We are blessed

God or Myth?

There is a very popular television series which has been on the airways for more than fifty years. Most people and much of our technology today have been influenced by the imagination of its creator and the inventions or ideas postulated in its many movies and different series. You have likely figured out the title of this television show. It is Star Trek and all of its spin-offs. I won’t go into all of the different technological ideas that came from the show but many were directly responsible for much of our everyday technology. Granted, we don’t have phasers or matter transporters, but many scientists and engineers found their inspiration for their careers on this show.

This show and its creator have also had a profound effect on religion or the lack of it in the future, in our future right now. Our country has been pushing for a humanistic religion since the 1960s and the push is becoming stronger today. Many young people and some in our government believe that we can bring about peace and prosperity through our intellect and our wisdom. If they would look at history this has proven to be false every time. But they look at all of the technology that we have and say that our wisdom and technology can accomplish this.

It might for a while. But look at the conflicts going on all over the world and tell me that our wisdom can stop the killing of women and children. Tell me that technology can fix poverty and hunger and starvation. The “wisdom” of humanity cannot bring an end to all of this regardless of the amount of money or technology that is used in pursuit of this goal. Corruption always finds a way to siphon those resources from those in need to those in power with no explanation for where the “resources” went.

The sinful nature of mankind will not go away because of technology. The only fix for our world and its problems is Jesus Christ. In the series, Star Trek, any mention of the Bible or the “myth” of the Bible is rebuffed by “Vulcan logic” or the inherent goodness of humanity when poverty and disease are eradicated. If anyone looks at the history of Earth it shows quite clearly that humanity doesn’t have this “inherent goodness” in their collective genome. Of course, it makes for a hopeful future and a future to aspire to but our past doesn’t show much promise for it.

God’s Word tells us that our future is ahead of us in His Kingdom and that is the future that I am holding onto. It will come to pass because God’s Word doesn’t return to Him without effect and void. Every prophecy that was uttered in the Bible has come true. The only prophecies which remain are the church being taken up to Heaven and the Tribulation itself and the physical return of Jesus Christ to rule as King from Jerusalem. One day I will see Him, my Redeemer, face to face.

A new beginning

A new mother and a new Christian have a lot in common. One has given birth to a new life, the other has been given a new life in Christ. The processes are different since one is a physical birth and the other is a spiritual birth but both are new in their beginnings and in their experience.

The new life of the baby is completely dependent upon the mother for its nourishment and care. A new Christian is dependent upon the people around them to learn about their Savior and about being a Christian. Both babies have to be nourished and cared for but in different ways. The new baby, whether it is a girl or a boy, has to be bathed and have their diaper changed often. They have to be fed either at the breast of the mother or by a bottle for a while, but it won’t be long before they will begin eating “baby food”.

The baby Christian needs to be fed as well. Regularly and with much prayer because they need to start off on a good Biblical foundation, preferably in the New Testament as their starting point. Later, they can go into the Old Testament, again with prayer so the Holy Spirit can teach them what is needed from the books of the Law and the prophets and the historical books. All of these are necessary to their growth as a Christian but the Old Testament could be considered the “meat” of God’s Word. Most of the New Testament is much easier to understand for a Christian who is just starting out.

These descriptions are the best comparisons which I can come up with because this happens all over the world. People are coming to know Jesus as their Savior and they need guidance and direction when they are new in their faith. A baby needs many of the same things but in a physical way. When I became a believer, at first I didn’t get the help I needed so I was more like the wet ground which seeds fell on but it was very thin. In Jesus’ parable about the sower, some fell on good ground but it was thin because of rocks being beneath it. The roots didn’t go very deep and when the heat and other factors came together, the sprout withered away.

That is what happened when I first began my life as a “believer”. I did believe but I didn’t get the spiritual help that I needed so my faith shriveled up and my faith went with it for a time. Belief in Jesus does save us but if your new life in Christ isn’t watered with God’s Word and allowed to process what you are learning, your new life can become stale and ineffective. Without nourishment in a believing home and a believing church, your faith can wither and if you don’t get the help you need before your faith dies, it may be a long time before you will come back, if ever.

I pray that anyone who reads this will seek out the Word in a Bible study group or church, especially if they are a new Christian because it really did help me when I renewed my faith in Christ many years ago. I suppose I was saved at the first but since there wasn’t real growth in my faith for a long time the Holy Spirit just kept nudging me toward God so that I would learn more about Him so eventually I did and you can too.

We begin our lives as babies, in our physical form as well as in our faith in Jesus. You aren’t born knowing everything, it takes time and effort. Becoming a mature Christian does too. Seek His Word in a church and in your Bible so that you will grow to know Him more.

God gives us…

We have wind and rain. God gives us breath and our health. We are also given the light of the sun to warm us and water from the rain. God has given us all of these good things but we take them for granted each and every day. Some people are living with problems which make their lives miserable, but God is still there with them.

Why do I bring this up today?

Because in the world that most of us live and breathe in, we forget about all of the good things which God has provided for us. Humanists tend to look at the world around them and think that we have destroyed or rather we are destroying this world. The fact is that we are living in a world which has been under a curse since Adam’s fall. Of course, the “world” doesn’t look at things from the perspective of God’s Word. Much of the world and those living in it don’t even believe that the Bible IS the Word of God.

But, that is a story and a sermon for another time.

God is our Creator and He is the One Who takes care of our needs, not our wants. When we look at life and His provision for us in that light then we will see just how His provision is the best of all things. We may not get the best of those things here and now, but His best comes when He deems that we are able to receive it. God gives us talents and abilities in this life to be representatives of His goodness and His love toward the world, the people, around us.

Why? Because we are the only representatives which Jesus has in this world today and in many instances, you and I may be the only representation of the love of Jesus and His mercy that someone may see before the end of their life. Seek God’s wisdom and His direction for your life each and every day. Every decision that we have to make should be prayed over and placed in God’s hands through prayer and reading of His Word. I am speaking of major decisions here, not whether to put creamer in your coffee or not.

Make sure that people can see Jesus in your life and in the way that you live and conduct yourself in this world. Sometimes it is difficult to do, sometimes bills come due for one thing and prevent you from paying another bill. But…you can still honor God in your life and let others know how you are doing and living.

God gives us more than we need most of the time. Maybe not more money but more than we could ask for in regards to our relationships and our salvation through Jesus.