PART 8 MY SEARCH FOR THE ONE TRUE GOD

●WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OTHER REASONS THAT WILL DETERMINE WHETHER A FAITH IS FOLLOWING THE ONE TRUE GOD?

PART 8 My Search for the One True God

Chapter 14

The End of the Journey to Find the One True Personal God

The faith that believes in the one true personal God is Christianity (Born Again). For those not affiliated with any of the aforementioned faiths, you are probably asking, “How can I get to know this one true personal God?” And the rest may be saying, “I know what this is all about, it’s about this guy named Jesus.”

Let’s quickly review:

• To the Catholics and Episcopalians, Jesus is God, a member of the Trinity along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, and water baptism causes them to become a child of God.
• To the Unitarians, there no distinct belief in God and all faiths get you to heaven.
• To the Buddhist, belief is not in God but in oneself.
• To Christian Science, there are issues with earthly realities.
• To the Jews, there is only one God (Jehovah). Jesus is neither God nor their Messiah.
• To the Seventh Day Adventists, Jesus is God, a member of the Trinity along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit but getting to heaven is through adherence to a system of do’s and don’ts.
• To Islam, there is only one God (Allah) and no such thing as the Trinity.
• To the Church of Latter Day Saints, there is only one God, Elohim, and Jesus is his literal son.
• To the Jehovah Witnesses, there is only one God (Jehovah), while Jesus is considered to be an angel.

We are left with Christianity (Born Again) in our quest. This faith believes:

• Jesus is God, a member of the Trinity along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
• The word Trinity is never specifically used in the Bible however, its principles are found by comparing and correlating all related Biblical passages.
• This word means that one God exists as three persons, each of whom are coeternal (without beginning or end) and coequal, having the same essence (nature) that is composed of the same attributes (qualities).
• In the Old Testament, sometimes the Hebrew word Elohim was used to refer to the existence of more than one person in the Godhead.
• At other times, the Hebrew word JHWH was used to refer to one member of the Godhead.
• Each person of the Trinity, though evidenced in the Old Testament, was not clearly recognizable.
• In the New Testament, the idea of a Trinity is more clearly understood by the use of the words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with each person having distinct roles.

Here is one more story for you to consider…

Though World War I had been raging for only four months, it was already proving to be one of the bloodiest wars in history. Soldiers on both sides were trapped in trenches, exposed to the cold and wet winter weather, covered in mud, and extremely careful of sniper shots. Machine guns had proven their worth in war, bringing new meaning to the word "slaughter."

In a place where bloodshed was nearly commonplace…, something surprising occurred on the front for Christmas in 1914. The men who lay shivering in the trenches embraced the Christmas spirit. In one of the truest acts of goodwill toward men, soldiers from both sides in the southern portion of the Ypres Salient set aside their weapons and hatred, if only temporarily, and met in No Man's Land.³³

This story exemplifies the idea that both sides wanted the same thing, peace and an end to the hostilities. Even though they were bitter enemies, when peace became the focus, they were able to comingle with one another. In a similar sense, inner peace is being offered here. But it’s not easy to drop our weapons of theology for just one second and meet in No Man’s Land, the place of peace, which goes against everything that we have been taught. However, if what is being offered is genuine, then we have truly found what we have been looking for all along. As the soldiers had to walk to the place of peace in order to enjoy it amidst apprehension and fear, so you have to walk to this place for yourself. Are you willing?  

Where is this place you may ask? In this case, it’s not a place but a person.

It’s Time to Claim Your Treasure

If you want to meet God in a personal way then pray these words:

I acknowledge that I am a sinner, and I no longer want to engage in the mental, verbal and overt sins of my past. I need a new nature and I choose to believe in you, Jesus Christ. I confess that you are the Savior who pre-existed time as God; came to earth to take on human form and be born of a virgin; lived a sinless life in communion with the Father; died on the cross in payment for the sins of the world; rose again after 3 days, never to die again; and ascended to heaven where you are seated at the right hand of the Father. I ask that you will now redeem my life and send the promised Holy Spirit to dwell within me, bringing His fruit of love, joy and peace as evidence of His presence. Thank you, Lord.

Your journey to find the one true personal God is over. By believing in one of the members of the Trinity, you have received the Holy Spirit into your life and you now have access to God the Father. This means that this personalness I have had with God throughout my life is now available to you, and your eternal destiny is guaranteed. So, enjoy this one new God as long as you may live on this earth. Amen.