OK; Here's The Deal . . .

I need your help.

I post these blogs to a few hundred people on Facebook, and a few thousand people on Google+. That's the extent of my reach. Nobody's beating down my door trying to hear what I have to say, and few enough open the door when I knock. I'm not reaching everyone who needs to be reached.

That's where you come in.

I'm a sinner. You're a sinner. Your neighbor, your friend, your brother and sister, that couple you met on vacation last year and "befriended" on Facebook . . . they're all sinners too. Everybody you know, everybody you could possibly reach out to is a sinner. We all need Jesus. Everybody needs to know.

I can't do that alone.

I don't have your Facebook friends. I don't have your Google+ circles. I don't know who you know, and I don't know how to reach them. Except through you.

When John wrote his Revelation of Jesus Christ, he couldn't deliver it to the seven churches it was originally intended for. He was in exile, a prison of sorts, on an island. He had to depend on someone else to deliver it. Now, I don't want to compare myself to John; I'm not writing about the firsthand revelation of Jesus Christ and the end of the world.

And yet I am.

I talked about the Holy Spirit being my lighthouse yesterday. God speaks to me (and you) as surely as He spoke to John. Differently, for certain, but no less assuredly. We all get communication from God. My calling is to write it down.

Then I depend on you.

I'm limited.

John was a prisoner on an island and could not deliver his message himself. On top of that, he was an old man, and the journey to the seven cities would have been difficult even had he been free to travel. He was limited.

I'm limited by my reach, my audience, my platform. I can only speak to you. But you can spread the word to everyone you know. And they spread the word, and then those, and then those . . . pretty soon everybody hears the truth.

That's my goal.

I'm not going to lie--I would like to see 20,000 people hit my blog every day. That would go a long way towards getting me a book deal. But that's not my biggest goal. That's not the reason I write any more. I've realized that my work in writing may very well be these short pieces I post most every day. That may very well be how God wants me to reach people.

So I want to reach everyone I can. My goal is to have the truth of God spread around the world. If that comes through my blogs, fantastic. If it happens because you sit down and talk with everyone you know about God and salvation through His Son, terrific. I don't care how it happens, I just want to see it happen. If you don't know how to start, then sharing these blogs through social media is one way to start. If you believe what I write is God's truth, then share it. That's called spreading the Word, and we are commanded by Jesus to do that very thing.

My goal is to help you, help me.

The deal is, I will write, if you will share.

That's all I'm asking. Hit the share button. Spread the word. Tell people there's this guy who's writing about God, and Jesus, and life, and stuff. Send them to williamsevert.blogspot.com. Write that down and put it in your wallet or your purse and then give it to someone.  If you've been reading my blogs, you must get something from what I've been saying. If you can get something from it, so can someone else.

I didn't want to write this. I don't like to ask for help. But I cannot do this alone.

Will you be on my team? Will you agree to share when I write a truth that reaches to your soul? If you're encouraged, or challenged, or hear a message of salvation in what I write, will you send it out to those tens, hundreds, even thousands of contacts you have? How many of them are not saved? How many are hurting? How many just need a little encouragement, or need to be challenged or shown love? Of those, how many need to hear the truth?

I'll write what God tells me through His Word, through prayer, and through the experiences He gives me in this life. I'm asking you to be my messengers.

That's the deal. Will you help me? 

My Lighthouse

Why do I need a lighthouse?

Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazards in the water, and safe entries to harbors. Although they are not as common in modern times with the widespread use of electronic navigation, they still function as navigational aids, showing the pilot of a ship both areas of danger and places of safety. For hundreds, even thousands of years, they have kept safe those who paid attention to them.

Lighthouses are most useful in unfamiliar territory, or when conditions are less than favorable, such as foul weather. In fog, in a storm, or on unfamiliar waters, the beacon of a lighthouse shows the way.

That's why I need a lighthouse. In this journey of mine called life, I often find myself in unfamiliar waters, and all too frequently encounter foul weather. I need something to guide me away from danger, and to safe harbors.

Dangerous coastlines.

We've seen images of a lighthouse sitting atop a cliff jutting out into the water. It's purpose is to mark that irregularity in the coastline which a ship may otherwise find the hard way.

I've encountered those in my life. Situations and circumstances that jump out quicker than they should, threatening to sink me. Opportunities that seem so good that, without my lighthouse, I wouldn't realize they are too good to be true. Invitations to partake in a part of life that, without my lighthouse, would crush my ship. Outstretched hands which seem welcoming and safe, but in fact are hard and cruel

My lighthouse steers me clear of them all.

Hazards in the water.

These are the stuff of a mariner's worst dreams. Shallow shoals, dangerous reefs, hidden rocks. They lay just below the surface, waiting to rip to pieces the hull of the unwary.

To me, these are the temptations in life. The waters that look so inviting, so promising, so smooth when in fact they hide the instruments of death. These are greed, lust, pride, envy, hatred, and a thousand others. They are sneaky, hidden, and if encountered unprepared, terribly destructive. A ship run aground on such a hazard will be beat to pieces by the power of the waves, if it doesn't sink first.

My lighthouse shows me such dangerous waters, that they may be avoided.

Safe harbors.

In a storm, nothing is more welcoming than a safe harbor. A place out of the wind and waves. A dock where my ship can be safely secured, restocked, and refurbished. A place of rest. A place of security.

This is the arms of God. During the storms of my life, I've only felt secure when in the presence of God. I've felt this when surrounded by other Christians supporting me as I struggle. I've experienced this in quiet times of prayer and meditation. I've felt God come to me when I've simply opened my soul and cried out to Him.

Each time, it was my lighthouse who showed me the way. It was Him who pointed me to the safe harbor God had prepared for me, for just the right time. It's always Him who leads me to safety.

My lighthouse is the Holy Spirit.

That presence of God, the very being of God, dwelling within me. When I listen, He points the way. He shows me the dangerous coastlines, He points out the hazards ahead, and He, only He, leads me to safe harbors.

God is my Father. Jesus is my Savior. The Holy Spirit is my lighthouse.

With God leading me, of what should I be afraid?

Where Has God Gone?

Where is God?

Does anyone know where He has gone? Because I'm pretty sure, looking around this world, that He must have packed up and left town. I mean, if He were here, He'd be doing something about this mess we've made, wouldn't He?

You know where I'm coming from? Sure you do. We've taken His world and turned it upside down and inside out. We're taking the wondrous creation He gave us, tearing it apart, and pasting it back together in total randomness, like Picasso gone wild. We're redefining the fundamental order and laws that He laid down. We've taken His place. We're playing God.

So where is He?

Doesn't He know?

Can't He see what's going on? Doesn't He care? Can He not see how dark and lonely this place has become for those who love Him, serve Him, believe Him? Is He so far removed that even when we say what He made was wrong, that He made a mistake, He does nothing? When what He called an abomination is accepted as the norm, has He decided to simply give up and go home?

Doesn't He know how hard this is? Doesn't He know that my children have to live in this world, wade through the filth and garbage piling up in the streets? Does He even recognize how far we've fallen, or where we are headed? Can He see it? Does it matter to Him?

I know where God is.

God is here. God is watching. And He cares. Oh, He cares a lot!

He has a plan.

One day, when wickedness has reached its fullness, the world will see and know. On that day, when the skies darken with His wrath, when the Horsemen are turned loose and fire rains from heaven, all will know. When the earth trembles, the oceans boil, and men hid themselves in futility from His face, they will understand.

God knows. God cares. God is here.

God hasn't gone anywhere.

No matter how hard the world tries, they can't run God off. They cannot take from Him what is rightfully His. As they did with His Son they now do with His creation, but now as then, they know not what they do. Then, Jesus begged His Father to forgive them. Now, creation begs her Father to rid her of the decay of sin.

When judgment comes, there will be mercy no more. Hell hath no fury compared to the God who created it.

God isn't gone. He's waiting, building His wrath. Every insult, every deed, every sin wracks up and one day, one day soon, they will be piled up to heaven. That's when God will show His hand. As in the days of Noah, they will be eating and drinking, partying it up to the very end. When the flood of His wrath comes, there'll be no hiding.

Because God is here. Watching. Knowing. Patiently waiting for the day He has chosen. To act. To judge. To pour out His wrath.

God hasn't gone anywhere. God isn't going anywhere. One day, one day soon, He's going to take back what belongs to Him.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come!

Who Am I?

Who am I?

A question we all ask ourselves. It ranks right up there with, "Why am I here?" and "What am I supposed to do?". It's not a question of identity as much as a question of purpose.

How we answer this question is important, and perhaps not as obvious as it may at first appear. For some, the answer is muddled and unclear, leading to confusion, misdirection, and a true identity crisis. For others, the answer they come up with is disappointing, leading to depression, self abuse, and a failure to live the productive life they are capable of.

Most of us have at least an idea of who we are, but I doubt many of us understand all of who we are. That's because we only see ourselves from our point of view.

The full picture of who we are is seen not only through our eyes, but the eyes of others as well.

Through the eyes of my family.

To my family I am a husband, a father, a son, a grandson, and a brother. I am an uncle, a nephew, and a cousin. Of course, as genealogy goes, I have many other relationships in my family, but you get my point. Depending on which family member you ask, who I am will vary according to where I fall in the family tree compared to them.

My identity, therefore, depends not only on where I stand, but where others stand as well. The view looks a whole lot different from over there, than it does right here. Who I am to my mother is much different than who I am to my wife, even though I am the same.

Do you get my point? I'm not only who I see me as; I'm also who others see me to be. That is a very, very important thought to keep in mind.

Through the eyes of my friends. 

To some, I am one who comes to them for advice. To others, I am someone sought after for the same reason. Most often, those roles switch back and forth, depending on the question at hand. To some of my friends I am a soccer or softball player. To others I am a hunter and fisherman. Some see me as bold, while compared to others I am not.

Many of my friends are mutual friends with my wife, and they see us as a couple. Others hardly know my better half, if at all. Most of my friends know a little bit about me, but only a few know much more than that, and fewer still know me to any significant depth. Who I am to them is what they know about me.

Through the eyes of God.

I could go on and on about how I look to different people depending on my relationship to them and what they know about me, but I think you get my point. We look different to different people based on how they see us.

God, on the other hand, knows who we truly are.

This part of our identity, who we are in the eyes of God, is the most important of all. This determines our eternal destiny, and there is nothing more important than that.

Amazingly, who we are in God's eyes isn't about where we've been or what we've done. If that was the case, we'd all be seen by Him as sinners unworthy of His presence. God doesn't look at us that way, though.

God sees us as either His children, or lost orphans He wants to claim. You see, we are either His children because we have Jesus Christ as our Savior, and are therefore part of His family, or we are spiritually fatherless. If the latter, God desires nothing more than for us to accept His invitation to be His son or daughter.

No matter who I am to anyone else, to God I am His child.

As long as I know that, I know exactly who I am.

My God Is God

He has many names.

Jehovah, the great I AM WHO I AM.
Elohim, Power and Strength.
Adonai, Master and Lord.
El-Shaddai, God Almighty.
Jehovah-jireh, Provider.

Father. Creator. Judge. Holy One. Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End. Almighty God. Fortress. Ancient of Days. Consuming Fire. King. Living God. Maker. Majesty. Mercy. Rock. Rose of Sharon. Strength. The One. Wonderful.

Jesus. Bread of Life. Son of God. Son of Man. Cornerstone. Foundation. Faithful and True. Savior. Shepherd. Servant. Christ. Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Great High Priest. Messiah. Deliverer. The Lamb.  Emmanuel. Friend. Hope. Life. Light. Living Stone. Living Water. Lord of All. Prince of Peace. Redeemer. Righteous One. Word of God.

Spirit. Counselor. Guide. Holy Ghost. Spirit of Truth. Helper.

Trinity. Triune. Three-In-One. God.


And many more.

My God is so great I cannot begin to define Him, understand Him, or otherwise put Him in a box and say, "This is my God." His attributes are without number, His nature unfathomable. He is beyond comparing to anything known to lowly man or highest angel. He is God.

When I see Him, I will know Him. There is none other like Him, none who can impersonate or replace Him. His power is beyond description, His glory fills the heavens. Heaven and earth tremble at His name. Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is God.

My God is God.

I do not fully understand what that means, but I know this: He alone is worthy of worship, honor, and praise. I cannot know Him fully, but I know enough to fear Him, love Him, serve Him, desire Him.

He is the One True God.

I believe in Him. I serve Him. In Him, and Him alone, do I trust.

My God Is Better

People worship some strange gods.

Some gods are angry, mean, and deceitful, like the ancient Greek gods. Others are powerful but flawed, basically just humans with super powers. People follow gods who are distant, detached, and unreachable. Selfish. Self absorbed. Cruel. Evil.

My God isn't like that.

My God is better.

My God cares.

He cares so much, in fact, that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not die for their sins, but have eternal life (John 3:16). He cares so much that He keeps track of even the hairs on my head (Matthew 10:30). He cares so much that He listens when I talk to Him. Every. Single. Time.

God cares so much for us that nothing is too great, or too small, for us to take it to Him knowing that He can, and will, give us every good thing. So great is His care that when we stumble, He lifts us gently to our feet like the children we are. He cares so much that He disciplines us so that we will learn. He weeps. He rejoices. He jealously protects.

My God cares. A lot.

My God gives.

My God provides all things. It is said in scientific circles that our sun gives us life. Well, my God created the sun, and gave it to us. He gives us food and water, clothing and shelter. He provides comfort to the downcast heart, strength to the weary, courage to the faint of heart. He gives even when we do not deserve.

Everything we have is from God, and we have everything we need. My God provides richly and abundantly. Not because He must, but because that is His heart.

My God is a giver.

My God is close.

God does not remain secluded on some unreachable mountain top, nor locked away in some unapproachable fortress. My God is here, with me, right now. My Father lives in heaven, but His presence is everywhere. Even more, my God has chosen, of His own free will, to dwell not only with me, but within me. His Spirit has taken up residence side by side with mine.

That's close.

My God is better in every way.

My God is more powerful than any other. My God is more caring, loving, giving, and personal than any other. There is no god greater than mine, because my God is the only true God.

My God is the best.

My God Is Bigger

This is a picture of a pulsar.

A pulsar is a type of a neutron star, which is the incredibly dense core of a star that is left over after a supernova. A supernova, of course, is the explosion that takes place when the most massive stars in the universe die. Sometimes they form black holes. Sometimes they form neutron stars.

These are massively powerful objects which we are just beginning to understand, and then poorly. Their forces can only be described by mathematical equations that cover pages and take a PhD to comprehend. They are incredible.

They are puny compared to God.

God created the stars.

There are an estimated 100,000,000,000 galaxies in the universe. Each galaxy has an estimated average 100,000,000,000 stars. Multiply those together, and you get the estimated number of stars in the universe. And that's actually an old number--it grows as telescope technology improves.

God created every one of them, and knows them by name! (Psalm 147:4). He keeps track of their coming and going. More than that, He controls their coming and going. Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus, who is God, sustains all things. He sustains the stars--He's the force behind their force!

That's power.

My God is bigger.

I don't care what you want to compare Him to, my God is bigger. He's more powerful, more awesome, more incredible than anything, because He made everything! Not only that, but He controls everything and sustains it. Without God, there would be no forces of nature. There would be no energy. Without His sustaining power, there would be nothing.

You might think such a massively powerful God would be distant and impersonal, but nothing could be further from the truth. Matthew 10:30 tells us that God is so personal, and cares for us so much, that even the hairs on our heads are numbered.

My God sustains the universe, and still keeps track of every detail of the insignificant speck that is me.

That's love.

And you think God can't take care of your problems?

A supernova is the most powerful event we know of. The generated force of the explosion is mind blowing--astronomers estimate that an observed supernova exploded with a luminosity (brightness) that was 600 billion times brighter than our sun! To put it another way, the energy emitted in about the minute and a half a supernova lasts exceeds the amount of energy the sun will release in its 10 billion year lifetime. 

Here's the wild part. Because of the number of stars (see above), a supernova probably occurs somewhere in the universe about once every second. That means, if a supernova last 100 seconds, there are about a 100 supernovae going off right now. Take a moment and consider the amount of energy, the raw power we are talking about.

God's in control of that.

How big are your problems again?

I've tried to give you an idea of the power of God, and certainly have only scratched the surface. But considering God controls and sustains these incredible forces, and yet still keeps track of every hair on your head, how big are your problems compared to His ability to deal with them?

The next time you think a problem is too big for God, maybe thinking about the supernova will put things in perspective. And the next time you don't think God cares enough about you to do something, answer this one, simple question:

Do you know how many hairs are on your own head?