Wednesday With The Word: The Gospel in a Nutshell

Our winter storm is over, but it left us nearly 10 inches of the powdery white stuff. Now we are supposed to go back into the deep freeze. The low temperature for tonight is supposed to be -10, which means we will be bringing our dogs inside. The cats will be thrilled.

Ed finally got home about 1:00 this afternoon. He is tired and thankful that he has the next two days off. I am too.

Because I know that God is in control, I can experience stressful times like the last few days with an internal peace. When Ed remarked that I had a fire going today, I told him that the Lord started that one, because I didn't have to work nearly as hard to get it going. When I realized I had a good fire, I gave credit where it was due, and thanked Him profusely.

Non-Christians usually react to that kind of remark, as they would to someone they believe is mentally deficient. Thats ok, because the Bible says the unsaved can't understand. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says:

"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."

The "Spirit" in question is the Holy Spirit, the third part of the God-head, which is given to the believer when salvation occurs. How does salvation occur?

One must 
Hear the Gospel (or Good News)
Believe it
Repent of sin
Confess faith
Be Baptized
Walk the Walk

So what is the Gospel?

The bare bones of it is found in what is probably the best known verse in all of the Bible: John 3:16.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Sin is disobedience to God. A literal usage of the word is "missing the mark" like an archer who misses the target. Adam and Eve sinned when they disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, and every human being on the planet has followed suit, except for one, but we'll get to that in a minute! The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Rom 3:23.

The problem is that God cannot tolerate sin. Now, he could have just left us like this and banished us all to the lake of fire dscribed in the book of Revelation (Rev 20: 14-15), but He loves us, and wanted to redeem us from our sinful state. I Peter 3: 9 says "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

"The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23) When God sent Jesus into the world as a human being, his job was to remain sinless, and sacrifice his pure and blameless life for the sins of the entire human race. He did exactly that.  Only three days later, God raised him from the dead, and now he sits at God's right hand waiting for the time to come back and get those who accepted his sacrifice on their behalf.

That is the Good News! Jesus died for you!  Do you believe it? Well then you're going to need to repent. That means you're life is going to change directions. Then you need to confess. That means you need to speak out and tell what you believe! Baptism is how we show that our old sinful selves are dead and buried, and we come out of the water a new creation! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Lastly, you have to walk the walk. That dosen't mean you won't trip and fall, because you surely will. You have to keep getting up. It dosen't mean that your life will be perfect. You still live in the world, and you are still going to have problems, but you won't ever be alone again!

One more thing. There is nothing you can do to earn salvation. We have all "earned" eternal damnation, just like it says in Romans 6. but there is more to that verse (remember what I said about taking things in context?) "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." It's a gift! 

Will you accept it?

See ya tomorrow!

Connie

Wednesday with the Word: Serving a Creative God

Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The rest of chapter one provides the detail of the the beginning of all living things on earth and in the heavens above us.

One of the first things that should come to mind when reading Genesis one is that we have a very creative God!

 “Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.' And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.” Genesis 1:11-13

Vegetation:

Well, I started searching the internet for a seemingly easy question. How many species of trees are there in the world. According to the answers I found, there is somewhere between 10,000 and 100,000 species of trees in the world today. Here is an interesting blog on the subject. Regardless of which end of the spectrum you subscribe, that took a lot of imagination, especially when you consider it all started with “and God said, let there be... ". If there are so many trees that the experts don't even know for sure, we don't even need to look at the rest of vegetation to be overwhelmed by our creative God.

Sea creatures and birds:

"And God said, 'Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.'  So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day." Genesis 1:20-23

I have a friend who lives and works in St Croix, Virgin Islands. He goes diving quite often and takes breathtaking pictures of some of the most amazing creatures I have ever seen. Octopi, eels, lion fish, crabs, sea horses, jelly fish, and curious sharks, are just a few of the wonderful creatures he has captured on film. Our own Missouri, and Little Blue rivers team with all kinds of life from crappie, to blue gill, to monster catfish, not to mention crawdads, bullfrogs, and other interesting critters.

Job 41 speaks of a magnificent sea creature, which has caused no small debate. Some scholars would have us believe this is a crocodile, but I think it is something much larger. This description would surely explain the many seaman's stories of sea monsters. This is God speaking to Job:

“I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,
    its strength and its graceful fsorm.
 Who can strip off its outer coat?
    Who can penetrate its double coat of armor?
Who dares open the doors of its mouth,
    ringed about with fearsome teeth?
Its back has rows of shields
    tightly sealed together;
each is so close to the next
    that no air can pass between.
They are joined fast to one another;
    they cling together and cannot be parted.
Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
    its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
Flames stream from its mouth;
    sparks of fire shoot out.
Smoke pours from its nostrils
    as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
Its breath sets coals ablaze,
    and flames dart from its mouth.
Strength resides in its neck;
    dismay goes before it.
The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
    they are firm and immovable.
Its chest is hard as rock,
    hard as a lower millstone.
When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;
    they retreat before its thrashing.
The sword that reaches it has no effect,
    nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
Iron it treats like straw
    and bronze like rotten wood.
Arrows do not make it flee;
    sling stones are like chaff to it.
A club seems to it but a piece of straw;
    it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
    leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron
    and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
    one would think the deep had white hair.
Nothing on earth is its equal—
    a creature without fear.
It looks down on all that are haughty;
    it is king over all that are proud.” Job 41:12-38

My daughter is convinced that this passage refers to what we now call a “fire-breathing dragon”!

As for birds, we have plenty right here. I have had the pleasure of seeing a humming bird fluttering right outside my front door. Of course, there are robins, blue birds, blue jays, cardinals, and a host of finches. There are buzzard nests on the cliffs behind our house. Sometimes, on our way to church we count the hawks we see in trees and on telephone poles. Its always a special treat to me to see an owl. I see two or three a year. That is just here. I don't imagine anyone knows for sure how many species of birds there really are. God knows though. He created them. All of them! How cool is that!

“And God said, 'Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.' And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:24-25

“Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!”

Dogs, cats, pigs, goats, sheep, gorillas, and the Behemoth!

Again this is God speaking to Job.
“Look at Behemoth,
    which I made along with you
    and which feeds on grass like an ox.
What strength it has in its loins,
    what power in the muscles of its belly!
Its tail sways like a cedar;
    the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
Its bones are tubes of bronze,
    its limbs like rods of iron.
It ranks first among the works of God,
    yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
The hills bring it their produce,
    and all the wild animals play nearby.
Under the lotus plants it lies,
    hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
 The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;
    the poplars by the stream surround it.
 A raging river does not alarm it;
    it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
Can anyone capture it by the eyes,
    or trap it and pierce its nose? “ Job: 40:15-24

Massive, awe-inspiring creatures, as well as tiny microbes invisible to the human eye. All created by our very creative God, but he wasn't finished.

“Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'” Genesis 1:26

Then God created his masterpiece. He created human beings in his own image. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? Well, one thing it means is that he made us to be creative too. Of course, our creativity is nothing compared to his, but think about musicians, artists, dancers, builders, inventors, writers, and a host of other types of human creativity.

“Then the Lord said to Moses,  'See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,  and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—  to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you.”'Exodus 31:1-6

God made us to be creative with the idea that it all points back to him. Everything we do should bring glory and honor to our creator.

“Praise the Lord.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.” Psalm 150:1-6

Have a blessed day!

See ya tomorrow!

Connie

Wednesdays in the Word: An Introduction

Starting today, Wednesday's blog posts will be about the Word.  The phrase “word of God” is often used to describe the Bible. The phrase is accurate, because the Bible is the word of God. Yes, these blog posts will be Bible studies. However, the Bible itself, in the Gospel of John talks about another “word”, and He is the Word that should always be the focus of our study.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

Who is The Word? Jesus of course! That in itself will be a great study, but its a little deep.

So who am I to write Bible studies?

Nobody. Just some one who loves the word of God, and wants to share what I learn.

I grew up in the Independent Christian Church/Church of Christ. My grandfather was a preacher whose focus was the wrath of God. To be fair to him, I think the fear that he might miss someone that he was supposed to tell, that person would be lost, and God would hold him accountable, was the driving force behind everything he said and did. He was not fun to be around.

Mom (his oldest daughter) got pregnant with me in her first year of Bible college. That pretty much ended her college career. She married my dad and the marriage lasted about four years. I spent a lot of time with Mom's maternal grandmother. She was Lutheran, and didn't get to church much, but her focus was on the love of God. 

My mom remarried when I was about eight years old, and the true nightmare began. My second stepfather was a  cruel man. He was a mean drunk, and a child molester.

I”m telling you this so you can understand what I bring with me to our studies. Please understand that I am not making any inferences about any denomination, just these individuals who happened to be members of them

One thing I have learned in my fifty years is that I should not ever take the word of anyone else about what the Bible says, and I am asking your to do the same thing. We need to be like the Bereans.

“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11

One other thing that is probably my “pet peeve” when it comes to studying the Bible, and hearing/reading what others have said/written, is taking verses out of context. You can make the Bible say anything you want, if you take what is written out of it's context. Did you know that the Bible says there is no God? It sure does. However a closer examination of the the context (like the whole sentence) shows what it actually says is 

“The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'” Psalm 53:1

Yes, I know this is silly,  but people do it. We have to be on guard. That is why it is so important that we know for ourselves what the Bible says.

So I am going to do Bible study posts on Wednesdays. I am going to study the word so that I can know the Word.

Are you coming with me?