Who is God?

Luke 19:11-27
While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'
"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'

"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.

"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'

" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'

"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'

"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.'

"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'

"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'

"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'

" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'

"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me."

Do you think that Father God takes out what he did not put in? Do you think he is a hard 'man'? Do you think he's unfair? Are you afraid of him? Do you believe in him at all? Do you know that his Son, Jesus, is King; whether you want to accept it or not?

Our understanding of who God is affects our relationship with him. We need to discover who he is so that we have no misconceptions that cost us our joy or even worse, our salvation.

The Bible is God's communication with you; telling you who God is. Try reading it from that perspective.

"...when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God..." 1 Thessalonians 2:13

"My teachers of Indian history taught us how wonderful our ancestors were. But the Bible – the source book of Jewish history – was telling me terrible things about its kings, priests, prophets and people. It could not have been written from any of their perspectives.
This book claimed to be God’s interpretation of Jewish history and the claim made sense. It explained why Israel and Judah were destroyed. The story of the restoration of a ruined nation fascinated me.
More intriguing was the discovery that the Bible told a story bigger than that of the Jews. It said that God had chosen Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so that he could bless all nations on earth through their descendents: God had made a promise to bless India. I could know if the Bible was true by examining whether God had kept that promise."
Vishal Mangalwadi

Read Vishal's latest article "Can the Words of Men be the Word of God?" @ www.vishalmangalwadi.com