God

The most important question that a person could ask is this: Is there
a God? Would you agree that the answer to that question could
significantly affect your life—the choices you make, the values you
choose, the way you spend your time and money, etc.? If it could be
determined that there is a God, the next important question that
could be asked is this: What kind of God? Friendly or hostile? All
powerful or subject to natures laws as we are? Aloof from us and our
daily lives, or involved? And if it could be determined that He is
interested in us, cares about us and involved in our lives, the next
question would be: What destiny does He have in mind for us? That
we live out or lives on earth and then die forever? Or does He have
something more in mind, some greater possibilities?

One who thinks there is no God is a fool, missing the key to life and
its meaning.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart, "There
is no God." They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none
who does good. – Psalm 14:1

Nothing can come from nothing. Something in this universe never

had a beginning. The Bible says, that something or Someone was
God.
Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth
and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. – Psalm
90:2

How Can We Know That God Exists?

The existence of the universe itself is evidence.

"To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?" says the Holy
One. Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who
brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness
of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing....Have you not
known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the
ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is
unsearchable. – Isaiah 40:25-26,28

Everyone will have sufficient evidence from nature itself that God
exists.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because
what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and
Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God,
they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their
thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. – Romans 1:18-21

We have a personal confirmation in our own lives that God is real and
involved in our lives. That is each person’s personal “witness.” How
has God intervened in your life to affirm to you that He is real and
cares about you?

"You are My witnesses," says the Lord, "And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me
there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord,
And besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have
proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My
witnesses," Says the Lord, "that I am God. – Isaiah 43:10-12

When God prophesies the future, He does so unerringly.

But . . .Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no
other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the
beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My
counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,' – Isaiah 46:9-10

Some prophecies God gave hoping they would not be fulfilled – e.g.,
Jonah. And some He couldn’t fulfill because His people didn’t follow
Him faithfully—Israel’s unfaithfulness resulted in God calling the
Gentiles to be His missionary people.

The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck

up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken
turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.
And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to
build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My
voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
– Jeremiah 18:7-10

What is God Like?

A general description of God and His interest in us given to

philosophers who didn’t believe in Him.

God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and
earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with
men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath,
and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell
on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and
the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the
hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from
each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some
of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' – Acts 17:24-28
Even better news that God exists is the discovery that God is love.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. – 1 John 4:8

God always treats His children as He would want to be treated if He

were in their place. This is the ultimate revelation of the nature of
God.
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a
stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore,
whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and
the Prophets. – Matthew 7:9-12

God is a compassionate Parent toward His children.

A Psalm of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His
holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who
forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life
from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like
the eagle's. The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are
oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of
Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in
mercy. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to
our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His
mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far
has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, So
the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers
that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field,
so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place
remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to
everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's
children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His
commandments to do them. – Psalm 103:1-18

God is merciful and forgiving. He will also hold us accountable and

often allows the natural consequences of sin to run their course (cf.
Exodus 20:5 where God is said to punish children for the sins of their
parents to the third and fourth generations).
Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and
proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and
proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and
abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third
and the fourth generation." – Exodus 34:5-7

But . . .
A man born blind, not because of his or his parents’ sin.

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His
disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that
he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned,
but that the works of God should be revealed in him. – John 9:1-3

People will suffer ultimately for their own sins, not that of their
parents (cf. the whole of Ezekiel 18; Deuteronomy 24:16).

The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, "What do you mean when you
use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten
sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge'? As I live," says the Lord
God, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. "Behold, all souls are Mine;
The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins
shall die. – Ezekiel 18:1-4

God dwells with the contrite (repentant and humble), to heal them,
but can do nothing for the wicked and rebellious who refuse to give
him that chance.

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is
Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and
humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the
contrite ones.....For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity,
whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a
contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the
heart of the contrite ones. "There is no peace," Says my God, "for the wicked."
– Isaiah 57:15,20-21

God wanted us before we were even born, and has an eternal destiny
planned for us.
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will
praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I
was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all
were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of
them. – Psalm 139:13-16

God gave His greatest gift, His only-begotten Son, so that we might
live eternally.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. – John 3:16

God’s gift of His Son assures us that He will do absolutely everything

He can to save us eternally.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against
us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how
shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? – Romans 8:31-32

God calls us into a relationship with Him so He can save us.

"Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there
is no other. – Isaiah 45:22

God doesn’t simply call us, He draws us to Himself with His love. If
we don’t resist His drawing, we will come to Him in repentance and
faith.

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an
everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. – Jeremiah
31:3

We must seek God in sincerity with all our hearts and a desire to live
for His glory, which He empowers us to do.

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. – Isaiah 55:6-7