It just seems so very simple and obvious-from the very beginning, it seems all God ever really wanted from man, the reason He created him in His own image, and endowed him with a mind and a heart and a free will, was to have a mutually respectful and affectionate relationship with him, to 'walk' and 'talk' and 'share' with him, to win man's affection and loyalty. Yet, time and time again, even most of the people to whom God had shown special favor, violated the trust and affection that He had shown them. But then came Jesus Christ, 'the Suffering Servant of God'. Jesus invested a lot-everything, in fact-to restore our relationship with God, to get us talking to God, not as some nebulous and distant entity, but as "Abba/Daddy/Papa," so that we would "return to Him with all our hearts." To justify this level of intimacy between sinful creatures and a holy Creator, Jesus offered his body and blood as a 'sin-offering' to God on Calvary, on our behalf. His life, in particular his consistent faithfulness and obedience to the Heavenly Father, is the true measure of how we are to live out this holy father-child relationship with God. Yet within just a few centuries of Christ's Ascension, men somehow managed to transform his simple portrayal of God, one that fosters child-like love and trust, into a maze of words and ideas that seem to redefine God-who in Exodus 3:14* told Moses: "This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "-to redefine Him now as a divine governing body of three persons-i.e. 'the Holy Trinity'. This mysterious view of God hardly elicits the spontaneous affection towards God that Jesus was trying to spark in us, and therefore many miss out on 'the Good News' to mankind that Jesus brought to us from God. Confident that "there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people," 1 Tim 2:5-6*, the author tries in this book to stay focused on what he sees as most important in Christ's overall message: . . . that the Almighty is a loving Father who "rewards those who earnestly seek him;" (Heb 11:6*) . . . that we would do well to listen to Jesus, and follow his example of faithfulness and obedience to God, if we expect to be justified by his blood on 'Judgment Day', because he spoke and taught and worked miracles with the authority he received from God, and he embodies his Heavenly Father's wisdom, love, and care for mankind-he is not only the Messiah, he is the perfect "image of the invisible God" (see Col 1:15*), a 'living portrait' of God's character-truly 'the Son of God'; . . . that maintaining a 'spiritual communion' with Jesus, especially by living out 'the Beatitudes' in chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel, is the surest way to resist evil influences and keep God's 'Ten Commandments', so fundamental in our relationship with God; . . . that becoming truly holy and pleasing to God is not only possible but expected of every Christian; that they are to make it their goal to be fully available to the Spirit of the Heavenly Father-the sanctifying influence of God, that can come over us like fear or awe or joy, . . . falling on us, . . . filling us, . . . imparting to us a holy resolve, a blameless disposition, God's inspiration/direction/consolation/energy/power/zeal, . . . pressing upon us from within to joyfully sing His praises, and do His works, and even to speak in His name-for this is God's way of gradually transforming God's people to a Christ-like level of perfection and holiness, and so renewing mankind. It is the author's hope that somewhere among these thoughts and prayers those new to Christ will find a blessing-an insight or two that will help them draw even closer to God through Jesus Christ. _____________________________________________ (Large Print edition) _______ * The Holy Bible, New International Version(r) (see also ISBN-13: