Tag: God

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The Great Flood

The Flood destroyed most of what God had created.
The Great Flood destroyed most of God’s creation

What Happened

God caused the great flood and destroyed much of His creation because man was so wicked and evil.

Why It Matters

We all need to understand that God’s anger and wrath are real and we need to do all that we can to follow God, our creator, rather than to disobey Him.

Bible Verse

Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”

Genesis 7:4

Why it matters to you

We all must understand, respect and submit to God’s authority and we ignore Him at our own peril.

Description

5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.

7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”

8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6:5-8

Most everybody has heard the story of Noah and the flood. God had created a beautiful and perfect world. There was no evil, no killing and there was an abundance of food. Then the FALL came and everything changed. From Adam and Eve, the population grew and over time, the relationship with God, their creator, was diminishing.

God was not pleased with these developments. Rather than enjoying the love and affection of a large family, those who honored and revered God were few, if any. God decided that action was necessary. He would wipe out all of mankind and all of the animals, saying “for I regret that I have made them.”

Noah was a righteous man

Noah was different. He was a righteous man and raised righteous sons, Shem, Ham and Japbeth. God shared his plan with Noah and gave him instructions to build an ark (large ship). Instructions, down to the small details, were given to Noah and his sons.

Once completed, God sent animals to the ark, to be saved. Once the animals were on board, two of every kind, male and female, the rains came, and came, and came. God Himself shut the door and Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives, were the only ones spared.

The floodwaters came in a violent manner. The floodgates of heaven opened and the spring waters of the earth burst from every direction, and for 40 days and nights the flood waters came and covered the earth. The ark floated along. No rudder, no sail. The flood lasted 150 days. The ark came to rest on a mountain once the flood waters receded. Noah freed a dove and she did not return. Then flood was over.

God regretted creating man

The flood was the first account of God taking punitive action against man. As the Creator, God knows man’s nature and character and understands fully man’s frailty. Rather than destroying all of mankind, he chose a family, a remnant to begin anew. He saw a righteous man in Noah, had compassion and chose to redeem His relationship with mankind through Noah. We also see that animals reproduce according to kind, as species were collected and saved.

As the accounts in Genesis roll out, we will see God making a covenant with man, as the beginning of an eternal plan begins to take shape.

What you may not know

What we do or don’t believe about God does not stop any of us to being judged and punished for our sinful and wrong actions. Many people who died in the flood did not believe in God.

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Cain kills Abel

Cain kills Abel

What Happened

After the fall Cain, son of Adam and Eve, grew jealous of his brother, Abel, and killed him because of his uncontrolled rage.

Why It Matters

It is the first demonstration of the ramifications of the fall. Man is no longer in the garden and this is the first example of how sin will affect our relationships with each other.

Bible Verse

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Genesis 4:8

Why It Matters To You

We must be aware that sin exists in all of us and we need to ask God to help us to control our rage, and to help us to forgive rather than to try to seek revenge on our own terms.

Description

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Genesis 4:9

It was the first murder ever recorded. The story is found beginning in Genesis 4:1. Cain was the first child of Adam and Eve. Abel came later. Cain could be described as a farmer, one who grows crops, while Abel tended to animals. God had demanded a sacrifice. Abel took fattened portions of firstborn from his flock and offered it to God. Cain gathered some crops. God looked at Abel’s offering with favor, but did not give that favor to Cain.

Cain was despondent, but more importantly, he was angry. But God was compassionate and told Cain that if he did what was right, all would be well. God then told Cain that if he chose not to do the right thing, that sin was “crouching at this door” and it would overpower him. However, God also told Cain that he must resist the sin. Cain made a deadly choice.

Cain Kills Abel

Rather than making the correction, Cain killed his brother Abel. For what? Because Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God and Cain’s was not. Abel did what God asked him to do, but Cain decided to do it his own way. God rejected the sacrifice, but gave him an opportunity to make it right. Rather than making the adjustment, a despondent Cain took it out on his brother, allowing his own pride to turn into rage.

God knew what had happened, but asked Cain where Able was. Cain answered in what has become one of the most famous statements in history, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God drove him out of the land and warned that the ground would no longer yield crops for him. He would be a wanderer. Cain knew he had done wrong and feared that others would now kill him. God put a mark on him to make sure that would not happen. Even in pronouncing sentence, God also offered compassion.

We all make wrong decisions because of our free will

Again we see man making the wrong decision, exercising his free will to do evil. Rather than take responsibility, Cain blamed his brother. It is human nature. It is an example, like that of Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the forbidden tree, of man doubting God’s provision. This is important to all of us because our thoughts and our actions are so often completely self-serving. Rather than take responsibility, we pass it on. We all have a responsibility to God and to each other.

What You May Not Know

God tells us: “sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” We must turn toward God and seek to do what is right otherwise sin will dominate our lives.

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The Fall of Man

The Fall

What Happened

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They fell from God’s grace.

Why it matters

The fall caused God to cast the human race out from the garden because of our sin and disobedience.

Bible Verse

To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;

    through painful toil you will eat food from it

    all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

    and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow

    you will eat your food until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are

    and to dust you will return.”

Genesis 3:17-19

Why it matters to you

God gave Adam and Eve the choice to love God or to disobey Him, they choose to disobey Him. Their terrible choice caused God to send them away and to allow them to feel the consequences of their disastrous decision. We are all still living with the negative consequences of that terrible choice.

Description

The Fall of Man

God created man in his own image, to love and cherish in a close, personal relationship. The first man was Adam. God determined that he should not be alone, so he caused him to fall asleep and created a woman, Eve, by taking one of Adam’s ribs. He created a utopia, a place for the first couple to live and raise a family. Every possible thing they would ever need was there for them. The beasts roamed free, but they were no threat and would not cause harm. Imagine being able to pet a tiger without fear of being eaten. It was the perfect place.

God gave Adam and Eve free will to choose they actions.

However, God also gave His first couple free will, to determine their own ideas and actions. This is essential, because God wants a free relationship with us, not one that is forced upon us. One of the creatures was a serpent. Even before God created the universe, as we know it today, he created the Heavenly Host, a large throng of angels to attend to his throne.

One of those angels, Lucifer, wanted to be like God and led a rebellion against Him. He took a third of the hosts with him, but failed in his takeover plot. He and his followers were cast down to the earth, out of the glory of heaven. Lucifer (Satan, the devil, Beelzebub) entered into the serpent and went to work on God’s first couple.

God gave them everything.

Even though everything was created for man, there was one tree that God said was not to be eaten from. It was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God said they could have EVERYTHING else, but not that one because it would cause their death.

The serpent, which Satan had entered, appeared and appealed to Eve’s pride and questioned whether God really said they should not eat of that tree. “You will NOT surely die,” he said to her. She took the bait. She ate of the fruit, then gave some to Adam.

Their disobedience lead to a separation from God. The perfect relationship, the perfect utopia, was soiled. They were suddenly embarrassed by their nakedness, so God killed an animal to give them covering. It was the first death, one of an innocent creature, to pay for man’s wrongdoing. That theme would continue.

Adam and Eve willing went against God resulting in their being driven out of the perfect garden God had created for them. Sin entered the world.

They willfully disobeyed God.

Adam and Eve willingly went against God. They doubted the goodness of God. They doubted His love. The doubted His provision, even though every evidence was to the contrary. They exercised their free will and defied God. It establishes the rest of the story.

How can God reconcile man to Himself? God created all things. He made the rules. Everything was perfect, then the bond was broken. His perfection, His holiness, His word was challenged, just as Lucifer challenged it. Adam and Eve had their own, personal relationship with God and now it was shattered. They were no different from us.

Human nature has not changed from the dawn of time.

Think of this– the only thing that has not changed since the dawn of time is human nature. Technology changes. Culture changes. Climate changes. People are people, no matter where or when they live.

We are all responsible for our own actions and we all have the free will to either accept or reject God. God said that he would put enmity (hatred, hostility, ill will) between man and the serpent. (Satan) That is a clue of the great plan that would follow, to make man perfect again and restore our close, perfect, personal relationship with the creator of the universe.

What you may not know

The Fall of Man continues to affect each of us daily. Adam and Eve’s disobedience are the origins of all evil in our world today.

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In the beginning was the Word…

The Bible

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The Most Important Book

The Bible is an amazing book. It’s the most important book in human history. It defines existence. It is our story, regardless of race, gender or national origin. It’s God’s revelation of Himself to His creation.

No other book in human history has had the kind of scrutiny, has been debated more, or has been the cause of as much social upheaval.

The Bible represents ABSOLUTE TRUTH about how we were created, why we exist and how we should live. Although parts of it were written more than 3400 years ago, it is completely relevant for today.

The Bible represents COMPLETE LOVE, because God is willing to communicate to us through His word. He shows us how to live through His Law, and because of His mercy, He sends His only Son to us so that we can live forever with Him.

The Bible represents UNAVOIDABLE JUSTICE for all. He rights the wrongs that have been committed by the world, delivering the perfect penalty to those who deserve it.

The Bible represents an INFINITE RESOURCE that we can study our entire lives and still find new and exciting revelations in, every day.

Bible Verse

1 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

Description

The Bible is the manual for human life. It gives insight and clarity into human behavior by examining man’s psychological makeup, and like no other book ever written, explains why we are the way we are. It is the story of how we came into being, but more importantly, WHY we came into being.

The Bible is not a history book, yet its history is accurate and at times strikingly detailed. It is not a science book, yet its scientific information is solid. It is the story of the relationship between God and man, written over a 1400 year period by over 40 different authors.

“The Good Book“

By some, the Bible is considered “the good book,” while others consider it to be the inspired word of God. Some consider every word to be the literal truth, while others view it as truths contained in stories of people. Its wisdom is undeniable, and its commandments are the basis of all Western Law.

For some, the Bible may seem too difficult to understand and therefore not useful for practical, every day matters. Still others consider it vital to those mundane aspects of human life and rely on its guidance and directives to avoid calamity.

For some it’s all about religion, rules and regulations, and how to act. Some others view it as the gentle teachings of a loving parent. It was written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, but translated into nearly every written language on the globe.

To set one important fact in place before you go any further, we not trying to prove the existence of God. For the followers of the Bible, namely Jews and Christians, it is a matter of faith more than fact, despite the overwhelming evidence it presents.

The Bible Chronicles Israel and the Life of Christ

The Hebrew texts of the Old Testament chronicle the amazing development of Israel, and the land that God promised to His people. For Christians, the story in the New Testament continues with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, written about by the Prophets.

The books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, are one continuous story. Old Testament writings are considered by many Christians to be the very foundation of Christianity, essential to the faith and of equal importance to the New Testament writings. More specifically, Christians see the entire Bible as being the story of Jesus and God’s plan for mankind. It is God’s unfolding plan that can be seen beginning in the opening chapters of Genesis. As the history unfolds, so does insight into the nature and character of God, as he uses human events to shape the future of the world.

God Does Not Change

Human nature never changes. Science and technology certainly do, as does culture, but human nature is the constant. This is important to know because what was true of men and women 6000 years ago, is true today. The emotions are the same, the aspirations the same and the motivations are the same. It’s like the old saying, “the more things change the more they stay the same.”

The accounts of the Israelites in the desert can be easily applied to the motivations of people today, no matter what country they live in. That’s what makes the Bible amazing. It’s amazing because God was the inspiration and God does not change. He is the same—yesterday, today and tomorrow. The people he created are likewise the same and will be tomorrow.

We will try to give you reliable information and at times direct you to authoritative places to gain more knowledge and insight. We do not claim to be apologists (defenders of the faith), nor do we want you to consider our point of view as non-negotiable.

Read The Bible

We invite you to read the Bible for yourself and make up your own mind about what it means. God gave us free will and invited us to use reason to understand the relevance of His word. We just want to meet you where you are at and help your along your spiritual journey.

This site is a brief summary of an enormous topic, and will give you an introduction into the Bible. It is very likely to become the most important and enduring book of your life.

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