THE GOOD NEWS OF PEACE

2. Who Is God?
Why should we worship God? THE true God is the Creator of all things. He had no beginning and will never have an end. (Psalm 90:2) The good news of the Bible is from God. (1 Timothy 1:11 ) Since God is the Source of life, we should worship only him. Revelation 4:11 What is God like? No one has ever seen God because he is a Spirit, which means that he is a higher form of life than the physical creatures who live on earth. (John 1:18; John 4:24) Gods personality is revealed in the things he has made. For example, when we contemplate the design and variety of fruits and flowers, we discern Gods love and wisdom. The vastness of the universe tells us of Gods power. (Romans 1:20) We can learn even more about Gods personality from the Bible. For example, it tells us what God likes and what he does not like, how he treats people, and how he reacts in different situations. (Psalm 103:7-10) Does God have a name? Jesus said: Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. (Matthew 6:9) Although God has many titles, he has only one name. In each language, it is pronounced differently. In English we usually say Jehovah or sometimes Yahweh. Psalm 83:18 Gods name has been taken out of many Bibles and replaced with the titles Lord or God. But when the Bible was written, it contained Gods name some 7,000 times. Jesus made Gods name known by using it when he explained Gods Word to people. He helped people to come to know God. John 17:26 Does Jehovah care about us? Jehovah shows interest in us by listening personally to our prayers. (Psalm 65:2 ) Does the abundance of suffering mean that God does not care about us? Some people claim that God makes us suffer to test us, but this is not true. Job 34:10; James 1:13 God has granted man the dignity of free will. Do we not appreciate our freedom to choose to serve God? (Joshua 24:15) Suffering abounds because many choose to do bad things to others. It hurts Jehovah to see such injustice. Genesis 6:5, 6 God cares about us and wants us to enjoy life. Soon, it is his will to eliminate suffering and those who cause it. Meanwhile, God has good reason for allowing suffering temporarily. 2 Peter 2:9; 3:7, 13 How can we draw closer to God? God invited us to draw closer to him in prayer. This is because he cares about each of us. (Psalm 65:2; 145:18) He forgive us our sins and cherishes our efforts to please him. In spite of our errors and shortcomings. So, despite our imperfection, we can have a close

relationship with Him. Psalm 103:12-14; James 4:8. Since Jehovah has given us life, we should love him more than we love anyone else. (Mark 12:30) The more we show God that we love him by knowing him and by doing as he asks, the more we drawing closer to him. 1 Timothy 2:4; 1 John 5:3