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God's Answer to Darkness: Let there be light.
God speaks.
God has spoken to the people of this planet. He's revealed Himself in
nature, and by communicating clearly in the writings of the prophets
(the Scriptures [writings] we call the Holy Bible). And He has most
perfectly communicated with us in the words and actions of His own
Son, Jesus Christ. (See the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapter 1.)
God calls us all to turn from the darkness of self-imposed ignorance
and confusion to the perfect light of His divinely revealed truth. No
human being who lives beyond early childhood can remain neutral on
that point. Not even those who've never yet heard of a Bible or of the
name of Jesus Christ. The evidences of God in creation itself point us
to the truth about His divine nature and power. And by the Spirit of
God, we're all called to turn around and believe God.
What has God said?
There are many things recorded in Scripture that God has said to
different people at different times. It becomes clear, as one studies
the Bible, that in every age, and in every situation, the key to
survival, good health, peace, and overall happiness is to hear (listen
to, pay attention to) what God says, to believe what He says, and to
act on whatever God says.
The Bible says of Abraham, for example, that, "he believed the LORD;
and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness." (Genesis 15:6)
Before Abraham, Noah had listened to what God was saying. God told
Noah to build a huge container that would hold his family and some of
every animal that lived on the earth. By responding in faith to what
God said, Noah saved his family from the flood that destroyed all
other human beings.
Some 400+ years after Abraham, the Lord spoke to a man named Moses.
And by this man, God gave the Law, over 600 detailed commands and
instructions to the emerging nation of Israel. Embedded in these
commands were many promises pertaining to a certain area of land, and
a life of good health and prosperity in that land.
But even pagans and the very enemies of Israel were given the
opportunity to respond to God's words in faith. One man, Naaman, a
leper who had been a successful military leader against Israel in many
campaigns, was commanded to go dip himself in a river. He had come
into the land of Israel looking for a prophet of God. Naaman was at
first offended by the message from God. In a rage he turned to leave.
But one of his men urged him to give it a try. And so he did. The
result was that, as he came up out of the water, his leprosy was gone.
(Read about this in the fifth chapter of 2 Kings.)
The Bible gives many examples of what happens when people take God's
words to heart. It shows the good things that can happen -- often
against all odds -- when a person believes God and acts on that faith.
The Bible also shows quite a few examples of what can happen when
people reject the message of God. No one should ignore the message God
gives us in the Bible. It offers us eternal truth that is valid in
every generation.
God's will for
you and me.
The first major portion (the Old Testament) of the Holy Bible was
written by various prophets of God. They wrote in many different ways.
Their words are preserved as narrations of history, as songs and
poetry, as predictive utterings, as descriptions of dreams and
visions, as inspired teaching and Law, and even as personal
biographies and reflections. But in every passage of Old Testament
Scripture there is something more. The hand of God is at work in every
phrase and in every word.
God inspired and then preserved the writings (scriptures) of the
prophets as a divine communication from His own Holy Spirit to the
people of earth. The Bible stands as a witness to us of God's truth,
God's nature, and God's will for us all.
And then, centuries after the last passage of Old Testament Scripture
was penned, God sent His own Son, Jesus.
Jesus is the most perfect revelation of God that the earth will ever
see. In the actions and words of Jesus we see right into the very
heart and mind of the invisible God. In fact, the Bible goes so far as
to say that Jesus was and is God in the flesh, that the fullness of
God's divine and infinite nature was in Jesus Christ, even as He
walked the earth as a man (see, for example, Colossians 1:15-19 &
2:8,9).
Wherever He went, through the cities and villages of Judea, Galilee,
and what was then called Phoenicia, Jesus preached to the common
people, to whoever would listen to Him. He taught the importance of
doing God's will. For example, near the end of His sermon on the
mount, Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall
enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven." (Matthew 7:21)
Even Jesus Himself made sure to always do the will of God, His Father.
He said as much on several occasions: "for I have come down from
heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me." (John
6:38) Jesus also said, "I know that his commandment is eternal life.
What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me."
(John 12:50)
God's will for us is that we turn from our own ways to follow Jesus.
The Lord Jesus Himself said, "And this is the will of Him who sent Me,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have
everlasting life; and I will raise him up on the last day." (John
12:40)
The rest of the New Testament, written by those who were sent by Jesus
with His message, also gives witness to the same will of God. For
example, in a letter to the churches, the Apostle John writes, "And
this is his [God's] commandment, That we should believe on the name of
his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us
commandment." (1 John 3:23)
Getting the big picture.
The Bible gives us a picture of God's interactions with human beings
since the very first people walked this earth. It shows the things God
has been saying and revealing about Himself, about the universe, about
human nature, and about sin, eternity, and what is to come after this
present age is finished. In every generation or so, God revealed more
and more truth, so that we now have, in the pages of Holy Scripture, a
very good record of what God wishes to say to all people.
The message to our generation is very clear, "Believe in Jesus Christ
in order to have eternal life with God, in order to be a part of God's
eternal family and household."
You can read more of the sayings and teachings of Jesus in the Gospel
accounts of the New Testament portion of the Holy Bible. And in the
rest of the New Testament, you can discover why it is so important for
us to know about Jesus, to trust in Him, and to follow Him in our
daily lives.
I urge you to commit yourself to reading and understanding the Bible.
But don't misunderstand. Knowing more about what the Bible says is not
special in itself. But using the Bible to get a clearer picture of
God's nature and ways, and His will for our lives is beneficial in
many ways.
As God Himself said once, through the Prophet Jeremiah:
"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me..." (Jeremiah 9:23,24a)
God's message in the Bible, and through His Son Jesus Christ, has one
aim: to draw us to Himself. He is looking to form a lasting
relationship with all human beings. His divine revelation in Scripture
enables us to know the truth about Him, so that we will be able to
walk with the real and living God, and not continue to shape imaginary
(and false) ideas of Him in our minds.
The world has many religions, many gods, and many ideas of truth and
reality. But there is only one actual reality, one genuine truth, one
eternal God. To know Him is to be on the right track. To remain
ignorant of Him is to miss the boat -- forever.
Turn to Jesus Christ and you will come to know the one God who is able
to save you from your own shortcomings. In Jesus, we discover real
life as we can never know it otherwise. To walk with Jesus is to live
each day in the Presence of the true God of the universe. To trust in
Jesus is to literally become a spiritual child of God, according to
the promise of God Himself.
But what if it's already too late for me?
No, it's not too late for you. If you're still alive to read this
message, then God is ready to make you His own.
Sometimes, because we've done really stupid things in the past, we can
feel that God will not be able to accept us or make us into the people
we were meant to be. But the fact is, all of us have done wrong and
stupid things in the past. God's message in Scripture says that we've
all fallen short of what we could have been, and what we should have
been. The Bible calls this kind of failure "sin". But it goes on to
say that God will forgive everyone who turns in faith to Jesus Christ.
And Jesus said that He will never turn away anyone who comes to Him.
(see John 6:37)
The Bible talks a lot about sin. It does this to bring attention to
our spiritual need of God's forgiveness, and our need for personal and
radical change. The change we need is more than a simple change of
attitude. We need a spiritual transformation that can only be
accomplished by God Himself in Jesus Christ.
If you need more information about this spiritual change,
find out more here.
You may also find other pages with helpful information on this site.
In summary:
God speaks to human hearts. God has the
power to change anyone who will look to Him for direction and help.
Jesus Christ is God's answer to the greatest needs that all humans
have in common. God will help and rescue all who call on Him for such
help and rescue. The Bible is the one perfect source on this planet of
all that God has wanted to communicate to the people of our world. God
wants to have a real and living relationship with every human being.
God wants you to know Him, to understand His ways, and to walk in His
presence each day.
God's best to you as you seek His will and His direction for your
life.
Jim
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