IF THE FALL HAD NEVER HAPPENED

 

Have you ever thought about what the Fall meant for mankind? I think it was the saddest day in the history of the world; it was the moment everything changed from what God had intended. The first couple had been deceived by Satan to disobey God; sin had entered into God’s perfect world (see Romans 5:12). Mankind had fallen! What a loss! Life has never been the same since. The descendants of Adam and Eve--everybody who has lived since then (including you and me) -- inherited their sinful nature and the ensuing consequences.

God had spent six days creating everything humans would need to be content and comfortable; at the end of each thing He created, “God saw that it was good” (see Genesis 1:4; 10; 12; 18; 21; 25; 31). Also, on the sixth day, He created Adam and Eve and put them in charge of everything. He even gave them the authority to name things whatever they wanted them called. Life in their world was beautiful and perfect; God always went to visit with them in the evenings; how beautiful! But on one fateful evening, when God went to visit, as usual, they were nowhere to be found. “Where are you?” God called out to Adam (see Genesis 3:9).

Mankind had fallen! Things went downhill rather quickly from that point on. There was disappointment all around—God was disappointed in them, and they were disappointed in themselves. This led to finger-pointing, and a blame game—Adam blamed God for giving him a wife who misled him. Eve blamed the serpent, and obviously, the serpent had no one to blame and had no excuse. God decreed a curse against each one of them, which has passed on to us (see Genesis 3:12-19); we are still working hard to earn a living, marriages still struggle, and women go through much pain to have babies. I know because I’ve been there. The serpent’s curse took a lot longer to happen, but that day finally came; the seed of the woman (Jesus) struck his head at Calvary! Hallelujah!

We will never know what life would have been like If the Fall had never happened. But thank God He did not give up on humans; before creation, He already knew what was going to happen and how He was going to remedy the situation. What a relief!!! He was determined to have a beautiful, lasting relationship with us, even if it killed Him, and it did! He sent His One and only Son, Jesus, into our sin-filled world to live a perfect life and die in our stead. So now, the way back to God is wide open; there is no longer a reason to hide from Him. We only have to repent of our sins, ask for His forgiveness, and trust that our sins are washed away by Jesus’ blood, and that they will never be brought up again: “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). And then He puts His Holy Spirit in us to guide, direct, comfort, and reassure us of His unfailing love: “For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth” (Psalm 103:11).

So, what God planned from the beginning, regardless of the devil’s meddling, has happened—His Spirit lives in us! He has promised to bring us to heaven with Him someday, where we will see Him face-to-face and worship Him day and night. How glorious that will be!

And just like what He did at creation—creating everything man was going to need, He is making preparations for us, and when things are ready, He will come back and take us home, where we’ll get to live with Him forever: “Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:2-3, emphasis mine).   

Because of the fall and its associated consequences, life has been difficult and we struggle, but it won’t be much longer. Let’s take heart: “For the Lord himself will come down with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. … [we] will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with him forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Amen! 

ALLOW THE FAMILY TO HELP YOU

Are you a child of God? If you answer ‘yes,’ then you belong to the family of God. You have brothers and sisters in the family, and together you form the church, the body of Christ. As children of God, our experiences and struggles are similar because we have the same enemy-the devil.

He is after us, and his goal is to cause us to disobey God at any cost. That has been his scheme from the beginning. In the Garden of Eden, he contradicted God’s commandment, which led to Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, and the devil has not stopped messing with us. For this reason, the Bible admonishes us, the children of God, to be watchful: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

It will help us to take the Bible’s description of the devil seriously, so we do not fall prey to him and his schemes. So, how does the Bible describe him? He is referred to as our great enemy (see 1 Peter 5:8), and called the deceiver, liar, murderer, and destroyer: “You are children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44; also see John 10:10). If you knew you had an enemy who was all of these things and was actually trying to trip you up, how would you live? Most likely, you would be afraid, concerned, worried, and vigilant. You might also try to stay out of his way as much as possible, and if all else failed, you might go to the authorities to bring a charge against him or seek protection. 

The Bible tells us what our enemy is like, not so that we’ll be afraid or worried, but instead so that we’ll be careful and take cover to stay safe. How do we take cover? By constantly praying, avoiding places and situations where we might be vulnerable. This also means we need to spend quality time with the family, share our struggles and victories, and pray for each other. After all, the enemy is after all of us.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people saying “I’m okay” even when they’re not. The reasons could vary but do not justify the false statement.  The reasons could include:

●      “I don’t have enough time to share.”

●      “I don’t think you’ll understand.”

●      “It’s personal-it’s embarrassing.”

●      “I don’t want anyone to know I have problems; that might change my reputation.”

●      “I should be able to handle this on my own.”

●      “People might start to gossip about me.”

The truth is, the Bible teaches us to “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). If we’re not honest, people won’t know how to help us. When we share, we all learn from each other’s experiences, mistakes, and victories. As a result, we will grow stronger individually, and also as the church. The church will gain a better image in society, and the Lord’s name will be honored. Please, let’s be honest with each other. There’s no need to carry our burdens alone; a load becomes lighter and more bearable when more shoulders are underneath it.

Also, let’s learn to cut each other some slack so people are not intimidated to share and ask for help. “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, …” (Ephesians 4:2-4).

So, let us prayerfully and humbly share our needs and trials with each other; let’s not allow pride and fear to stop us from being what God wants each of us to be in the Body of Christ. God will honor our efforts and obedience!    

YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT, BUT YOU CAN’T AFFORD IT

 

Can you think of something you need desperately, or might need in the future, but that you can’t or won’t be able to afford? Right away, my mind goes to medical needs, like medications, surgical procedures, or an extended hospital stay. Assume, for instance, that you’re too poor to afford what will save your life, but also too sick to work to earn an income for the payment. The only way you could get well is if another person paid on your behalf.

So, if another person offered to help, would you feel too proud to accept it? I hope not! But the truth is, many people have done that to their detriment, and others are doing it right now. I hope you’re not one of those people: time may be running out!

This scenario is parallel to what is happening in the spiritual world. We are all spiritually sick, and our diagnosis, according to God, is ‘sinner’: “Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standards” (Romans 3:23). Why should being a sinner matter? It matters because God, the Creator, is holy and has standards by which we should live. Unfortunately, we are unable to live by those standards because we inherited a sinful nature from our original parents, Adam and Eve. And with that, we have the inclination to disobey God and do our own thing; we are all under the power of sin and death.

Do you know you are a sinner? Are you aware of the consequences of your sins? Do you have any idea how to get your sins paid for? The Bible tells us the consequence of our sin is death, which is a forever separation from God (see Romans 6:23). When Adam and Eve sinned, they were kicked out of the garden where God used to go to visit with them; they lost that closeness with God. 

There are many who think they can win God’s favor by being ‘good,’ but if they can’t be good all the time, 24/7, then doing good cannot be the required solution. Some others think they can gain God’s favor through other religions, but that is not it either. God has clearly shown us how we can be cleansed from our sins and our broken relationship with Him restored. “God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe in Jesus” (Romans 3:25). So, as we see, there’s nothing we can personally do to gain God’s favor; we have to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.

If you are reading this and have never asked God for forgiveness through Jesus, please do that right now, because time is not on your side. This decision is good only if made while alive. Nobody knows how much longer they have on earth, so take this step and have the assurance of your sins forgiven, and that you’re adopted into God’s family. Someday, He will welcome you into His presence.

It’s like making a hotel reservation before a trip. No matter how late you arrive at your destination, you’ll know ahead of time where you’ll be spending the night. Please don’t miss this opportunity; don’t be like people who think they will do their best now and hope it will be good enough to get them into heaven when the time comes. But what do you think will happen when your best turns out to not be good enough (which it won’t be)? It’ll be too late at that point to do differently. Please let today be your day of salvation—the day you say ‘Yes’ to God through Jesus.

Dear friend, your eternal well-being depends on God’s forgiveness, but you cannot earn or buy it; you can only receive it as a gift from God: “God saved {saves} you by his grace when you believed {believe}. And you cannot take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9). I encourage you, based on these truths from God’s Word, to call on Jesus today!   

 

 

BE A FAITHFUL PARTNER

What does it mean to be a partner? A partner is a person with whom you do things because of a common interest or goal. As Christians, God has invited us into partnership with His Son, Jesus (see 1 Corinthians 1:9). This means we’ve been called to work alongside Jesus to accomplish His purpose. So, what brought Jesus to earth, why did He leave His heavenly throne, and what is His purpose?

 Right from the beginning, in the book of Genesis, Jesus was introduced as the seed of the woman who will crush the serpent’s head (see Genesis 3:15). Later, John the Baptist’s introduction of Jesus answers the question about why Jesus came. John said of Jesus, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And again, on another occasion, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” (John 1:29; 36). Jesus announced His mission like this: “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” And again, “I sacrifice my life for the sheep…. The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.” (John 10:10; 15; 17-18). Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth, therefore, was to pay the penalty for our sins, which is death (see Romans 3:23), and restore our relationship with the Father.

Since we’ve established Jesus’ purpose, we can conclude what our partnership with Him is to accomplish: soul-winning and growing the church into the image of Christ. For this reason, He chose disciples (us), and gave us the Spirit to identify us as His own, as well as power and authority, and then commissioned us, “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).      

Now that we know exactly what our partnership calls for, let’s get busy and obey. Our partnership is with Jesus, but also with each other—God empowers us and we encourage each other, strategize, and then go. Even when we don’t go together, we fulfill different functions of spreading the gospel—one person might share (sow the seed), another person follows up (water the seed), God makes it grow, and another person gets to lead the individual to the Lord in prayer. And of course, all involved in the process should be praying for God to bring conviction and repentance. The apostle Paul expressed joy and gratitude to God for the partnership he had with the church in Philippi: “Whenever I pray, I make requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you heard it until now” (Philippians 1:5-6). 

Dear Christian, what have you been doing for Jesus, at home, work, in your neighborhood, and all the places you? Are you praying for people in any of these places? God has promised to be with us, so let’s not fear what people might say. He never fails! If you have been timid or have not taken this charge seriously, I encourage you to start now to be a faithful partner! Remember, your reward will be great in heaven. Partnerships don’t work very well when those involved don’t play their roles as they should.

In short, our responsibility in this partnership is to share the gospel earnestly and encourage converts to remain faithful to the Lord by studying the Word, prayers, and fellowship with believers. In addition, we should pray for them, and touch base with them often. May God be pleased with our efforts!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE HEART OF A BIBLE STUDENT

A student is defined as a person engaged in a study; one who is devoted to learning; a learner; a pupil; a scholar; especially, one who attends a school, or who seeks knowledge from professional teachers or from books; as, the students of an Academy, a college, or a university; a medical student. A Bible student, therefore, is one who is devoted to learning the Bible, by whichever means are available.

So, which means are available to those interested in knowing more about the Bible?

●     Personal study as one depends on the Holy Spirit for guidance, and maybe a concordance or applicable study materials.

●     Group study with like-minded believers.

●     Learning under pastors and other church leaders.

●     Attending a Bible school or seminary.

Why do we need to study the Bible? “Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the LORD and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Just like Ezra, we should be determined to know and obey God’s Word, and then teach it to others.

●     We need to gain knowledge of His will as written in His Word. The Bible is our instruction manual, teaching us how to do life; it is our GPS to navigate life in a way that helps us stay on track. “Anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (1 John 2:17). “All who do what is right are God’s children” (1 John 2:29).

●     If we know the truth, false teachers cannot lead us astray. “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

●     We need to be able to prove its validity and usefulness. “Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8).

●     Obedience is how we express love for Him, but we can obey only if we know what His commandments are. “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Also, Jesus told His disciples, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15).

●     We need to teach others as we fellowship with them, but how can we teach them if we’re unfamiliar with the material (Bible)? “So, if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19).

If you’re a Bible student, you need to be diligent in your efforts by using all the resources available to you. The more you put what you learn into practice, the more meaningful it will be, and the more confidently you can share or teach others. And if you are a Christian but not a student of the Bible, I encourage you to start studying. The devil loves to create confusion and conflict around the Word of God; study it and don’t open yourself up to misinterpretation that will lead you to disobey God, and mislead others to do the same. Do you remember Satan and Eve in the Garden of Eden? Satan twisted the Word of God and got Eve to disobey Him, and then Adam got sucked into it and could not standing boldly for the truth he knew.   

Knowing the Word of God has great benefits; study it and live by it!