How can the average person know where to find God?

I struggled for years as a Christian sitting in a pew, often wondering how others were so sure of their faith. I heard many of the “proofs” people give about Jesus and the authenticity of the bible, but each one seemed to have gaps I personally could not explain so they each fell short of being proofs for me. I still held my faith but at the same time wondered how we Christians expect others to see god with evidence that is beyond the capability of the average person to verify? In these times, every religion has their own compelling “truths” and men are left not knowing what’s real and what’s not. How do we know who to believe?

I now have found the proofs I sought for years and ones that were in reach of anyone that wanted to examine the bible in a sincere way to seek out God. If God wanted to absolutely prove himself he could simply appear in the sky and blast us with his truths, but I suppose he did not want to fear us into believing in him. What kind of followers would that make? God says those who seek him will find him.

I say this because the proofs are in the bible but they are not in any single verse. Proofs I think a discerning mind like ours can accept, but God has placed them there in such a way that only a truly seeking person will find and comprehend. I don’t have room for much explanation here but can pass along a couple of clues that might make you wonder about the possibility of such strong evidence about God really existing. These two facts are only coincidences without more to go along with them, but strong coincidences can eventually change random facts into a preponderance of evidence which establish truths.

So here are just two small verifiable facts that help demonstrate the bible is truly the Word of God. Hopefully these encourage you to look into his word more to find out who he is –

#1 - There are 1189 chapters in the King James Bible and the 595th and exact middle chapter of the bible is Psalms 117. It is both the shortest chapter in the bible and the only one with just two verses. The two verses in this tiny chapter exclaim praise for God’s lovingkindness and everlasting nature. Might be a coincidence but if you think about it for a few moments, it is quite an incredible chance that this unique chapter could also be in a very unique place in God's Holy book. One chance in 1189 this coincidently finds its way to this place in the bible.

#2 – One thousand is a milestone number that is also a unique chapter number in a book with just over 1000 chapters. In this special chapter of the bible God has left us another amazing coincidence and a special clue about who he is. Even more amazing, this clue is in the form of a single bible verse God has been popping up around the world for years and is often seen by millions in televised sports events. Is it a coincidence that John 3:16 just happens to be in this milestone and special chapter of the bible? John 3, the Born Again chapter, explains the single key concept how we must be born again to see the kingdom of God.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

These are just two “coincidences” everyone can see and confirm are in the King James Bible – the same bible millions of people have in their home today. Admittedly, these alone don’t prove anything about God, but maybe they are a way of getting your attention. Imagine there are thousands of other such verifiable facts in the bible to be found if you look for them. God will show up if you seek him but don't expect him to jump off the page at you – that’s not how he works.

If you want to know about God, ask him and sincerely seek him out and I think he will be paying you a visit.

Why – I almost hate to add the next part of what is needed to be said because it can appear to take away from the loving image of God. We are not just encouraged to seek God, we must if we want to avoid spending eternity without him. There are serious consequences to not accepting Jesus Christ as your LORD and savior. Every soul is eternal whether we like it or not. We will spend eternity somewhere and there is only one way to spend it with God. As much as we might like to dismiss God or trust that we are good enough to be deserving of a good life when we leave this one, God tells us clearly this is a huge mistake.

The creator of the universe makes the rules and we cannot understand his ways, even if he tried to explain them to us. Don’t try to out-reason God. Investigate him to see if you believe he is the creator of the universe and if you do, don’t doubt that what he tells us plainly in his word will come to pass. It does not matter how we think things ought to work. The eternal future you have depends on it. It’s OK to doubt God, but give him a chance to prove who he is.

Norm Patriquin

March 2008