Jonah - the flip side

In the book of Jonah, we have the story of Jonah...fancy that!

In this book, we read that Jonah was told by God to go to Nineveh and tell the people about God, His love, His anger over their sins, and His mercy if they repented. Jonah decided the people were too sinful and didn't want to go.

So, he jumps on a ship going the opposite direction (interesting) and causes everyone on the ship to be in danger of drowning at sea in a huge storm.  

Oddly enough, the people on the boat ,who probably didn't believe in God, believe God is unhappy with someone on board. Jonah finally admits that it is he who God is after (another interesting idea) and they throw him overboard. The storm stops and everyone else is safe (interesting correlation to Christ dying for us).

Now Jonah is swallowed by a big fish...So he is essentially "saved" from drowning. As he can't run anywhere else, he finally stops defying God and decides to go do what God asked him to do in the first place (reminds me of my children...and me).

So, the fish deposits Jonah on shore and he goes where he should have been all a along...probably smelling like vomit for awhile! I assume Jonah washed up, and then headed to Nineveh as promised. He gets there, and guess what! These horrible, wretched, sinful people...repent! God is happy. This was what He wanted all along.

Guess what happens after God is merciful to the people of Nineveh? Jonah is not happy; in fact he is really mad. He looks at these people and wonders why God should save such wretched, sinful people.  

Let's review about Nineveh for a moment to get the full impact. So, the people of Nineveh turned away from God completely. They were the worst of sinners (this is man's perspective as all sin is bad to God). They were known for being really bad people. Nobody wanted to go to Nineveh. God wanted them to change, so He sent a messenger, Jonah, who tells them about God and how their sins separate them from God. They repent. Jonah is mad about it and has a little tantrum.

Now, let's review Jonah. Jonah was chosen by God! He was told by God to go to Nineveh. He refused! He ran away. He tried to hide. He disobeyed over and over again. He put other people's lives in danger so he could do what He wanted instead if what God wanted. He didn't like the people of Nineveh before they repented. He didn't like them after they repented. He seems like a really bad, sinful, selfish guy, doesn't he?

So, who was really forgiven and set free by God's mercy? Did God tell Jonah to go to Nineveh for Nineveh's sake or for Jonah's or so the people on the boat could see Jonah's God? Seems to me Jonah was just as disobedient and disrespectful and untrusting of God as the people of Nineveh. Jonah needed to repent and turn to God, also. 

God is a big God. He took care of three different situations at the same time...and maybe more as we only know what is written! He loved all these people, Jonah, the people on the ship, the people of Nineveh. He didn't want to see anyone lost. He saved them all! God always has a plan!

God loves all of us, too. He doesn't want to see any of us lost either. He has a plan for you, too! Will you go? Will you believe? Will you turn to God?

Father, we are all sinners. Sin is sin no matter how big or small. Please help us see what we need to ask you forgiveness for. Please help us turn to you. Please help us go and show the love and mercy you have shown us to others. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Should we pray for little things like "help me find my keys?"

Someone asked if they should pray to God for God to solve a computer problem at work. Do we bother God with stuff like that? Shouldn't we figure the small stuff out ourselves? Can't we look for our car keys and not bother Him with helping us do that?

Philippians 4
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Never feel you shouldn't talk to God about anything. He will listen. He wants us to talk to Him every minute of every day. Here is a little story that may help. 

I have a friend who was hosting a party. I was helping her at the last minute as it seemed things were getting overwhelming for her. As I hustled around the kitchen doing whatever needed to be done, I looked up and noticed she was looking for something and seemed anxious about it. I went over to help, and overheard her praying to God to help her find the knive she needed. 

I am going to be very honest. I laughed to myself. I thought, "who asks God for a knife?" God had bigger things to take care of than that knife! I never forgot that moment. I now know God didn't want me to. As I said God always has a plan. Just because I don't understand it, didn't mean there is no plan!

So, I have watched this woman closely and talked to her about lots of things. Always remembering that moment. Then I started to study and learn about praying. Guess what! My friend had done just what I should have done. She relied on God instead of herself for the answers she needed. When things were overwhelming, she stopped and gave it to God by asking Him for help...even the little things that we think we shouldn't bother Him with!

Ask God. Talk to God. Tell Him what you have done so far to try to solve the problem and then just ask Him for help. You might not get the answer you thought you would or get an answer when you thought you should, but you will be amazed! Nothing is ever unimportant to God! Nothing!

God made the universe. Finding knives or keys or answering small requests for help will not be too hard for Him! He wants us to talk, pray, with Him all the time. Pray in "every situation." By the way, that woman found the knife almost immediately.

Father thank you for always shedding light on situations, problems, issues...everything. Thank you for having a plan, yet taking the time to answer our seemingly small prayers.

Fasting?

Matthew 6
16“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

“For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” -Hosea 6:6

Fasting. This had always been perplexing to me, until I realized that fasting was meant to be used to focus on God. It isn't for losing weight or so we can say we did it or to show others how religious we are. It is supposed to be focused on God...for His glory...not ours.

I have tried fasting with the intention of focusing on God, and every time it has turned out to be about me. Fasting up to this point, even though I figured out it is supposed to be about God, is still about me. I can't seem to break that cycle. 

Today, though, my devotion was about fasting and yes, its purpose...to glorify God. One particular phrase in the shereadstruth.com devotional (by Raechel Myers) for Lent today really hammered the message home. Here it is:

"He who knit us together, sees and searches and knows every beat of our hearts (Psalm 139:1-2, 23; 1 Samuel 16:7). Imagine Him, our Creator and Father, being presented with gifts from our heart to His, knowing full well they were never really intended for Him. Our sacrifices are empty apart from our God. They are utterly meaningless outside of communing with Him."

Hmmmm...I intended the sacrifice of fasting to be for God at first, but God knows I did not intend the sacrifice of fasting to be for Him in the end. It was focused on not eating instead. That hurts just to think about. The God who made me, who knew me in my mother's womb, who wants only the best for me, who sent His son to die on a cross for all my mistakes/sins, He knows my so called sacrifice of fasting was, in the end, not intended for Him but for me. To please some desire I had. To show that I,
not God, could control my eating for a day.

Father, forgive me! I have been selfish and focused on myself rather than you. I love you and want to please you. Please help me to please you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

-------------------

Fasting is also intercession for others.
Acts 13
 Now there were in the church at Antiochnprophets and nteachers, oBarnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,1 Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of pHerod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, qthe Holy Spirit said, r“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul sfor the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and tpraying they laid their hands on them and usent them off.

Then I discovered that we can fast for more than just our focus on God. We can fast for the benefit of others. Of course, now that I know that, it makes sense. God is always thinking of everything, us and others!

I am contemplating who to fast for. I can't wait you see what happens. I must admit, however, that I don't know how long to fast or if we can eat or drink anything. I will have to find this information out. I am praying now.

Fasting is not about us.
Isaiah 58
5Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 

Fasting is not about us. After reading the scripture above, it is about others. Just like keeping my focus on God should be my goal every minute if I want to know His will for my life, then focusing on others is also His will. That is the doing part of His will. The hands and feet. Amazing how everything comes full circle. I start reading about fasting to see what it is all about, and I end up realizing it is all about the two greatest commandments! Cool! It is just like God to do something like that.  Wrap everything up in a neat, tidy bow.

The first commandment, the greatest, is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and strength (Matthew 22:37-38). So, fasting is about God not me.

The second greatest commandment, according to Jesus Christ, is to love they neighbor as thyself (Matthew 22:39). That would be fasting for others! So even in fasting, God's plan is spelled out in the commandments Jesus gave us. God is always consistent, isn't he. He always has a plan to bring everything back to what it should be. Everything from beginning to end us under His control.

Father, I thank you that you are in control and that we are part of your plan. Please help us to understand what fasting for your glory and others should look like. In Christ's name I pray. Amen.

Why do I not realize my sin?

Why do I not realize my sin? Because, I am too busy living in this fallen world. I am so busy getting things done, that is a Martha, that I completely forget about God. Once I do that, I don't even notice my sin!  Here is what I am praying today and for every day hereafter. I need to be aware that I am sinning (every tiny sin counts) and then turn to God for forgiveness and strength to not sin anymore. 

From the Puritan Prayers

Confession and Petition

Holy Lord, I have sinned times without number, and been guilty of pride and unbelief, of failure to find Thy mind in Thy Word, of neglect to seek Thee in my daily life. My transgressions and short-comings present me with a list of accusations, but I bless Thee that they will not stand against me, for all have been laid on Christ. Go on to subdue my corruptions, and grant me grace to live above them. Let not the passions of the flesh nor lustings of the mind bring my spirit into subjection, but do Thou rule over me in liberty and power.

I thank Thee that many of my prayers have been refused. I have asked amiss and do not have, I have prayed from lusts and been rejected, I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness. Go on with Thy patient work, answering 'no' to my wrongful prayers, and fitting me to accept it. Purge me from every false desire, every base aspiration, everything contrary to Thy rule. I thank Thee for Thy wisdom and Thy love, for all the acts of discipline to which I am subject, for sometimes putting me into the furnace to refine my gold and remove my dross.

No trial is so hard to bear as a sense of sin. If Thou shouldst give me choice to live in pleasure and keep my sins, or to have them burnt away with trial, give me sanctified affliction. Deliver me from every evil habit, every accretion of former sins, everything that dims the brightness of Thy grace in me, everything that prevents me taking delight in Thee. Then I shall bless Thee, God of jeshurun, for helping me to be upright.

The Seven Jewish Festivals and what they mean...They are a summation of all of history!

Lent has begun. I am not Catholic, and we aren't commanded Biblically to follow this tradition because Jesus has set us free from these kinds of things. However, I do like to focus on Lent so that I am spiritually prepared for Easter. 

So, I noticed today in my devotion about Lent, that it mentions the feasts of the Jews. I have heard about them before, frequently. Today, I wanted to find out more. I went to gotquestions.org, and below is what I found. This is the first, and as of now, the only place I have looked, so there may be differing information out there, but I thought this summary was very informative and interesting. It certainly does help me understand the feasts and their meaning for Christians. It also shows God's redemptive plan from beginning to end! God always has a plan!

There are seven Jewish festivals or feasts outlined in the Bible. While they are mentioned throughout Scripture, we find instructions for all seven laid out in Leviticus 23. Leviticus 23:2refers to the seven Jewish festivals, literally “appointed times,” also called “holy convocations.” These were days appointed and ordained by God to be kept to the honor of His name. These times of celebration are important not only to Israel, but also to the overall message of the Bible, because each one foreshadows or symbolizes an aspect of the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The book of Leviticus contains God’s instructions to His chosen nation, Israel, on how they were to worship Him. It contains detailed instructions about the duties of the priests as well as instructions on observing and obeying God’s Law and the sacrificial system. God designated seven specific feasts that Israel was to celebrate each year. Each one of these Jewish festivals is significant both in regards to the Lord’s provision for His people and in regards to the foreshadowing of the coming Messiah and His work in redeeming people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. While Christians are no longer under any obligation to observe any of the Old Testament feasts (Colossians 2:16), we should understand their significance and importance, nonetheless.

The feasts often began and ended with a “Sabbath rest,” and the Jews were commanded to not do any customary work on those days. Both the normal weekly Sabbath and the special Sabbaths that were to be observed as part of the Jewish feasts point us to the ultimate Sabbath rest, which is found only in Jesus Christ. It is a rest that Christians experience through faith in the finished work of Christ upon the cross.

Beginning in the spring, the seven Jewish feasts are Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Jewish feasts are closely related to Israel’s spring and fall harvests and agricultural seasons. They were to remind the Israelites each year of God’s ongoing protection and provision. But, even more importantly, they foreshadowed the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Not only did they play significant roles in Christ’s earthly ministry but they also symbolize the complete redemptive story of Christ, beginning with His death on the cross as the Passover Lamb and ending with His second coming after which He will “tabernacle” or dwell with His people forever.

Here is a brief summary of the spiritual significance of each of the seven Jewish festivals or feasts. It is interesting to note that the first three occur back to back, almost simultaneously. The Feast of Unleavened Bread starts the very day after Passover is celebrated. Then, on the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits begins.

Passover reminds us of redemption from sin. It was the time when Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was offered as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. It is on that basis alone that God can justify the ungodly sinner. Just as the blood of a lamb sprinkled on the doorpost of Jewish homes caused the Spirit of the Lord to pass over those homes during the last plague on Egypt (Exodus 12), so those covered by the blood of the Lamb will escape the spiritual death and judgment God will visit upon all who reject Him. Of all the Jewish festivals, Passover is of the greatest importance because the Lord’s Supper was a Passover meal (Matthew 26:17–27). In passing the elements and telling the disciples to eat of His body, Jesus was presenting Himself as the ultimate Passover Lamb.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread followed immediately after Passover and lasted one week, during which time the Israelites ate no bread with yeast in remembrance of their haste in preparing for their exodus from Egypt. In the New Testament, yeast is often associated with evil (1 Corinthians 5:6–8; Galatians 5:9), and, just as Israel was to remove yeast from their bread, so are Christians to purge evil from their lives and live a new life in godliness and righteousness. Christ as our Passover Lamb cleanses us from sin and evil, and by His power and that of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are freed from sin to leave our old lives behind, just as the Israelites did.

The Feast of Firstfruits took place at the beginning of the harvest and signified Israel’s gratitude to and dependence upon God. According to Leviticus 23:9–14, an Israelite would bring a sheaf of the first grain of the harvest to the priest, who would wave it before the Lord as an offering. Deuteronomy 26:1–11states that, when the Israelites brought the firstfuits of their harvest before the priest, they were to acknowledge that God had delivered them from Egypt and had given them the Promised Land. This reminds us of Christ’s resurrection as He was the “firstfuits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Just as Christ was the first to rise from the dead and receive a glorified body, so shall all those who are born again follow Him, being resurrected to inherit an “incorruptible body” (1 Corinthians 15:35–49).

The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) occurred 50 days after the Firstfruits festival and celebrated the end of the grain harvest (the Greek wordPentecost means “fiftieth”). The primary focus of the festival was gratitude to God for the harvest. This feast reminds us of the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send “another helper” (John 14:16) who would indwell believers and empower them for ministry. The coming of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection was the guarantee (Ephesians 1:13–14) that the promise of salvation and future resurrection will come to pass. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in every born-again believer is what seals us in Christ and bears witness with our spirit that we are indeed “joint heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16–17).

After the spring feasts conclude with the Feast of Weeks, there is a period of time before the fall feasts begin. This time is spiritually symbolic of the church age in which we live today. Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection are past, we have received the promised Holy Spirit, and now we await His second coming. Just as the spring feasts pointed toward the Messiah’s ministry at His first coming, the fall feasts point toward what will happen at His second coming.

The Feast of Trumpets was commanded to be held on the first day of the seventh month and was to be a “day of trumpet blast” (Numbers 29:1) to commemorate the end of the agricultural and festival year. The trumpet blasts were meant to signal to Israel that they were entering a sacred season. The agricultural year was coming to a close; there was to be a reckoning with the sins of the people on the Day of Atonement. The Feast of Trumpets signifies Christ’s second coming. We see trumpets associated with the second coming in verses like1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” Of course, the sounding of the trumpet also indicates the pouring out of God’s wrath on the earth in the book of Revelation. Certainly, this feast points toward the coming Day of the Lord.

The Day of Atonement occurs just ten days after the Feast of Trumpets. The Day of Atonement was the day the high priest went into the Holy of Holies each year to make an offering for the sins of Israel. This feast is symbolic of the time when God will again turn His attention back to the nation of Israel after “the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and . . . all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25–26). The Jewish remnant who survive the Great Tribulation will recognize Jesus as their Messiah as God releases them from their spiritual blindness and they come to faith in Christ.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) is the seventh and final feast of the Lord and took place five days after the Day of Atonement. For seven days, the Israelites presented offerings to the Lord, during which time they lived in huts made from palm branches. Living in the booths recalled the sojourn of the Israelites prior to their taking the land of Canaan (Leviticus 23:43). This feast signifies the future time when Christ rules and reigns on earth. For the rest of eternity, people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will “tabernacle” or dwell with Christ in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9–27).

While the four spring feasts look back at what Christ accomplished at His first coming, the three fall feasts point us toward the glory of His second coming. The first is the source of our hope in Christ—His finished work of atonement for sins—and the second is the promise of what is to come—eternity with Christ. Understanding the significance of these God-appointed Jewish festivals helps us to better see and understand the complete picture and plan of redemption found in Scripture.

Thank you, Father, for always having a wonderful plan to bring us all to you! Thank you for handling all the details. For ensuring we remember what has been done for us. Please help me to share this with others today. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

The promise if heaven

I Thessalonians
16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 

This is so comforting to me. God has a plan and He has had it from the start. He created man. Man sinned. God washes away every aspect of sin by sending His son. We are now free to celebrate because we are going to heaven. 

So, what happens in heaven? I have been reading about heaven much lately, and there is a lot more information out there about it than I realized! The Bible speaks about heaven more than I realized also. Why wouldn't it? That's where all Christians hope lies isn't it? Some current authors write of three heavens. Some write of two, one spiritual and one the final heaven when Jesus returns. 

Jesus' return is what the scripture above refers to no matter what current authors write about. Jesus will return to the earth and when He does, no matter how many heavens we think we see in the Bible, everything will change. Christians who are dead will be rejoined with their new bodies. Christians who are alive will have their new heavenly bodies immediately. Either way, we are all made new and in a glorious place with a Father that loves us and has prepared a place for us for all of eternity!

That is so wonderful and amazing and so much like God.

Father, thank you for always thinking about us and planning for our good and never giving up on us! In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

What do people mean when they say "works"won't get you to heaven?

Philippians 2
5In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Excerpt form a devotion:
AND CAN IT BE? by Kevin Twit 
 In 1738, Charles Wesley was struggling to find peace with God. He had served as a missionary to Georgia, but that had turned out disastrously bad. Peter Bohler, the leader of the London Moravians, asked Charles if he hoped to be saved. Charles replied that he did. Bohler pressed, “Upon what basis do you hope to be saved?” Wesley said, “Because I have used my best endeavors to serve God.” Bohler shook his head sadly and walked away. 

 Wesley recorded his reaction in his journal: “What, are not my endeavors a sufficient ground of hope? Would he rob me of my endeavors? I have nothing else to trust to.”

God requires that we love Him perfectly from the moment we are born until the moment we die, with no lapses. Faced with this impossible requirement, many religious people attempt to take solace in such empty hopes as our best, though imperfect, endeavors. But this hymn points us to a higher ground of hope—the power of the gospel. 

 Later in 1738, Wesley’s friend, John Bray, discovered Martin Luther’s Commentary on Galatians and brought it to Wesley, who was sick in bed. Luther had famously once said that the whole of the gospel was found in the personal pronouns, and Wesley found peace as the Lord gave him faith to believe that Jesus had died for him. Wesley wrote in his journal, “I spent some hours this evening in private with Martin Luther, who was greatly blessed to me, especially his conclusion of the second chapter. I labored, waited, and prayed to feel ‘Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.’” 

 It is sometimes said that “And Can It Be” was Wesley’s first hymn, written soon after his conversion. Hymn scholars are now convinced that “Where Shall My Wondering Soul Begin?” was actually his first hymn. But “And Can It Be” was written soon after and expresses beautifully and powerfully the converting power of the gospel that he had experienced. Wesley is one of our most skilled hymn writers. He begins with a piercing question to which no real answer can be given: “How can it be, that thou my God, shoulds’t die for me?” If we ever get to the point where God’s grace seems deserved or expected, we are in deep trouble. 

 We see Wesley’s grasp of Luther’s point in his use of personal pronouns: “my God,” “for me.” But it is in the last verse where Wesley reveals the heart of his new-found hope. “Alive in Him, my living head, and clothed in righteousness divine.” 

 Wesley had come to understand that the gospel Christ gives us is what God requires—His perfect righteousness through our union with Him. What Christ does, we get credit for; what He deserves, we get! Rather than trusting in our best endeavors, Wesley gives us words to praise God for our only true hope, the righteousness of Christ imputed to His people through faith. This brings us not only hope, but boldness to claim the crown—not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done in our place.

And Can It Be That I Should Gain? Charles Wesley, 1738

 And can it be that I should gain An interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain— For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

...No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine; Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine, Bold I approach th’eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own. Bold I approach th’eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own

So, now you know thatworks do not get us to heaven. Only faith in Jesus Christ gets us to heaven. That is it, nothing more and nothing less!

I praise you Father, that you made it simple for us to be with you for eternity. Please keep us focused on this and not what we do that is good. Amen.

No one has ever seen God

I John 4
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

No one has ever seen God? Hmmmm. Didn't God appear to Moses, Job, Abraham? Didn't He?  So, why now, in the New Testament, does it say no one has ever seen God?

This is a situation when everything comes to a screeching halt for me. I have to understand what these scriptures are saying. I can't move past it until I do. How can people have seen God in the Old Testament and now the New Testament says no one has seen Him? That doesn't make sense. I know the scriptures are Good inspired, therefore, they have to make sense. So, I looked it up.

Here is what the NIV Study Bible said:
First it said to go back to I John 1:12
God the One and Only. An explicit declaration of Christ's deity (see vv. 1, 14 and notes; 3:16; see also note on Ro 9:5). has made him known.Sometimes in the OT people are said to have seen God (see, e.g., Ex 24:10 andnote). But we are also told that no one can see God and live (Ex 33:20). Therefore, since no human being can see God as he really is, those who saw God saw him in a form he took on himself temporarily for the occasion. Now, however, Christ “has made him known” (see 2Co 4:4; Col 1:15,19; 2:9and notes).

Then it explained further:
No one has ever seen God. See note on Jn 1:18. Since our love has its source in God's love, his love reaches full expression (is made complete) when we love fellow Christians. Thus the God whom “no one has ever seen” is seen in those who love, because God lives in them.

So, basically, those who have seen God, have seen a form of Him that He allowed them to see, because if they saw God in His fullness, they would die. Others see God through Christians as God lives in us! 

What an honor...God lives in us! Not an honor we deserve, but an honor we are given because we believe in the Son!

Father, thank you for loving us enough to send your Son to make us good enough. In Jesus name I pray. Amen