The Bible has a magnificent alternative way of living to offer anyone with a desire to establish a personal relationship with its Author. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we signed up with a winning coach that has never lost a battle and who promises to comfort us during every trial and lead us to victory against all of our foes. May the following five biblical messages serve to introduce you to a wonderful way of living and as your passport to eternity. Today we will share three of these messages and in tomorrow’s devotion the other two.
Message 1 – God created everything
Right from its very first words, the Bible puts us on notice that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). In other words, there was nothing there to start with except God. But to have made a universe of such incredible size, amazing complexity, perfect orderliness, fabulous mysteries, and awesome beauty would have required a force of indescribable creative genius, possessing unlimited power and intellect that no finite mind (such as we possess) could ever completely fathom.
The above description basically defines the God of the Bible, who created the stars, planets, mountains, trees, animals and, yes, you and me. Therefore, you are clearly here because God created you – not by chance, but by deliberate design. What a wonderful thought that you are created in the image of God and are a treasured possession to the Father. And knowing this should fill us with great joy and supply us with a deep rich meaning to our lives.
Message 2 – We are all born with a sin nature
Armed with the knowledge that the Bible clearly states, that we all have inherited the sin nature of Adam, is critical to unlocking us from the bondage all human beings are living in, due to this core character flaw. For we read in (Romans 3:23): “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And (Jeremiah 17:9) puts it this way: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”
It is our nature, the Bible tells us, to sin. And no matter how hard we try we, by ourselves, can never break out of its evil clutches. When we fully realize this, and the light goes on, it hopefully will drive us to the only one who can break the stranglehold of sin in our lives – Jesus Christ. Once we accepted Christ as our sin substitute the shackles of sin in our lives are broken and we are now free to live the life we always wanted to live – one where peace and joy rule and we can practice living the golden rule. For when sin was our former master it was not possible to truly experience peace and joy.
Message 3 – False gods are not the answer
Man, by definition, is a religious creature. Down through the centuries, mankind has always had objects of worship, to which it has bowed down. The Greeks had their mythological gods such as Zeus and Apollo. Many primitive societies worshiped the heavenly bodies – the sun, moon, and stars. Other tribes even elevated stones and trees to “god status.” Even in biblical times, pagan societies erected statues as worship objects. Names such as Baal, Chemosh, Dagon, Molech, and Nisroch were the temple and house gods that received genuflect treatment. The Bible categorizes all of the above under the caption “false gods.”
We immediately see the foolishness of this type of worship in our sophisticated, intellectual environment. However, we have many of our own false gods that we worship. For example, many people strive for fame and fortune. Others want sex and power. And still others worship drugs and alcohol. The Holy Scriptures clearly warn us that these false gods can only lead us into slavery. They offer hope, but never seem to deliver. These false gods can never lead one to the truth – just ask their worshipers.
But when we begin to worship the one true God – Jesus Christ – we find that there is nothing sweeter than an intimate relationship with Christ.
In tomorrow’s devotion we will explore two more messages, that when combined with the three we just discussed, will offer us the most magnificent alternative way of living that most people, sadly, never seem to find.
This is wonderful Curt!