I was listening to two young men argue loudly the other day
at a public place. One of them declared that the God of the Bible is a foreign
God and should not be worshiped by Africans. According to Him, Africans have
surpassed the westerners in worshiping this God, yet their lands and
conditions are still impoverished. The other argued that the lands and the
conditions of the people are impoverished because they are not following the
principles of the said God as they should. Sadly, this deceitful argument that
the God of the Bible is not real is gaining ground and producing more
unbelieving believers by the day. Those that believe such errors forget that God’s Word
is not there to conform to them, but they were created to conform to God’s Word:
“For we are His creation – created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should
walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
So many have rewritten God’s word to suit
their present beliefs, by arguing that the present realities are in conflict
with what is written in the Bible. No matter what our doubts are, they do not
negate the truth of God’s Word, rather these doubts create barriers between man
and God. Those that operate in this manner go through the motions of serving
God without any result; they blame everyone but themselves for this.
This
reminds me of an almost similar situation in Israel under king Ahab when the
people were wavering between if Yahweh (the Creator of the Heavens and the
earth) was the true God or Baal was (1Kings 18). A contest was organized by
Prophet Elijah (the Prophet of Yahweh), between him and the four hundred Baal
priests. Elijah challenged them to build an altar and put a bull on it without
fire, he will do same: “Then you call on
the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh. The God who
answers with fire, He is God. All the people answered, that sounds good”
(1Kings 18:24). At the end of the contest, Yahweh, the Creator of the Heavens
and earth, the God of the Bible, answered by fire when He was called upon. Praise
God! Beloved, He is still on the Throne. Maybe you developed the mindset that
God is not God anymore because you were dealt a bad hand by the ministers of
God or you had a desire that was not met by the God of the Bible. I encourage
you not to throw away your confidence in Him, He forever remains God and He has
promised that He will not forget you. But there is a position you are required
to be: “But as for me, I will look to the
Lord; I will wait for the God of my
salvation. My God will hear me” (Micah 7:7). Don’t get deceived that only a
certain class of people gets their prayers answered by God. Beloved, it is not
about the position we hold or how many vigils we may hold or even how long we
can pray, rather it is how prepared our hearts is for Him. He said
categorically: “Everyone the Father gives
Me will come to Me, and the one who
comes to Me, I will never cast out” (John 6:37). If you build the altar
and put a sacrifice (you) on it, He will come: “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual
worship” (Romans 1:1). This means God did not just show up because Elijah is
a prophet or that he called on Him. Rather, God answered because Elijah
repaired the altar and placed a sacrifice on it! If you build Him an altar He
will come. Like Elijah, if you repair your heart and prepare it for Him, He
will come in and dwell with you. This is His proven promise: “He (you) shall
call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will
deliver him and honor him” (Psalm 91:15). God bless you!
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