To Search For God.

Often our imagination leads us astray and the god we think exists and the god we try to serve is not God Himself. To many Christians with good intentions and honest piety become frustrated and burn themselves out trying to serve a god they think exists but doesn't. Much of the pain that we suffer does not come because we don't want God but because we aren't willing to do what it takes to find him. The study of God, the God who is there is one which is a MUST for any Christian. If a Christian is a Christ follower then we had better know who Christ is so we don't go following what we think is Christ or what we wish Christ was like and by Christ I mean God all of Him, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In an attempt to understand who God actually is, the real God and not what we would like god to be , some associates and I compiled a list of some of God's attributes. We divided the bible amongst ourselves and took note of what God was like in each of our sections. Following is a short short summary of some of the things that God does/is and what those truths mean for us.

God
is holiness itself. Isaiah 6:3
Judges the wicked. Numerous examples throughout history and Pslams 1:4-5
Hates hypocrisy, sin, falsehood, bloodshed, deceit. Psalms 5:4-6
Loves, righteousness, the world, his followers. Numerous examples throughout history. John 3:16 Psalms 11:7
Owns, the earth and everything in it. Psalms 24:1
Knows and will reveal all. I Corinthians 2:7
Seeks to reconcile us to Himself. II Corinthians 5:19
Cares How we live. Matthew 5:10-48
Works in us. Phillipians 2:13
Promises Salvation to those who live well. Psalms 50:23
Is jealous for us. 1 Corinthians 10:22 Psalm 78:58

Christians are supposed to be reflections of Christ on earth. We should hate what He hates, love what He loves, seek what He seeks, do what He does; in short be of one mind with God almighty.
The list above does not do justice to the character of God. I do not think any list or book or manuscript can. What is important to know though is that God is not unknowable he is just indescribable. God wants us to know Him but he doesn't want us to put Him in a box and come up with a checklist of how to get to know God. We must simply seek Him with humility and the assumption that we are nothing, that we deserve nothing. If we come to Christ's table as beggars He will seat us like kings. If we come expecting to be kings we will be rejected and cast out, which is worse then never going.

So as much as I wish I could have "three short steps to God" or a concise list of God's characteristics the fact remains that no such list exists. Those who have tried to compile one have made God look worse then He is by omitting things. I honestly think that the best way to find God is to go on a search with the assumption that "I am nothing coming before God almighty" then experiment. Use the bible and pray but beyond that their aren't many rules. For some people this will mean sitting in the woods all night for others it will mean fasting three times a week. Some will read the bible in a week. Their is no set method to finding God the only thing that you can be sure of is that it will be painful and worthwhile. More worthwhile then painful but difficult all the same. The rewards of pursuing God with no strings attached are eternal and affect all areas of our lives. The only thing we need to pursue God is reverence. We will understand His love, His peace, His passion faster if we approach it with reverence.

I should stop I'll end with Psalms 103. Verses 11,13,17
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—

Notice the fear that is necessary in all three verses. If we do not fear we will not know that God loves us or that he has compassion on is.