April 2011
Phone: 260-463-4901 • Fax 888-439-6528 • The Hometown Treasure
Spiritual Treasures
by Barry St. Clair, Pastor at Maple Grove Church
Can You Show Me God?
Where is God, I have never seen him. I John 4:7-21
Can you show me God? This is what the world is
asking of us. We as Christians should be able to show
them God. But we can’t in the way that they want to see
him. For scriptures tell us that, “no man hath seen God
at any time” 1 Timothy 6:16; 1 John 4:12; John 1:18 and
Exodus 33:18-23. There are those who have seen the
angels of the Lord, those who have seen the fire of the
Lord, and also those who have seen His only begotten
Son, Jesus Christ. Some have seen the afterglow of God
as He passed by. Today we have His Word and have seen
it come alive in many lives. It affects us and changes
our lives forever even though we have not seen God.
We have seen the body of Christ (the church) grow
from 120 in the book of Acts to millions today who are
affecting the entire world but many still ask the ageless,
timeless, unending question, can you show me God?
As one day ends for us as the sun is setting in the
west there is a new day beginning in the east somewhere
coming our way bringing sunshine that breaks through
the darkness revealing the brightness of a new day. A day
full of beautiful colors that cannot really be captured
by even the best camera lens made. Some things can
truly only be captured by the eye of the beholder and
still yet with all of this beauty people still are asking,
can you show me God?
We can take an egg from the nest of a chicken
and place it in an incubator and at a predetermined
time set by God we can see life come forth as it begins
to open from the inside out. Seeing a totally healthy
baby chick, complete ... a copy of its parents. And still
we ask, can you show me God?
As 1 John 4:8 states “God is love.” Love is a word
that must be revealed and seen in an action of ours
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toward someone else. This love is not for our own
personal gain but for the person that is the recipient
of our love or actions.
As in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.” God showed
this the greatest love, and Christ gave His life for our
gain. He rose from the grave on the first Easter morning
and is now sitting at the right hand of God the Father
that we might gain everlasting life.
God is like the wind or electricity ... you only see
the effects of these things but you know they are there.
Seeing a light bulb light up when you flip a switch,
you know that it is electricity that makes that happen.
When you see the branches in a tree blow, bending to
the earth you know that this is happening because of
the wind. You see God and His love in a person’s life
as Christ enters a person’s heart, changing that person
from the inside out into the image and likeness of His
Son. As that person becomes an example of love they
reach out to others exhibiting Christ’s love which is
true unconditional love.
As Christ, God’s Son reached out to you and me
at the first Easter nearly 2,000 years ago, first dying on
the cross and then being raised from the dead three
days later, all of this to show love and/or God.
For God is love. And love in itself cannot be seen
but the actions from the one that loves can’t be ignored
or overlooked for their love in action will overpower
the one that is being loved.
If we love one another, God and His love will
continually be perfected in us. The world then can see
God in you and thereby we are answering the question,
can you show me God?
USINGS FROM
by Maggie Glick
AGGIE
I’m in therapy at Greencroft in Goshen now that
I’ve had surgery for a pacemaker. The surgery scars are
healing well my doctor says. This week I underwent the
final round of therapy and hope to gain more energy
as I develop those muscles I worked on for several
months in therapy.
As for energy now, I have to use a “walker” to walk
anywhere because the therapy doctor was fearful that I
would fall and break hip bones because of my unsteady
pace. The staff here at Greencroft often aid me each
time I try walking without it by asking me, “Maggie,
where is your walker?” I usually find it in my room ...
where I had left it.
Also adding much to my energy are the nutritious
and delicious meals we have each meal at Greencroft.
Every meal we get a menu with that day’s choices. We
select our choices, add our name and table, and soon
our choices from the menu appear before us brought
by the efficient kitchen staff. What will I do when that
added energy comes? I expect to use wisdom when
that comes!