This book in not intended to prove the various aspects of the Bible, nor to argue its points. I leave that for those who study the Bible in depth. I am writing from the viewpoint of the fact of the Bible, the reality of God, the Creator of all that is, and what all of it means for mankind today. I have no need to prove any of this for I know from sixty years experience with my Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ that they are in fact true, real, and personal to me and everyone who wants to know them.
I have spent my life studying the Bible and other commentaries along with books for research. I am not perfect, I make mistakes all the time, but as I grow, I learn how to live better in line with God’s will. And each new day I thank Him that at age sixty seven, I now know Him as my best friend. Each morning we meet to talk and have fellowship. I tell Him all about my issues, and I listen as He lets me know the way to go. I pray for many people, and I am sure He hears and will answer in the way that is best for each one. I have that peace that passes all understanding. And I can tell anyone that it is more precious than all the gold in this earth. Although I am a retired teacher and have studied the Bible along with reference books and have done extensive reading and research, there is nothing to compare to hearing the truth from God Himself.
I have heard reasons why people do not believe in the Bible as God’s Word. And I have heard skeptics say things like, “If God was a good God, He wouldn’t send people to hell.” These sayings prompt me to find ways to tell these people how wrong they are. As an educator, I know scientific facts, and I don’t deny what scientists discover. But I also know that nothing in true science is contrary to God’s Word. In fact, both science and the Bible complement each other. I write to show people who won’t accept the Bible because of some people’s views that it is not what other people believe that counts in God’s eyes; it is what His plan is.
Someone has said that all the world is a stage, and we are the players. This is the way I look at time. God is everywhere in His Holy Spirit and by Jesus in the time of the Old Testament. It is somewhat difficult for people to see how God can see every part of the earth at one glance. But when I think of time as laid out in one long continuum like a stage, it makes me see how God views it. Imagine God seeing time from its beginning to the end. He sees every birth, life, and death in one instant. He knows what each person born do all through that life, and what decisions each one will make. He knows who will accept Jesus as Savior and Lord and who will not.
II Peter 3:9 tells us that it is not God’s will for anyone to perish, which is to be lost without Him, but that all should come to repentance. This does away with the notion some people have that just some people are chosen to be God’s people and others are not. Since God sees all of time at once, He is omnipresent (omni=all and present=being at once) He knows who will and who won’t come to Jesus. Thus, He has a foreknowledge of all this. But He did not predestine some to come to Him and have others not come.
God created time. He does not live in time but is outside of it. He does participate in the realm of time, and His messengers (angels), the Holy Spirit, and Jesus also are participants in time. But none of the persons of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are bound by time. Neither are they bound by distance. They can come and go in an instant. God’s angels, who are his messengers, come to earth to work for people. When they come, they often take the form of a human. Sometimes they are just a chance encounter, and at other times they are with us until the mission for which they were sent is accomplished.
God, Who created time, also created the universe and all that is in it. How He created it is not for us to know now. He is the Creator, and it is His privilege to make what He wants without having to explain it to anyone. If He thought it important for us to know this, He would have told us. But what He created, He has a purpose for and a control over.
The Bible is actually a political book about who is the rightful ruler of the earth, man, and all creation. It shows man giving up his right to choose God and choosing the way of sin, Satan’s way. But it goes on to show how God works in the lives of men who are of faith, men who follow Him, and thus leading to the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, to take back the ruler ship of this world. God needed this account of His working with man to show all people how He works, His justice, His mercy, and His unfathomable Love.
This is the battle that goes on in the world every day. Man thinks he has his own way of living, but this is not true. There are only two way to live this life: God’s way and Satan’s way. Man will choose one of these ways. He cannot refrain from choosing. If he chooses his own way, he is merely becoming a puppet of Satan. And Satan loves for man to think he can direct his own life. He doesn’t care who man follows or worships as long as it isn’t Jesus Christ. He is afraid only of Jesus, for Jesus defeated him on the Cross.
In this year of 2010, we are in the time of the falling away of people who once professed to love Jesus and follow Him. This is foretold in 2 Thessalonians and is described in the book of Revelation as the church of Laodicea.
Our government in the United States is on the verge of going into a one world economic union. This is the time of the rise of the one world religion and the beast of Revelation. We are seeing many signs told of in the Bible come to life every day. Behind the scenes are powerful people and groups who have been pushing for this for many decades. Now the teachings of false doctrines are not being held back, but are preached from a great many pulpits across our land.
Mankind is always looking for an easy way to find God. Many methods and rituals have been devised to help man know when he is doing righteous living. But these are not God’s ways. God never wanted to make His way hard to understand. There isn’t anywhere in the Bible that tells the people things they can’t understand. But there are a lot of things the people have to take on faith.
And at first those called God’s people did have faith, but when times got rough, they looked at the circumstances instead of God. Faith is central to our lives. It is the key that opens the door to salvation by the work of Jesus Christ, and ultimately to heaven. And faith is a gift from God. Man does not have to work it up. No matter what circumstances we are in or whatever we face, if we look to God and what He can and will do, we have victory already. We just need to develop the talents God has put into us and use them for His glory and His victory. And when we truly believe God and act in faith, we will see victory in our lives. Once we see this is how God works, we will stop begging Him to do something about our trouble and begin to thank Him for what He is doing and is going to do.
All religions of this world are made by man. Their gods require some sort of appeasement, some sacrifice. But Jesus did not come to establish a religion. He came to give mankind a life that is better than any other life we can have on this earth. He came to give us a new spirit, one that is alive and able to commune with Him and with God. God of Christianity is the only One who reaches down to man. In all other religions, many people struggle to reach up to their gods. But our God of all creation loved us even before we knew He existed. He loves us so much that He is ready to do all that we will allow Him to do to give us life abundantly....