What direction is your life heading in, right now?
Someone to pay attention to
The path that God calls us on doesn’t begin with an opinion, or a belief. It begins by us hearing or sensing a call. That’s what Jesus does. He calls to people. He invited people to come and follow him. Jesus calls to us to get us moving. Out from where we are. Towards where He is. He started out this way with his first followers, or ‘disciples’.
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him (Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1, verses 16-20).
Ask a Christian - someone who’s heard and responded to the invitation to follow Jesus.
How did it start for them?
Something to turn away from
So don’t try and persuade yourself that God exists, or that He’s like this or that. Start out by paying attention to Jesus. This is what Christians mean by ‘repentance’. It means turning towards Jesus and paying attention to what we see and hear there. Because if we turn towards Him, then we’re turning away from other things that absorbed our attention before.
"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1, verse 15).
Ask a Christian – what did they have to turn away from
Something to turn away from
So don’t try and persuade yourself that God exists, or that He’s like this or that. Start out by paying attention to Jesus. This is what Christians mean by ‘repentance’. It means turning towards Jesus and paying attention to what we see and hear there. Because if we turn towards Him, then we’re turning away from other things that absorbed our attention before.
"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1, verse 15).
Ask a Christian – what did they have to turn away from
so that they could turn towards Jesus?
Why Jesus?
Jesus makes it clear, from the teachings he gave. There’s no working out what God’s really like, or what God wants us to be like, unless we start by looking at Jesus. We don’t start with the idea of God. Or the need to believe there is a God. We start with Jesus.
Read the Gospel of John, Chapter 14, verses 1-14.
Jesus makes it clear, from the teachings he gave. There’s no working out what God’s really like, or what God wants us to be like, unless we start by looking at Jesus. We don’t start with the idea of God. Or the need to believe there is a God. We start with Jesus.
Read the Gospel of John, Chapter 14, verses 1-14.
From what we see in this passage, where does Jesus expect us to find God?
So, what’s God really like?
Moses, a leader of the Hebrews, asked God to show what He is like to Moses. Moses wanted to see God’s ‘glory’. God’s answered Moses,
And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen." (The Book of Exodus, Chapter 33, verses 19-23)
And this is how God described Himself, when He came close to Moses. In fact, it’s the one place in the Bible, before Jesus came, that God says what He’s like:
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped (The Book of Exodus, Chapter 34, verses 6-8).
So, what’s God really like?
Moses, a leader of the Hebrews, asked God to show what He is like to Moses. Moses wanted to see God’s ‘glory’. God’s answered Moses,
And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen." (The Book of Exodus, Chapter 33, verses 19-23)
And this is how God described Himself, when He came close to Moses. In fact, it’s the one place in the Bible, before Jesus came, that God says what He’s like:
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation." Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped (The Book of Exodus, Chapter 34, verses 6-8).
Is this what you expected?
What ideas about God did you have, before reading this?
How does this way of thinking about God affect you?
Back to Jesus
The Bible teaches us that Jesus is the person from whom we learn everything there is to know about God. He’s the key to understanding everything written in the Bible. And Jesus is the key to understanding the meaning and purpose of our own lives.
Read the Letter to the Colossians, Chapter 1, verses 15-20.
What does the writer think about Jesus?
There are lots of religious teachers in the history of the world. But there is none who makes the claims Jesus made about Himself, or who are described by their followers in this way.
This is why we want to tell you about Jesus and invite you on this journey.
There are lots of religious teachers in the history of the world. But there is none who makes the claims Jesus made about Himself, or who are described by their followers in this way.
This is why we want to tell you about Jesus and invite you on this journey.
