"Needing God"

"But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me." (Psalms 26:11) One of the reasons that the sheep hear the Shepherds voice, is because they understand how much they need Him for the life they seek after; not just eternal life, although that is the most important; but for this life also, and for walking in our "integrity". The point is one of have completeness or fullness, which is only possible when we are abiding in Jesus Christ! Before coming to the Lord, there is a huge void in us that nothing on this earth can fill; we might try everything possible to fill it, but until we are born again, we are not going to even know what being filled feels like, or even what it is we need to be filled with. Jesus, when speaking to Nicodemus, tried to make this point to him, and who a man must be born again before he can see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). It's not just that a person cannot see, as with the eyes, but rather, you will not experience the kingdom of God and all that it brings into your life: love, hope, peace, joy, and most importantly, the Holy Spirit! We are made complete in Jesus, and if for some reason we do not feel complete, then guess what we need: More of Jesus!!! More of what Jesus offers, which is redemption from sin; sin that still might be taking hold of part of our lives, preventing us from the fullness that is available to us, if only we would surrender our lives completely! In John 10:29, which was the closing of yesterday, Jesus says, "My Father, which gave them me", something that takes us back to John 3:16, in which Jesus is telling Nicodemus how God loves us so much, that He gave us His Son, so that we might have everlasting life; however, that life is dependent upon us believing on the Son. The principle of our redemption being something that we must need, is very much like Jesus said, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up." The children of Israel were being punished by God for their rebellion, and were being stricken by snakes and many people were dead and dying. Then the people came to Moses and confessed their sins, asking that Moses would pray that God would take those serpents from them. Yet, God did more than take the serpents from them, because He had Moses place a brass serpent upon a pole, and who ever had been bitten, even though they were dying, they only needed to look upon the serpent lifted up, and they would live.  (Numbers 21:4-9) They had to see their need to look upon that serpent; just as we must see our need to look upon Jesus!!! Look upon Jesus, live; don't look upon Jesus, your dead already..."He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)