Getting back to this “wanting to know who this God that we had pledged our life to, that we had chose to follow, to obey, and to serve was” thing, we mentioned the fact that God says, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). We went on to mention that what God is today is what he had to be in the days past, and even had to be in the beginning. Could it be true that we have somewhere along the way, gotten a few things wrong about the God that we have pledged our lives to and who we have chose to follow, to obey, and to serve was?

Many have stated that as you read through the events of the Bible and the relationships God had with people, God is progressively revealing himself to man. That appears to be great for man today, but what about all those back in the beginning. Did he leave them short in their understanding of who he was? Did he not impress upon them how he operates? If this be the case, then God himself has given us an advantage over those who came before us. And more importantly, God has shortchanged those who were back in the beginning by not giving them the same opportunity as us.

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For us, “We wanted to know who this God that we had pledged our life to, that we had chose to follow, to obey, and to serve, was?” We believed in God, but there were so many conflicting descriptions that we were totally confused as to what kind of God we were serving and/or what we should be doing to please him. One of the most confusing things for us was the idea that the God of the Old Testament was somehow different from the God of the New Testament. We have been taught that the God of the Old Testament was “a God of wrath,” which is in stark contrast to the portrayal of the God of the New Testament as “a God of love.” We will concede that there are many events in the Old Testament that appear to portray God as this “God of wrath,” but was this an accurate portrayal?

The Old Testament events have been used to show that God is this “angry tyrant,” who was always mad and full of wrath. He is portrayed by these events as a God who sits around waiting for mankind to sin so that he can pass judgment on him, punish him, and then condemn him to hell. According to some traditional teachings, committing any one sin was no different than committing any other sin, they were all treated the same regardless of how hard we tried to classify them based on severity. You see, under this rule, lying was the same as committing murder and the punishment was the same, condemnation. Because of this, many Christians believe that God demands that we live holy and do things righteous in order for us to receive anything from God or even to get God to move in our lives. But again, is this an accurate portrayal?

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“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6).

According to the scriptures, God says that his people are destroyed because they lack knowledge. This lack of knowledge that God speaks of is not due to the knowledge being hidden or it not being available. No, this lack of knowledge is due to his people rejecting the knowledge. The biggest problem is that so many of us are completely satisfied, feeling totally secure in the knowledge that we have. As long as we believe in Jesus and believe that we are saved, we see no need to deal with the irrelevant or trivial things. We feel that since it has no bearing on our salvation, then none of those irrelevant or trivial things are important. Is it possible that those things that have been dismissed as irrelevant or trivial are important to our survival?

“Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst” (Isaiah 5:13).

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Once, we were asked why we chose to do what we do. We wanted to share, just in case someone else had the same question.

“After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and (by) two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come (was about to go). Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip (bag), nor shoes (sandals): and salute (greet) no man by the way (along the road). And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire (wages). Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto (near to) you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on (clings to) us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto (has come near) you” (Luke 10:1-11).

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It has been said that the more thankful you are, the more you attract things to be thankful for. It has also been said that those who take life day by day, those who complain very little, and those who are thankful for the things in life, tend to be happy. Scripture tells us to “always give thanks for everything to our God and Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20 TLB). Maybe this is why those who are thankful for the things they have in life are happy truly.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (I John 2:15-17).

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Explaining faith to those who doubt the existence of faith can be summed up similar to this, which surprisingly supports the existence of faith that can be found in everyone.

A man (woman) agrees to take a job with a company. The company tells the man that he will be paid every two weeks. The man agrees to the terms and accepts the job. The man reports to work the first day, works eight hours, and afterwards, he goes home. The next day the man repeats what he did the first day. The man does the exact same thing for one week straight. This is a classic example of faith in action. The man has placed his faith in the company, believing that he will be paid when he gets to the end of the pay period, which is supported by him going to work every day and not getting any form of compensation during the period. Payday comes and the company gives the man his first paycheck. Now that the man has his paycheck, he does not need faith anymore because the thing that he had hope for, the thing that he believed he was getting from the company is now a reality.

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 Many of us are familiar with the verse John 3:16, which focuses on God and his son. Depending on the Bible version you have, the passage will read something like, For God so loved the world that he gave his “only begotten Son” (King James Version), that he gave his “only Son (the unique Son of God) (The Living Bible), that he gave his “one and only Son” (Basic English Bible), or that he gave his “only Son” (Weymouth New Testament Translation). As we have discussed in previous devotionals, there are varied beliefs about the son of God, so much so, that we wonder if the varied translations of this particular verse are all saying the same thing about the son of God. From these varied translations, we see that Jesus is labeled as God’s “only begotten Son,” his “only Son (the unique Son of God),” his “one and only Son,” or his “only Son.” In short, each of the Bible translations listed above and many others not listed, cite Jesus as being “the only son of God.” So, is Jesus the only son of God? To many believers and some non-believers, the traditional answer would be “yes.” The interesting thing is that according to the Bible, Jesus was not God’s only son. According to scripture, God had another son.

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When asked where “the word of God” can be found, the most popular answer is “the Bible.”  Many believe the Bible to be the inerrant and infallible word of God, but is this belief the truth?  Is the Bible actually the inerrant and infallible word of God?  First, let us define a few important words. The first word “inerrant,” simply means “free from errors or untruths.”  The next word “infallible,” means “incapable of making mistakes or being wrong” or simply “incapable of error.”  Another definition says that “infallible” also means “absolutely trustworthy or sure.”  When combined, we see why the Bible is said to be “absolutely trustworthy or sure” because of its association with the word of God.  This has led many to consider the Bible of being “incapable of error, of making mistakes, or being wrong.”  But does all of this mean that the entire Bible is true?  That is a question that has been pondered throughout the ages.

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Most of us have heard the phrase, “Money is the root of all evil.”  Stated this way, this phrase leads us to believe that “money” itself is “the root or cause of all evil.”

“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:10).

According to scripture, it “the love of money” that is “the root or cause of all evil.”  The actual wording brings to light a slightly different interpretation where “the love of money” is the root cause of all kinds of evil and not money itself.  It is this “love of money,” this desire in people to be rich that is the first step of a downward spiral that causes all kinds of wrongdoings just to acquire this money.  Those who covet after money, fall into temptation, and do all kinds of unwise, destructive, and malicious things that eventually hurts them, all to satisfy this desire to gain access to money.  Because of their “love of money,” these same people have turned away from God, have been led astray from the faith, and have inflicted themselves with countless sorrows that eventually lead to their ruin and destruction.

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