinner your wages for sinning are humiliation and death. (Romans 6:23) Jesus bore our sins on the cross so that we may not die. (Romans 5:8) If you accept Jesus and confess him with your mouth he will save you. (Romans 10:9) Receive Jesus in sincere prayer and the work is done. (John 1:12, Acts 16:31) 3. GOD'S SIDING WITH VICTIMS AND THE SMALL PERSON In the world at large, Governments and corporations and Authorities act mainly in the interest of a segment of society, and they are good at lying to conceal this fact. The rich and powerful always set the agenda, reap the benefits and use these entities to do their amoral bidding. The rich and powerful, by the ruthless use of the vast resources they command, are able to intimidate, control or destroy people and systems that get in their way and can do so usually with impunity. However it is God who cries out for justice for the poor as here (Micah 6:8) and here (Micah 5:24) and has a rich history of opposing such people as here (2 Samuel 12:1-10) and here (Psalm 34:16) and here (Micah 2:1-2) 4. GOD'S BLESSED CREDIBILITY Some things have to be earned, like respect and admiration but God's blessed credibility is both earned and irreducibly inherent. The very nature of God is such that he cannot be untrue to himself and has shown over the millennia that he can be trusted absolutely. No one has God's credibility for whatever God says he will do he does and no one in the history of creation has found that to be otherwise. God's blessed, awesome credibility is unassailable because he and he alone is Omnipresent, Omniscience and Omnipotent. Therefore believers live and die by God's word as revealed in the Holy Bible. "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him." (Proverbs 30:5) 5. GOD'S STEADY WORK ON YOUR BEHALF God may be unseen with the natural eye but he is always working, as if he is under detailed scrutiny, on our behalf. There are those who think that God created the world and left it to its fate, but this erroneous belief, known as Deism, is rebuffed by the clear teachings of scripture as here(Psalm 107:8) and here (Matthew 28:20) and here (Psalm 34:15) 6. GOD'S CONSTANT ACCESSIBILITY If you do not really understand how very important this is just try to get an appointment with some important people. Even minor celebrities are hard to contact. At times even your own CEO or immediate boss is too wrapped up in company business to see you quickly. The truth is that some people deliberately make themselves unavailable to show how important they are. With God it is so blessedly different since we can approach him anytime and he is always accessible; how delightful. The Bible puts it nicely: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) 7. GOD PUTS YOUR INTEREST FIRST God, unlike man, does not engage in hypocrisy and subterfuge. Whenever you approach God you can be certain that he always have your interest at heart and never elevates the interest of others above yours. With God there is never a zero sum, when in order for you to gain someone must lose or if you get a bit more someone must get a bit less. This is man's philosophy not God's. It is God's will to bring every soul to salvation (2 Peter 3:9) and he will not permit anyone to put an irresistible block in your way (Jeremiah 32:27) and he cautions those who are reckless enough to cause you to stumble (Luke 17:2) 8. YOU ARE NEVER ALONE They say that being alone is not the same as being lonely but with God overseeing his creation you are neither alone nor lonely and isolated for God has you as the apple of his eye. It is so very easy to think that you are alone, left stranded to battle the ravenous wolves and the vicious twists and turns of outrageous misfortune that beset you, but rest assured God is with you and if you call on him will deliver you unscathed. David put it powerfully, "This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles." (Psalm 34:6) 9. GOD NEVER LOST A BATTLE Incredible as it may seem, it is nevertheless true that God has never lost a battle, never once been overpowered and defeated and, assuredly, never shall. Nations and leaders boast of their strength and their prowess and what mighty forces and technology they have at their disposal and sometimes this feeds into arrogance and domineering dictatorship. Less we forget there is not a nation on earth that has fought wars and not lose a battle. God is in a class of his own and none can even think of defeating him. The supernatural Satan tried that and look at what happened to him. In everything that has happened, on earth as well as in heaven, God has given his consent (not necessarily his approval) for it to occur. There is nothing that can be done in secret and therefore unknown to God and if God does not want something to happen then it cannot happen. God's permissive and expressive wills are too complex for us to comprehend fully but we should note that God has never been on the losing side. When you ally yourself with God and love and cherish the relationship then you will experience a deeper joy than you thought possible and it would be due to what David acknowledged, "The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge" (Psalm 46:7) 10. GOD GIVES YOU YOUR DUES In a world teeming with conmen, cheaters, thieves and fraudsters it is surely refreshing that above them all stands one who will ensure you get your dues. With God you do not have to keep account and wonder if He is aware of such and such a thing, or if He is going to misunderstand your motive or will ignore your selfless, private act. God acts with absolute impartiality now and will do the same in the world to come. He will reward you exactly as you deserve; no favouritism: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." (Matthew 16:27 "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (Revelation 22:12) In equal measure those guilty of wickedness will get their just deserts: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." (Revelation 20:12) "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7) These are but some of the reasons we should all love God because if we are decent, serious people we should at least be able to differentiate between good and bad; and God is totally, refreshingly good. The Bible says this: " For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." (Psalm 100:5) Think about these reasons carefully and see if they are not solid, justifiable reasons why you should give God the nod. Enough said. Books by this author (non-fiction except indicated otherwise) E-books Published by Amazon.com If you do not have a Kindle then when you access the site, click on How Buying Works and you will see the FREE apps for Computer, Cell phone, etc Then click as appropriate. (Please click on the appropriate book link or cut and paste in your URL) THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD KNOW (e-book) Volume 1 Five tough facts to be faced http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YX5NSI STAND UP TO THE DEVIL (e-book) Volume 1 You must first identify him http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BQVLSS BASTARD: A STORY OF REDEMPTION(e-book fiction) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006OF3SD6 ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT ON GOD'S CLOCK (Hard copy) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002X78D16 ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT ON GOD'S CLOCK (e-book) http://tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60799-630-9 Dr. Henderson Ward received his Doctor of Divinity in theology, with distinction, from Masters International School of Divinity, USA, where he is currently a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Ward's career involved pastoring, evangelism, and teaching. Copyright 2017 Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |