Or “God is fed up with us and will strike us down if we keep messing up”. Statements like these are frustrating to hear because it's those kinds of opinions that keep people from wanting to get to know God because they only have a fear based opinion of Him instead of the full picture. That kind of view only comes from people who don't know Him and neglect to study the Bible. These people take one verse out of context and twist it to fit their distorted view or listen to quotes people make that sound super spiritual on the surface, but actually comes from tradition, not Biblical truth.

 It is true that you can find stories of God executing his judgment on the world, but if you don't take the time to find out why God did those things then you will continue to have a distorted view about Him that isn't true. I don't know about you but l like to have all the facts lined up before I make a judgment about someone or something. You wouldn't like it if someone spread information about you that you know is false. I hate it when people make up things about me, but I learned that these same people will never take the time to ask me about what the truth actually is. If they by chance do, more than likely they're not going to believe it anyway. 

Am I saying that God Almighty cares about what people say about Him? The answer to that question is an emphatic YES! Why? Because with every word being spoken about Him people are either being drawn closer to or further away from Him I remember speaking things about God before and after my salvation I wish I can take back now because I didn't do my due diligence in seeing if what l was saying lined up with the scriptures or not. As a Christian I would read a scripture and be so convinced of its meaning until heard it being preached on or discussed about, and only then would I re-read the scripture only to find out that I mis-read it and didn't pay close attention to the wording of the passage of scripture. With God's help l do my best not to make those same mistakes. If I don't know about something, I will not speak on it until I studied and found out the truth with other verifying scriptures. I encourage everyone, Christian or not, to do the same thing. 

So the question is, Who is God? ls He good? Is He just angry? Let's take a look at the Scriptures and find out together. Moses wanted to know more about this God Who used him to deliver the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and asked Him to show him His glory. God then instructed Moses to present himself to Him on Mount Sinai the next morning and this is what happened. 

And The LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD, And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands forgiving the iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children, unto the third and fourth generation. (Exodus 34:5-7 KJV) 

Amazing! The primary and dominant characteristics of Almighty God are mercy, grace, longsuffering, abundant goodness and truth (faithfuliness). Not that long before He said this, He displayed all these attributes to the children of Israel when He heard their groaning and delivered them from slavery, performing many mighty miracles on their behalf, such as parting the Red Sea, causing manna to fall from heaven and water to flow from a rock. lf you read this story, you will see that the Israelites complained and grumbled every step of the way, desiring to go back into bondage because that's what they were familiar with. But in spite of their unbelief and complaining, God still sustained them with everything they needed. He overlooked their sin and demonstrated His mercy, grace longsuffering, goodness and faithfulness to them. So there's no way that Moses or anyone could deny that what He said about Himself was true.

 What about the part where God said He will by no means clear the guilty, and visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children? How can God be good if He is judging people? The answer to that is, God is a perfect being and is incapable of making mistakes. He is perfectly good and merciful, but He is a righteous Judge as well. 

Psalm 97:2 says that righteousness and judgment (justice) are the foundation of His throne. So even though God is gracious, He is obligated to judge people fairly as well. Right before God made this statement in Exodus 34, He previously gave the people the ten commandments and other accompanying laws beginning in chapter 20 of Exodus. The people in pride and arrogance agreed to the covenant and proclaimed that they will do everything The LORD had spoken in chapter 24. So now they were without excuse for their sin, and God as a righteous Judge had to execute His righteous judgment. Even though God desired to show them mercy, the law demanded accountability from the people. We have to understand that even though God is the Supreme Being of the universe, He too is governed by laws that He established in eternity and cannot break them, or else He can't be God. 

Before the law of Moses, God overlooked sin to a certain extent. Now that the law was in effect upon the Earth, He couldn't disregard the sin of the people. There were penalties for sin that resulted in death and other lesser forms of punishment. There was a sacrificial system that was implemented for sin but only for the sins done in ignorance of the law. Once a year the high priest entered into the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and offered sacrifices for himself and for all sins of the people done in ignorance and God would pardon them. But those animal sacrifices only covered those sins and couldn't completely remove the sin from the people. They couldn't cleanse their consciousness and God still remembered them. It's like committing a crime and the judge giving you time served for the crime instead of being declared not guilty, having that accusation completely wiped away from the record. Even though the children of Israel were chosen by God and set apart from all other nations, there was still a serious problem with sin that the law could not fix. This covenant depended upon imperfect human beings obeying the law and proved itself unsustainable. Why did God make the law then if it didn't work? Well, the law did work for what it was actually made for, which was to expose how sinful people were. 

Romans 3:19-20 NLT Says: Obviously, the law applies to those whom it was given, for it's purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. The law did not and never will keep people from sinning and make people righteous. On the other hand, God having to punish His people did not keep them from sinning as well. They would humble themselves for a time then go back to doing what they were doing before. Even though the people kept provoking God to anger, God knew that the people themselves were not capable of fixing the problem, so He had to set another plan in motion.

 Here is one of the promises God made to his people in Isaiah 54:9-10 (NLT): "Just as l swore in the time of Noah that I would never again let a flood cover the Earth, so now I swear that I will never again be angry and punish you. For the mountains and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken, says The LORD, who has mercy on you". 

Praise God! God swore that He will never again be angry with us or punish us. That right there kills the notion that God is still angry with us today. All God has wanted since the beginning was to have unbroken fellowship with His people, not go through a revolving door of punishing and delivering His people over and over again. But the only way to stop this cycle was to make a new covenant and abolish the old one. 

God makes another promise in Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NLT) which says: The day is coming says The LORD, when l will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the old one l made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife, says The LORD. But this is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says The LORD. I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, you should know The LORD. For everyone from the least to the greatest will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and will never again remember their sins.

 Glory to God! Just as He said He will never again be angry, this time He said He will never again remember their sins. So this shows the main reasons why the old covenant did not work. 

Number one, the retaining of the people's sin in God's memory, and number two, God being provoked to anger by the people and being forced to judge them. But this new covenant will be nothing like the old one, The old covenant was filled with, "You shall", and " You shall not". It was completely based on human effort. lf the people did this or didn't do that, then God would do this or this. Man was responsible for how God responded to them. It was man first then God second. Needless to say, that system did not work. Sure, God did great things through many people under the old covenant, but that is a testament more about God's mercy and grace than mankind's effort to manipulate the power of God. 

Unfortunately, some of those people couldn't reach their full potential like Sampson, King David and Solomon because God couldn't just overlook their sin. He was as merciful as He could be, but because of the law He was forced to judge them. But with this new covenant God was going to establish, He was going to resolve the sin problem that put distance between God and man since Adam fell in the garden of Eden and bring peace between God and man.

 lf you read this passage, God used the term, "I will", seven times as opposed to the old covenant which used "You shall", hundreds of times. This shows that God Himself is going to establish this covenant and mankind cannot alter or prevent this covenant from coming to pass and that this will come to pass through God's grace and not human effort. The actual terms of the covenant used "I will" five times which is actually the number for grace according to the Hebrew numerical system, and seven is the number for completion, if that means anything to anybody.

 God is going to get all glory, and nothing and no one can keep His word from coming to pass! How was God going to ratify this new agreement? By sending a man like Himself and like His people to deliver them one last time. 

Now enters Jesus, The Word of God made flesh, full of grace and truth, and born of the virgin Mary. He possessed all the qualities of God but humbled Himself as a man and lived a normal human life like the rest of us. He had to obey His earthly parents as a child and as He got older He even worked with Joseph, His stepfather as a carpenter. He felt tired, hungry and thirsty like we do. He even endured trials, tests and temptations like we face as well. 

You might ask why would a God go through that? Let's take a look at Hebrews 2:14-18 (NLT): Because God's children are human beings made of flesh and blood - the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power over death. Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. We also know that the Son did not come to help angels, but He came to help the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, it was necessary for Him to be made in every respect like His brothers and sisters, so that He could be our merciful and faithful high Priest before God. Then, He could offer as a sacrifice that would take away the sin of the people. Since he Himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are tested. 

God became a man, number one, to become approachable to humankind. Before, when God came down upon Mount Sinai, He warned the people not to approach the mountain and not even let their animals feed near it, or they would die. Only Moses and a select group of elders were able to ascend the mountain to meet with Him. After the tabernacle was made, only the high priest was allowed to go into the Most Holy Place, where God's presence was, once a year to sacrifice for all the people, but even then, if they made one error, they would die. Only the appointed priests could work in the temple and make the daily sacrifices, not the common people. But as a man, Jesus could talk with man face-to-face and the people didn't have to fear dying in His presence or being punished. Jesus did not come to judge people, in His own words, He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). 

He ate and drank with sinners, forgave them, and healed everyone who came to Him in faith. In fact, every dead person who Jesus encountered was brought back to life. Jesus was looking for people to help, not looking to expose everyone's sins and judge them like the law did. But He gave people a taste of this new covenant of grace that He was ushering in. He only encouraged people to stop sinning after demonstrating His grace, mercy, and love, not before. That's why the people flocked to Him and followed Him everywhere He went, because He was gracious, not angry. The only people Jesus got angry with were the leaders who were trying to stop the flow of God's grace. 

Number two, the reason God became a man was so He can die for us. God, as an eternal Spirit was not capable of dying so He had to become a human being. He willingly offered Himself as a sacrifice, not because He was forced to. 

Jesus said in John 10:17,18 (NLT): The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so l may take it back again. No one can take my life from me, I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father commanded. 

We have to remember that Jesus was not born into sin like everyone else. He did not get His blood from a natural man. The Holy Spirit placed the perfect seed inside of Mary so He could not be tainted with the world and qualify to become the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Under the law a sin offering had to be without any imperfections, that's why Jesus had to be sinless. And because He was sinless, He couldn't just die a natural death. Romans 3:23 says the wages of sin is death. So if Jesus never sinned, then technically He could not die. That is why Jesus had to yield up His spirit when He was on the cross, because death had no legal right to come upon Jesus. Glory to God! 

Number three, God became a man because man is responsible for the Earth. God gave Adam and Eve the responsibility to govern and rule the Earth (Genesis 1:26-28). It was their responsibility to maintain and protect what God had given them. Unfortunately, they lost their authority when they disobeyed God and listened to Satan. But, being that man lost it, it is only right that another man take it back. That's why God couldn't just do it as God alone. I personally believe it is also why God didn't just wipe mankind off the face of the Earth and start over, because He gave the earth to man. (Psalm 8:4-8) He had to do things the right way and not step across the boundaries He put in place. So instead destroying us, He became just like us and took the responsibility upon Himself.

 Romans 5:12-19 (NLT) explains the contrast between what the man Adam did and what the man Jesus did. Notice how many times it uses the phrase “one man". Vrs.12: When Adam sinned, sin entered into the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread upon everyone, for everyone sinned..v.15: But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. The result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam's sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

 Adam's disobedience was so costly for all humanity. Mankind suffered for it for thousands of years and is still suffering for it today. Not only that, God has suffered for it as well because He couldn't fellowship with man the way He desired to because of sin. But the obedience of Jesus was priceless. Now, because of what this one man has done, those who put their trust in Him now enjoy fellowship with God, right standing with Him and victory over the world, sin and death. And not only that, we get to live forever in eternal bliss with God in Heaven. Thank you Jesus! 

Now let's take a closer look at the work that Jesus did that made all these things available to us. Isaiah 53:10,11 (NLT) says: But it was The LORD'S good plan to crush Him and cause Him grief. Yet when His life is made an offering for sin, He will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life and The LORD'S good plan will prosper in His hands. When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish He will be satisfied. And because of this experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous. 

Notice it says that He will be satisfied. That means the suffering of Jesus will be the only offering that would appease the wrath of God and make people right with Him. 

What does this mean? It means that you do not have to be afraid of God anymore. You do not have to fear coming to God for anything. He is no longer angry with humanity but has extended an olive branch of peace for anyone who will accept Him. God is not searching out people to punish because He already punished Jesus on our behalf. lf you are a believer, there is no condemnation to you because Jesus was already condemned for you. God does not keep a list of your mistakes because they have been washed away by the perfect blood Jesus. In Christ, you are blameless, holy, righteous, redeemed, forgiven, beloved, accepted, chosen, sons and daughters of God. You share an inheritance with Christ and the Father looks at you just like Jesus and loves you just like Him as well. Jesus stands as our High Priest forever and intercedes on your behalf with His blood as a testimony of our redemption. 

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT) says: So then, since we have a great High Priest, who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 

This High priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come bodily to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Too many times when we fall or feel weak and vulnerable, instead of coming to God with our problems, we run from Him and hide in shame because we seem unlovable and unworthy. We also think that if we beat ourselves up then God will see how sorry we are. But as someone who is guilty of these things myself I can tell you from experience that none of those responses has ever helped me to stop sinning or become a better person. Why? Because the focus is on me and not on what Jesus has done. Jesus felt what we feel and still had victory over the world. 

This should give us great joy because if Jesus overcame the world, then that means He has the solution to the problems we face everyday. But the only way we will get the answers we need is if we run to Jesus, not from Him. Yes, God meets us where we're at, but He also is ahead of us saying "come to Me where l'm at". God is so merciful, kind, long-suffering and gracious. He only wants to help take us further than the ruts we get ourselves in. He does not want us to be defeated in any area of our lives. When He was on the Earth, everyone that came to Him in faith for help, He gave it and He also helped those in unbelief to believe and receive the help they needed. He didn't turn anyone away. How much more since He has shed His blood for us will He be ready and willing to help us if we trust Him? He never says, “Don't come near me, stay away", or "I don't want to talk to you", or "l'm too busy". No! Jesus says, "What can I do for you? What do you need?", and "What's on your mind beloved?".

 Even though He knows everything about you, He still wants to hear from you to tell Him what you're going through. He wants you to confide in Him as your closest Friend and trust in Him to help you with your problems. When you do this, you give Him legal authority to work on your behalf, because the scripture says that we are workers together with Him (2 Corinthians 6: 1). It is also way more healthier to cast our cares upon Him than to keep these things bottled up inside and constantly worrying about them. He didn't tell us not to worry about anything because He wants to control us, but because it benefits us. Like the Father, Jesus is full of grace and truth. That means He has an unlimited supply of grace to help us for whatever we need There is no such thing as too much prayer. On the contrary, the scriptures say to pray without ceasing and to pray about everything. How many of us actually do that?

 Psalm 46:1 (NLT) says God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Hallelujah! God is always ready to help us, not sometimes, and not only when we feel like we're doing good or living holy enough to ask God something. God wants us to boldy come before His throne, even when we're at our lowest low. In the middle of our chaos, God wants to come in and fix it. lf God says to come boldly, then we shouldn't listen to the enemy when He says that it is prideful to come to Him in that kind of manner. 

Obedience to God's word is never prideful, but it actually takes humility to trust what God says over someone else's opinion, even if it's our own. We're not coming boldly to boast about our sin, but profess our trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross that has given us every single thing we need in this life. 

God is not your enemy. He is on your side and wants to fight for you. In fact, He's already fought for you through His suffering on the cross and when He went to hell. He fought so hard that He just couldn't stay in hell. He defeated death so you can know each other personally. I don't know about you, but l would much rather have the God of the universe and all creation fighting with and for me than against me. The Father even sent the Holy Spirit, Who is even called, The Helper, to live in us and assist us with every part of our lives. He's even given us His Word and the authority to act on it as His representatives on the earth. 

It's on us if we use all these gifts given us or not. God has done His part in providing everything we need for us. It's our part to receive and believe His Word. lf you are reading this and you are not a Christian, maybe you are afraid to come to God because someone scared you away from Him with their lies. Or maybe you think you made too many mistakes for God to forgive you. Or maybe you think God'l just be wasting His time with you because of how bad you think you are. Let me tell you this, that God is not angry with you. He loves you so much and understands everything you're going through. 

He knows it's difficult but He is not the least bit repelled by you. In fact, He loves a challenge. The more unworthy you feel, the more of His love He gets to reveal to you. He is not running away from you. He is instead running towards you with arms open wide, ready to shower you with His grace and kindness like the prodigal son and his father. There is absolutely nothing that you've done that is too big for God to forgive. There is no sin that's more powerful than the blood Jesus shed for you. Only He can wash you completely clean, so stop trying to do it yourself. No one takes a shower before they take a bath. God is the bath and only He can cleanse you and help you overcome every obstacle you face. If He can save someone like me and help me in spite of all my foolishness, then I have no doubt that He can help you as well. 

lf you want to know this Jesus for yourself, you can lf you believe what He did for you with all your heart and just say, "Jesus, l believe that you died on the cross for my sins, and that you rose again on the third day. I ask you to forgive me for all my sins and wash me clean with your blood. I confess that you are Lord and that you are the Son of God. l ask that you fill me with your Spirit and help me to know Who You really are. Thank you for making me righteous and giving me eternal life. In Your name l pray. Amen". 

I pray that God will give everyone reading this a revelation of Who He really is and how He sees us now through Jesus, and that we would all know the Truth that sets us free. And l pray that God will bless you and your family and keep you in all your ways and that His grace and love will overtake you. Through Jesus l pray, Amen.

 

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