I Don't Believe It

I Don't Believe It

7/18/21

How deep do humans believe in a subject or in people?  From history, we have learned that some beliefs may lead to death while others for the most part have little or no consequences to them.  However, when it comes a time when a challenge will arise and we must take a stand for what we believe, it is a common human action.  Many people believe this strongly against God and His presence in our lives, for how can someone so good allow such hideous activities to occur?  God does not always show up when mankind expects Him to, nor does He always grant our wishes in the manner to which we expect.  But God has never left us nor will He ever as long as we continue to believe in Him and allow Him to be the existing part of our lives.  God proves Himself correct as every day passes but in order for us to understand His Ways, we must first take a step of faith and trust His presence and leave all doubt behind.

There have been numerous times that I have heard this phrase from those around me expressing how they do not believe in God or that He ever existed in the first place.  They become very intense and emotional when someone brings up or mentions God's name and they are quick to point out that they do not want to talk about Him at all.  Many times they then go on a rant about why they do not believe in God and why they believe that anyone who does is lunatics, idiots, or candidates for insane asylums.  They will argue and call people names when they try to have a debate or conversation about God with them, usually ending up with an argument and leaving mad at each other.  What they do not want to understand is that they can believe what they wish for it is their choice to do so, but this choice not to believe in God does not make them correct.

It is a bold statement from someone who says they have been around for all eternity, that they are present today and that they shall always be around for the future of eternity.  Being convinced of something is a human gift that serves its purpose on its own and for its own.  Once again, that does not mean that you are automatically correct.  Do you remember a fellow in history called Galileo Galilei?  He was a 16th-century Italian astronomer, physicist, and engineer who lived in Pisa.  His searching led to the understanding that the earth revolved around the sun and not vice versa as the Church and some astronomers believed it did.  It caused enough rift between both the religious and scientific communities that Galileo was shunned by both sides and basically exiled from all society.  So much so that he was placed on trial and found guilty resulting in a grossly amount of punishment for these beliefs.  Even years later, when Galileo was on his deathbed, it was approved that he could be buried in the church courtyard, but that decision was overturned by the current pope and all plans for his burial had to be made elsewhere.

It took time after Galileo had died that scientists proved that Galileo was correct in his presentations concerning the earth orbiting the sun and not vice versa.  This opened up many further studies that eventually proved that space was a vast science that many had no idea how to study or much less comprehend.  It is safe to say that with all the technology that we have to look deep into outer space we still have little information about exactly what is located where.  The pictures we see from far away places astound us and invigorate our imaginations furthering our desires to know more, yet we quickly say that there is no God or that He ever existed?  Our passage tells us a different story, one that gives a glimpse of how things were created, not only in our lives but in other worlds as well.  Our passage today is Isaiah 44:6 and goes as follows:

Isaiah 44:6

"Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."

Hebrew

"Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me."

God asks us a question today, and the question is this: do you completely believe that I do not exist or that I have no say in your lives?  How many of us know people who really have no belief in God or that He is always around us?  I know I have some co-workers and other friends that have that thinking and belief, and I watch their lives unfold I cannot help but have a sinking feeling because almost every day I see them with gloomy eyes and sad faces, oozing their innards out with nothing filling them back up.  It amazes me that people who take countless breaths each day and create new items to improve the quality of life fail to recognize just who gave us the ability to perform such precious destinations.  This process is a pathway that all of us have within our hearts, humans by creation are curious, long to know more, and search for answers to the unknown.  There is no logical perspective or even proven point that determines we came from ooze or all of a sudden came into perfect human form in an instant alone.  If so, why haven't we perfected such imperfections over this millions of years time frame?  This is a lie from the pit of hell, in that Satan wants this type of belief to run through our lives, for doubt is the single most effective disobedient act that will separate us from the Truth about our lives and purpose for existence.

As long as Satan can fixate in our hearts that God is not the God of Isaiah 44:6 and who He says He is, then he has us on a puppet system and can control our every move until God cuts those strings of slavery.  What does this actually mean, you ask?  It simply means that this verse states that there is only one God and that is god, which means that any other "god" that is proclaimed is made up or fake in every aspect of its existence.  A made-up god can have the capability of "changing" its behavior, looks, temperament, size, shape, and color at any moment without any real reason given.  How can any stability be present in such a state?  Yes, it allows for situational changes and off-the-cuff quick law claims, but that in itself is self-serving alone and shall vary with each person believing in such a frail god.  Plus, there is an origin to it, a humanly created thing that has the capability of coming and going whenever and where ever it chooses.  This is a disaster in the making yet so many people fall for such laws and gods.  Humans creating a god that serves situational standards is not an advantage of life, it is a positional and situational idol that will fade at a moment's notice and leave you high and dry without any protection or defense.  This concocted god is whimsical at best, satisfying one's pleasures on a superficial and baseless foundation.

Are we this naive and superficial that we set our standards on a god of pleasure instead of the God of eternal wisdom and courage?  Any god who is whimsical cannot honestly claim to be any type of defender, for its contingency is based upon itself, not for you.  In the first portion of this verse, God mentions that He is the Redeemer of Israel, this means that He does not leave when times become tough or when it looks dark on the horizon.  God has always stated that He is an eternal God, one who shall never leave you.  He cannot leave you for He does not have the ability to change His positions on anything, period!  

In this passage, the time stamp is of course in the Old Testament which means that the standard of separation is Israel.  Today the example of separation is the Church both of which are called to live and to witness as a separated eternal entity from the world.  Unfortunately, the Church has fallen into the same type of living conditions as Israel did, for we have allowed so many personal gods to infect our lives that their presence has been granted access to the Church's heart with false deities and doctrines to cloud our walk in Christ and to complete His mission through us.  Just as Israel had lost her mission to be the example against the world, we have done the exact same thing; scarily, many things in an identical manner.  The ultimate lesson of proudly and boldly stating that we do not believe there is a God even though all of our foundational upbringings taught us differently.

Let's take this Truth a bit deeper, and proclaim that God has always been and shall always be no matter how long mankind may inhabit existence.  In all honesty, our sinful, limited, and finite minds cannot honestly comprehend such a state of existence; therefore, how can we honestly project that what the Bible says is incorrect, especially the details and other items about God?  If one would study the Word of God thoroughly they would find out that many of the same issues and problems that Israel faced in the Old Testament, many of the same deteriorating living conditions, and devastation occur in our societies each day today.  What is so ridiculously fascinating is that the Church of today is demonstrating the exact same attitude toward the warnings that have been given to them as Israel did so long ago.  Are we to believe that we are just as naive to the warnings from God as Israel?  It sure does seem like our attitude is the same.

The challenge of the Modern Church is to change such settings, but unfortunately, we have fallen in line with the Early Church in that we have caught ourselves up in a denomination war and have turned to the world for help in sustaining the "lead" over others.  This passage tells the truth about God and because of our silly foolishness when it comes to God, we have failed to show the world that what the Bible says about God is the truth and not some mythical god-like being that does not exist.  How come we have chosen to discredit this verse, thus the definition of God with our own selfish pride?  Many times throughout the Bible, God states that He is first, foremost, and only Living God, so why does He continually remind us of this?  It is because humans have the habit of understanding short-sided versions of life, superficial ones that do not require deep and constant learning.  

Sadly, the Church has fallen into this category and has accepted many other gods before God and has created a conundrum of failings that she no longer sees as pitfalls, but as opportunities to be closer to the world.  The advances in life should never be a hindrance to the Church or her mission that she is supposed to complete but to remind us that there is so much more to learn about God and when we learn about God He shall provide new information and knowledge to help us truly defeat our problems.  Today, we hear that there is no God at all, that He never existed or that He died a long time ago, or that He has left us hanging out to dry.  Also, their belief that God does not exist gets support from Christians who do not live according to the Ways of God, thus building up the false claim that God does not exist.  This action of ours does not make these nonbelievers correct but promotes a lie to be correct an eternal lie that all of us shall answer for one day.

Many people fail to understand what is really going on in our world, passing it off as changing of the times, climate control, a new moral standard, etc but what we miss is that God is giving us warnings for what is about to arrive.  We are being bled dry of all kinds of resources and we totally ignore the reason why this is occurring.  In our passage, Isaiah writes to the people a statement from God that he should not have to do for they should know it to be true.  Also, God should not have me writing and reiterating this verse to a people, a nation, and The Church for something that we were founded upon.  Yet, I write what God tells me to, and sometimes the subjects are hard and difficult to transfer, but I know I must be obedient and do what I am commissioned to do.  Church, we have fallen away from the standard and plumb line that God told us to be and if we do not understand this now, we shall in the very near future but not in a setting such as we have today.  Yes, times are difficult and uncertain now, but in a short time, things shall be totally out-of-control and in pieces.  Repent and return to God NOW!  Not tomorrow or next week for God does not want to see us have to confess before Him that I did not believe it.

DLB