January 5th 2020
Today Is The First Day Of The Rest Of My Life!
Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
As we begin a new year there may be a temptation to resolve to do some improvements in our lives. We may want to do better this year than we did last year. While self-improvement is always a good idea, it always makes me wonder why a new year starting is a key factor in such decisions! Every “today” is the first day of the rest of your life! You can only accomplish improvements in a today. While it is good to learn from our mistakes we made yesterday, please remember you cannot redo yesterday. Therefore, it is very important for us to plan each today, so that we may accomplish our desired outcomes each day. It is vital that we believe we the members of mankind were created by God and endowed with a purpose by God! Every member of mankind is planned by God before our immortal souls are allowed to exist in this world, and our mortal lives start at reproduction. Unlike any animal, mankind is created in the image and likeness of God. We are endowed with an immortal soul, and no animals will ever have an immortal soul.
It seems important at this first week in this new year to start with “In the beginning” as none of us would be on and of this earth if God had not decided to create it, and devise a plan for us to live here! The writer of Hebrews wrote about how we must have faith based upon this belief. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:3). When Adam and Eve sinned, this brought death and suffering into the perfect world God/Jesus had created. Paul wrote about this situation, and how God had a plan to allow salvation of members of mankind, through a Savior coming into the world, who would die as the perfect sacrifice, thus allowing salvation of mankind’s immortal soul. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:47). Solomon wrote about this confusing situation of mankind that although they were blessed with an immortal soul, because of sin we were cursed with a mortal body. Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20). Here Solomon shows confusion about the fact that mankind has an immortal soul that does not die when we leave this earthly life, but the animals will turn back into dust and remain on this earth. Mankind has a destiny as we must leave this earthly body behind, but our immortal soul lives on, to reside in either heaven or in hell.
Isaiah shared with us some of what God told him as a prophet about how even the most intelligent human being cannot fathom God’s plans for mankind. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:8-11). Even the brilliant Solomon could not grasp God’s plans for mankind, so do not be too concerned if you have difficulty understanding what God has planned for you. However, have faith that God created us for His purposes, and He has a plan for each one of us. If, however, we do not fulfill His plan or accept His orders for this lifetime, He will select someone else to do His bidding!
Jesus told His disciples, if we choose to follow, that we will be given power through the Holy Spirit that He left behind, when He went back to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8). Yes, those who choose to are to be the bearers of the Good News to the rest of mankind on this cursed earth! Do you choose to try and spread the Good News to those who have not herd it, or who have refused to accept it? Paul tried to explain this conundrum to us when he wrote to the church in Rome about this opportunity for us to serve Jesus while we live out this mortal life on this cursed earth! Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. (Romans 5:12). Living on this cursed earth you will either be a slave to sin, or you can choose to be a follower of Jesus Christ. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. (Romans 6:20). We can be sinful or righteous in this lifetime, it is a choice we all can make. If we continue to lead a sinful life without having Jesus as our Savior, then our sinful nature will win out, and we will be destined for hell. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23). Jesus came to give all of mankind a gift of salvation!
Paul wrote to Timothy about the gift of the Word of God, which would direct his life toward righteousness, and could allow Timothy to preach to others so they would find salvation for their souls. Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you. (1 Timothy 6:20-21). The intelligence of mankind cannot save your immortal soul, because our knowledge is very limited, and cannot totally grasp the complete plan of God! Earthly knowledge cannot direct you toward God/Jesus, because of the curse. Paul warned Timothy about this problem, “Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.” Knowledge on this cursed earth can only lead you away from God’s truth, never toward it.
A great New Year’s resolution would be for us to turn toward God’s Word, by planning to read the Bible this year from cover to cover. I suggest reading it in the order of when each article was written. This can be done by buying a Chronological Order Bible or by getting a bookmark that gives the sequence of the books in that order. I can tell you how to buy these bookmarkers from Answers in Genesis, just send me an email to request this information! These bookmarks are nice because it allows you to choose whatever translation of the Bible you prefer, and it is cheaper than buying another Bible.
Wishing you and your loved ones,
Happy New Year!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
As we begin a new year there may be a temptation to resolve to do some improvements in our lives. We may want to do better this year than we did last year. While self-improvement is always a good idea, it always makes me wonder why a new year starting is a key factor in such decisions! Every “today” is the first day of the rest of your life! You can only accomplish improvements in a today. While it is good to learn from our mistakes we made yesterday, please remember you cannot redo yesterday. Therefore, it is very important for us to plan each today, so that we may accomplish our desired outcomes each day. It is vital that we believe we the members of mankind were created by God and endowed with a purpose by God! Every member of mankind is planned by God before our immortal souls are allowed to exist in this world, and our mortal lives start at reproduction. Unlike any animal, mankind is created in the image and likeness of God. We are endowed with an immortal soul, and no animals will ever have an immortal soul.
It seems important at this first week in this new year to start with “In the beginning” as none of us would be on and of this earth if God had not decided to create it, and devise a plan for us to live here! The writer of Hebrews wrote about how we must have faith based upon this belief. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:3). When Adam and Eve sinned, this brought death and suffering into the perfect world God/Jesus had created. Paul wrote about this situation, and how God had a plan to allow salvation of members of mankind, through a Savior coming into the world, who would die as the perfect sacrifice, thus allowing salvation of mankind’s immortal soul. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:47). Solomon wrote about this confusing situation of mankind that although they were blessed with an immortal soul, because of sin we were cursed with a mortal body. Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20). Here Solomon shows confusion about the fact that mankind has an immortal soul that does not die when we leave this earthly life, but the animals will turn back into dust and remain on this earth. Mankind has a destiny as we must leave this earthly body behind, but our immortal soul lives on, to reside in either heaven or in hell.
Isaiah shared with us some of what God told him as a prophet about how even the most intelligent human being cannot fathom God’s plans for mankind. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:8-11). Even the brilliant Solomon could not grasp God’s plans for mankind, so do not be too concerned if you have difficulty understanding what God has planned for you. However, have faith that God created us for His purposes, and He has a plan for each one of us. If, however, we do not fulfill His plan or accept His orders for this lifetime, He will select someone else to do His bidding!
Jesus told His disciples, if we choose to follow, that we will be given power through the Holy Spirit that He left behind, when He went back to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8). Yes, those who choose to are to be the bearers of the Good News to the rest of mankind on this cursed earth! Do you choose to try and spread the Good News to those who have not herd it, or who have refused to accept it? Paul tried to explain this conundrum to us when he wrote to the church in Rome about this opportunity for us to serve Jesus while we live out this mortal life on this cursed earth! Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. (Romans 5:12). Living on this cursed earth you will either be a slave to sin, or you can choose to be a follower of Jesus Christ. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. (Romans 6:20). We can be sinful or righteous in this lifetime, it is a choice we all can make. If we continue to lead a sinful life without having Jesus as our Savior, then our sinful nature will win out, and we will be destined for hell. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23). Jesus came to give all of mankind a gift of salvation!
Paul wrote to Timothy about the gift of the Word of God, which would direct his life toward righteousness, and could allow Timothy to preach to others so they would find salvation for their souls. Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you. (1 Timothy 6:20-21). The intelligence of mankind cannot save your immortal soul, because our knowledge is very limited, and cannot totally grasp the complete plan of God! Earthly knowledge cannot direct you toward God/Jesus, because of the curse. Paul warned Timothy about this problem, “Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.” Knowledge on this cursed earth can only lead you away from God’s truth, never toward it.
A great New Year’s resolution would be for us to turn toward God’s Word, by planning to read the Bible this year from cover to cover. I suggest reading it in the order of when each article was written. This can be done by buying a Chronological Order Bible or by getting a bookmark that gives the sequence of the books in that order. I can tell you how to buy these bookmarkers from Answers in Genesis, just send me an email to request this information! These bookmarks are nice because it allows you to choose whatever translation of the Bible you prefer, and it is cheaper than buying another Bible.
Wishing you and your loved ones,
Happy New Year!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak