We are so spoiled in America. Do you know that? Do you feel it? Why do we make things so complicated here? We have tons of bibles in tons of different translations, we have commentaries to go with every single book in the bible along with references and suggested material to help with those commentaries. We are spoiled and because of it we have made things so complicated. "Well what exactly does God mean when it's implied that it's not by faith but by works?", "Does this verse mean God loves everyone or just those who obey him perfectly?", "Why doesn't the creation story go into more specifics?", "Is it possible that the creation story might line up with science?" and it goes on and on and on...
"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith is God's favorite revelation to a lost world that He exists."
So do we believe? Isaiah 45:18-19 says, "I am the Lord, and there is no other...I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right". What a sweet sounding authoritative voice! We have turned the Gospel into something it's not, we have taken from the Gospel what need not be taken. We have complicated the simplest message. How do I know it's simple? Because God made it simple enough for children to understand. God made the Gospel simple enough for children to understand and tells us adults to have a "child-like" faith again.
Beth Moore says in her study "Believing God" , "while waves of godless intellectualism rise and fall and the trends set the tides, you and I are better off watching from the nearest solid Rock (Christ). To be sure, BELIEVERS SHOULD SEEK to be well educated about current events and intellectual trends, but WE NEED NOT FEEL QUITE SO RESPONSIBLE TO DEFEND GOD". What is this saying? The world is changing that is right. There are things obviously going against God's word in this world and although we need to stand firm in our faith and stand on Christ the Solid Rock we don't need to do so with hatred. We don't need to speak hateful things to get our point across and make fools of ourselves and lose what slight opportunity we havw to witness!
I'm going off track and getting into a rant :D. Back to the focus! Who does God say He is? The Author of the Word of God packed Scripture with divine names, titles, and positions so that we could understand that He is everything we could ever need or want. The very first identity He prioritized is God our Creator. He knew that all reasoning persons would ultimately wonder how they came into existence. In the beginning God created! Do we believe that?
"Faith is complete engagement with God: holding on to God and His promises because we know He's holding on to us. Beloved, God is who He says He is."
I am continually thankful that the bible has a great purpose. The bible was not written to create debates, to leave us wondering if there is controversy in it. The bible is a story of redemption. Jesus Christ. He is found in the Old Testament as well as the New. The bible is about God's love and how we are to handle it! Praise God! What an amazing purpose. We are to believe it...trust it...have faith in it....be grateful for it....and stop taking from it or adding to it.
I couldn't watch this video without crying. This man is from Indonesia. For the longest time they didn't have a complete New Testament in their language. This man is praising God through prayer because they for the first time have the entire new Testament translated in their language. What an amazing faith this man has! May we all have faith like this and have a grateful heart like his!
Just my thoughts for this night :D!
Grace and Peace!
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