"A Glimpse of God"

"O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself." (Psalms 94:1)
To be perfectly clear, no one can actually see God, and no one ever has, except Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven. Don't ask me how or why, because my way of thinking things out is not the answer that you seek. Besides, we should never take what anyone says as truth, not without checking the facts on our own to back them up. Yesterday I accepted a request to give a Mother's Day message at a local church, and on the one hand I am excited about it, but on the other, it kind of scares me to think about messing it up. I know what it is that God wants me to say, I just have not figured out how He wants me to say it. My message is going to be on the Book of Ruth. I thought I would start simply by making it out to be the story of the meeting of David's great-grandparents; and then turn it to the story of Redemption. And it's not just a story of Redemption of just Ruth and Naomi; it's the story of Redemption of a civilization, a wayward life, a way of life, and the entire world. God can redeem anyone that He wants to, provided they actually are willing to be Redeemed. One thing is for sure, when God redeems a life, that life is going to be Redeemed; every single bit of it! Paul wrote this simple little promise, in Philippians 1:6, saying, "Being confident of this one thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Sometimes we might not realize that God is working in our lives, and sometimes we might feel as though He has given up on us altogether; but you can count on this, God never gives up on His children! God has said it Himself through His prophet Jeremiah, saying, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiah 29:11) I like the NLT version of that verse, because it gives the verse more purpose and delivery: "For I know the plans I have for you", says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." You know, Abraham doubted that God would fulfill His promise, that was until God put the future of his descendants within his heart and mind. It was after God had signed the covenant with Abraham, when He gave Abraham a glimpse of the children of Israel held captive in Egypt for four hundred years. Sometimes it just takes a little glimpse of what the future will hold, in order to get us to put our full faith in God; just a little glimpse...
"Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken away from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." (Hebrews 10"32-36) NLT