theriver3

[theriver3]

The Word of God

   Basically my whole life I thought of the Bible as a book that had a bunch of stories from a long time ago that were all put together in order to give me direction, or tell me how I was suppose to live. I had even formed my own worldly opinion that the Bible was written by men and that some parts of the Bible were subject to corruption and could mis lead based on the fact that men mess tend to mess everything up... If you are anywhere in the same boat I was then I’m here to tell you that boat is sinking fast my friend. That is a dangerous way to live. 

   So hit rock bottom one day and something inside me decided that I needed to start going to Church again. I had my reservations... However I’m sitting there and they the pastor tells us about a class that is going to be held in the near future and my spirit stood up inside of me. The feeling... that “tug” I like to call it now was God “telling me” to go to that class. It was so evident that I signed up that day before I even drove out of the Church parking lot. Fast foreword a few months later.

   First day of class changed my life forever... I learned that the Bible was one story and that story was the story of God’s purpose for creating the world and all the people in it. It’s the living story of Jesus Christ. Yea that’s right! The Old Testament and the New Testament together form one story about the Holy Trinity that is God our Father, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit our Sanctifier. 

   Genesis chapters 1-11 are the introduction. This establishes the one and only God as the Beginner/Creator, the great I Am. Then Genesis 12 with Abraham begins the story of God’s purpose for “all the families of the earth to be blessed.”. Then literally the rest of the Bible all the way through Revelation 5 is the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham because Abraham BELIEVED in God and chose to follow Him. Revelation 6-22 is the conclusion.

   Jesus conquered the world and believers have the book of Revelation that tells us exactly what the end will be. No one is perfect or sinless, but through Jesus Christ it is possible to be “perfect, complete and needing nothing.”-James 1:2-4 God created us for relationship with Him through worship and in that our lives are given to His purpose. 

[theriver3]

AMOS 5:21

   So many people are turning away from the societal established church of todays society. We go to a building we call church. We sing a few songs. We listen to a message. We see or be seen by other people. We leave feeling same way we felt before we went. Sometimes worse if we are being honest. This has happened in all time periods throughout the Bible. Let’s see how God feels about this form of worship by reading the scripture of the title.^

   “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” -ESV

   Take a minute to process this scripture. Doesn’t “solemn assemblies” feel familiar. For me it was one of those things that hit me like a ton of bricks. Have you ever felt as though you are just going through the motions? You work so hard all week, get so discouraged in the world, walk out of God’s grace, and go to a building on Sunday morning and feel a small bit of relief before you wake up and do it all over again Monday morning? What if I told you that God created YOU for a much more fulfilling purpose. He wants to fill you with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Church is not that building you go to on Sunday morning. The Church is the people that truly believe in Jesus Christ and have a relationship with Him through the Holy Spirit. That building is designated as God’s House and a place of worship. The reason we go to God’s House is to worship God in fellowship with other members of the Body of Christ. True worship brings us into an encounter with our Father and should leave you feeling as though you need nothing else. True worship is sustainable. It allows Him to pour His love and grace into your heart. 

   Now if you are reading this and you have never chosen to believe in Jesus Christ I just want you to know that you are loved, and that in any real House of God you are more than welcome to come in seek refuge from the burdens of the world. Come as you are before the Father and choose to believe in Jesus and ask Him to come into your life/heart and His love will change your life forever.... Literally.