support for the
writing community
thru the art of critical craft
It's really pretty simple...
...We believe God created the heavens and the earth, both the visible realms and the invisible. Doesn't matter how he did, just that he did. Doesn't matter how long it took him, just that he created. We recognize his hand in all of creation, seeing order even midst chaos.
...Things were pretty great for a while...don't know for how long, may have been a looooooong time, may have been short, but Adam walked with God. Can you imagine! Walked and talked with him. Pretty amazing stuff here. Adam had the power to not sin, to not commit evil, to walk with God for eternity...
Oops! Adam blew it...
...Doesn't matter if it was his fault or Eve's fault. What matters is that he wasn't able to resist temptation, and he disobeyed the ONE commandment that God gave him (this is what the Bible calls sin). So Adam lost the ability to walk and talk with God face to face, because God is not a big one of us, nor is he an old man with a flowing white beard; He is bigger, greater, more awesome than anything we can imagine...a relational being complete in Himself...
...And everytime we blow it, we vote with Adam. Every time we think a wrong thought, every time we make a wrong choice. Oops!
Ahhhhhhh...but God is fair
...He knew all along that we would blow it and he made a way out for us. Right away in the book of Genesis he started talking about a sacrifice...
...something would have to die in place of the ones who sinned. Yep! Something has to die in order for something else to live. Always been that way and always will on this earth. No matter whether you're a vegan or a meat eater, something has to give its life for you.
But, hey! This earth is not all there is...AND...God provided Himself a sacrifice...
That's right!...
He came to earth as one of us, Jesus, the Christ, born as a baby, lived as a man, tempted in every way like us, hurt like us, cried like us. He healed the sick, cared for the hurting, loved the unlovely. Shouted strong words at hypocrites, commanded forces in the unseen world, and they obeyed him; commanded the waves and the wind, and they obeyed him. He shocked the guys who hung out with him, sometimes had them terrified, yet they could not leave him, because they knew he had the words of life...
Oh! And by the way...he wasn't an American...wasn't even a westerner...He was born in Bethlehem, raised in the middle east. Didn't know a word of English.
...He was the only man ever to have walked on this earth in a perfect sinless form, who never thought a bad or wrong thought, who never did a bad or wrong thing...
Oops!...he made a mistake.......or did he?
When asked who he was...he answered, "I Am," and the religious leaders of the day knew exactly what he meant. He used the same terminology God used of himself way back in Genesis...I Am. They picked up stones and moved to kill him, but he disappeared from the midst of them...
He gave himself...
Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked his Father (God) that if it were possible this cup would pass from him...yet he was willing if there was no other way for us to be saved. Not just saved from Hell. Not just saved from sin. But saved from it all...saved from death, that terrible separation from the only source of love, and life, and truth, and joy, and beauty...
And so he suffered...
...The man who never did anything wrong, ever! This man, Jesus, suffered and died as a common thief, taking our place on the cross, taking our sin upon himself. The man who never knew sin, took on all our sin. The man who enjoyed an amazing oneness with his Father was separated from His Father for the first and only time ever! For us! We, who should be prosecuted as common thieves for our mistakes and bad thoughts and bad choices...He took our place! What incredible love!
And that was his plan all along...
...from the foundation of time...before the world began...He called YOU by name...
It's really pretty simple really...
...All you need do is accept his free gift...learn and grow in his free grace...only two rules: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength...and love your neighbor as yourself.
Oh! And there's this really cool thing...
He gives you the power to love in just that way....the way he asked you to love...
How cool is that? And that's just how simple it is. People have been making it hard for a long time. The enemy of our souls comes to rob, and kill, and destroy and he does a really good job of it. But we have the choice of choosing something much much better.
Questions?
Talk to us, we'll do our best to answer anyone who is TRULY seeking God. Wanna argue? Forget it. This is a relationship we're talking about, not a concept or set of rules to argue.
May the Force be with you...and my that Force be the One who created...
And then he was buried....
...And that could have been the end of it all...
...But it wasn't! Because he rose from the dead. For several weeks he walked and talked with people, ate food with them. Then over 500 people watched with mouths hanging open as He was taken up to heaven in a cloud...
And now, because of his sacrifice for us, the second death has no power over those of us who accept his free gift! This Jesus, this Creator, offers us an incredible gift of life, and love, and joy...not without trouble...but in the midst of trouble; not without pain, but in the midst of pain...He gives power to the most unlikely of people to do the most extraordinary things!
