Ken The Disciple

I wasn't a searcher for truth. I read some pages of a mythology book, 'prayed' to a god that if he is there somewhere that he needs to show himself to me, and when I didn't hear anything for a minute i simply went on my way to do something else. There was something in me that thought that there 'has to be more to life than this', but that thought quickly left my mind when I didn't get any conformation at that moment.

Do you recognize the rush we put on God? We need it NOW. We can watch our films on demand, but we need to realize that we can't put God on demand. He doesn't succumb under pressure like we do and He surely doesn't need anything, so we can't bribe Him.

What is the point?

There was no perseverance in searching God because I felt no need, i simply didn't see the point.

I felt no need to search untill I realized what the gospel meant, Jesus who died on a cross for the sin of mankind. That included me. If this was true, there was a big chance that the rest was also true.

If this Jesus story was true, than I needed to respond and make changes in my life. The price of salvation is free, but the costs of following Jesus can be high. We can't say we trust Jesus and then live life as if nothing happened. There will be a change. That's why Jesus is saying: Turn from your sin. That's a 180 the other way around, away from sin and towards God.

Many of us don't want to do this. We rather spend time with searching who we are. Many people will say that we have to search within ourselves to find the answer. The bible says that we have to search outside ourselves in order to find it. What a weight are we putting on people to say they have to look inside theirselves to solve their problems. Jesus stands with open arms to receive us, but we either don't see it, or we don't want to see it.

Searching for ourselves

We are spending so much time on ourselves, to be our best selves and to find our true selves apart from God. We are searching for things that hopefully fullfill us: A husband or wive, a new job, new clothes, a new this, a new that. We're always striving for the next thing. It is as if you hold a carrot in front of a horse. He will never get to catch the carrot!

Our age is blind to God because we look too much to ourselves. We got so much stuff and so much technology that we don't want to need God anymore. And the effect of this is, that eventually, we feel empty. And we want to fill that emptiness with an endless stream of other things. We can mute God in an instant.

We dont' see that we're missing the mark when we try to do that. We need to be filled with the spirit of God, not with the spirit of this age. The spirit of the age leads to death. The spirit of God leads to life.

Jesus says that He is the bread of life (John 6:35) and whoever drinks of His water will never thirst again (John 4:13-14). All we need is in Jesus! The simple bread and water of Jesus is so much better than the fancy drinks and food of this world.

I tried it over and over again to be fulfilled with the things of the world. But the effect is the same everytime: It leaves me empty.

Turning to God

While turning to God, we're still searching, not for a way to find salvation, but a search on how to live a life that is pleasing to God.

The danger is that both the search for truth and the search on how to live a christian life is full of pitfalls. The devil doesn't show himself as a red monster with horns, but rather as something beautiful and nice that seems harmless (2 Cor 11:14). And in the same way, there are even 'christian' books that are not from God. The reasons behind them are different, but what they have in common is that God is not the author and inspirator of them.

The one who sees details quickly will have seen a book called 'christian ethics' in the video. To be clear: I'm not suggesting that this book is evil. It's merely an example that I used to make a point. All books, christian or not, can lead us away from God.

We can do the right thing with the wrong attitude. An example of this are the actions of the pharisees. They kept the law of God, but with a wrong attitude. They didn't kept the law with faith, but with works. They tried to establish their own righteousness. (Rom 10:2-3)

Guidance

To live a life that is leasing to God, we need the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God who guides us in the process of this search. The Holy Spirit is the One who reveals the will of God. The Holy Spirit is the One who changes our hearts. Every born again christian receives the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 5:5)

It is written in the bible that we have to test every spirit (1 Joh 4:1). In that same way we have to test everything we read, see and hear. How do we test this? By the Word of God (2 Tim 3:16). It is wise that you also test this message to the Word of God if you're a christian. It's not wrong to be critical of the things you look to. The Bereans (Acts 17:11) examined the Scriptures to see if it was true what the apostle Paul was saying to them.

So ask yourself this question: What then is truth?

I don't know who you are, when you're reading this or where you're reading this. Everyone is in a different stage of life. But somehow we're all searching for this thing called truth. It's something that connects us, wherever and whoever we are.

I found it in the words of the bible which the Holy Spirit brought to life for me. And in those words I found the love of God, the mercy of God, the righteousness of God and so much more.

It's a book that works like a mirror. It makes you see how dirty you are inside, that you're not the good person that you thought you were. And it makes you see that God loves you despite that dirtiness.

Final words

For my brothers and sisters in Christ: Are we searching for the truth that is in Jesus? Are we willing to surrender to Him if you know you're wrong and He is right? Are we willing to live holy before our God when everyone else is not? Are we willing to testify of Christ even if this is going to bring us in trouble? Let's be Bereans and search for Christ with everything we got.

For everyone else: Are you open to the fact that the truth could be found in Jesus? Are you giving this a fair chance? I want to encourage you to search for Him in the bible and to ask God to reveal Himself to you.

Isaiah 55:6-7

Seek the Lord while He may be found,

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

And He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

What a comfort. What a joy, is it to see a wretched man, who weeps over his sins.

And to see a holy God standing beside him. Holding him tight. Never letting him go.