The Good, the Bad and the Great News of the Bible, Part 1

I hope this series of blogs will be helpful to those who know about the Bible and those who want an overview of what the Bible story is all about. I will try to make it as clear as possible for both. I want to explain in these few blogs, that there is good, bad and great news in the Bible. Many of you are probably wondering, why not just skip to the great news? The short answer it, it is easier to appreciate something when you know you need it; it is easier to see what is "good news" when it is contrasted to the "bad news" like black letters against a white background. Please bare with me, thank you I appreciate it. I should also mention that these blogs are written from the stance that the Bible is a reliable source of truth about God, that is inerrant and infallible. I hope that if you have some type of strong reaction to my blog, whether good or bad you will pass it on, such as in email or stumble it! Thank you!

1. According to the Bible, we are not accidents of chance, and the whole earth was made good.

Genesis 1:1
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Genesis 1:26-27
"Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

According to the verses above, we are the exact opposite of a "cosmic accident." God created humans in His own image, and gave the human race jobs to do, ruling over creation (birds, cattle etc).

Genesis 1:31
"God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

According to the Bible verse above, when God first created the earth it was all very good! That is defiantly some good news from the Bible. All the bad that happens now (injustice, murder etc.) did not even exist back then, that means the earth at one time was completely good, according to God's standards! Wow, it must have been a great place to live! :-)

2. According to the Bible, God had a good reason for creating us!

The Westminster Shorter Catechism states:

Question. 1. What is the chief end of man?
Answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

Chief end is referring to what a man is to have accomplished by the end of his life.

Isn't that interesting, God created human beings to glorify Him, and to enjoy him forever, that was and still is the plan on this "very good" earth when He first created it. Some Bible verses that support this are:

1Peter 4: 11

"Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

1 Corinthians 10:31

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

For more information on the "chief end of man" there is a great article here.

So what we have learned from part 1 is that some of the "good news" found in the Bible includes that we, as humans are not cosmic accidents, but were created on purpose by God, for specific reasons. God also created this whole world for us to tend and to live on. He created all the food, water, oxygen etc. to give us a wonderful place to live; and when God first created it all He called it "very good."

One of the reasons God created humans, often referred to as the "chief end of man," is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Could you imagine being so close to God, that you could enjoy His company forever? It can sound really far fetched in the world we know today. First we don't live forever! Unfortunately, that is were the bad news comes in. But don't forget, after the bad news, comes great news! So please keep reading, when I post part 2 "the bad news" in the Bible, and part 3, "the great news" in the Bible.

Blogging is Hard

Blogging is hard. It is hard to think of things to write each week. I really need to get back onto the blogging waggon. :) I think I will try to write a blog a week, to be posted on Tuesday nights or Wednesday mornings. :)

Kitchen Organization:Baking

Have you ever left out a important ingredient in a recipe and didn't realize it until you finish your creation? Yuk! You can organize so this doesn't happen to you again!

Have you ever left out an important ingredient out of a recipe and didn't realize it until you tasted the finished product? I have! One time I left the sugar out of a batch of muffins. Ick!! Since the muffin fiasco however, I have come up with 2 ways to organize my baking endeavors so that I will not forget ingredients, or (another problem) put the same ingredient in more than once!

1. Take out every single ingredient needed for the recipe before you start baking, and put these all together in the same location. If you don't have enough room on the counter sometimes a tray table or some other small table can be used for this purpose temporarily.
- After you measure each ingredient, put it away! This can also help keep your kitchen less cluttered while you are trying to bake. =)

2. Grab a dry erase marker and put your recipe in a clear plastic sleeve, or laminate your recipe. Now you will be able to cross off each ingredient, and cross off steps on your recipe as you complete each one, without permanently marking our recipe. Just wipe off the card when done baking.

Thanks for visiting my site! I hope these tips help you organize your kitchen baking project. Please leave your thoughts below. For more great tips on kitchen organization please be sure to visit the Works for Me Wednessday post at Rocks in my Dryer!

Poem

Two Different Tracks
Poem By: Me

Ziggity, Zaggity
Rail road track.
Certainly different
From the straight
And narrow path.
Ziggity, Zaggity
Rail road track.

Ziggity, Zaggity
Rail road track.
Wide and treacherous,
Lead you in circles,
And then right back.
Ziggity, Zaggity
Rail road track.

Strait and narrow
Rail road track.
Very different
From that zaggity path.
Straight and narrow
Rail road track.

Straight and narrow
Rail road track.
Never leading
Off its path.
Straight and narrow
Rail road track.

Which one will you choose?
The straight and narrow?
Or that ziggity, zaggity
Rail road track.

The straight and narrow
is my final choice.
For you just can't trust,
That ziggity, zaggity
Rail road track.

Thanks for reading my poem. Please feel free to leave your comments below, and have a great day!!

Alone

Poem by Me

I'm lonely
watching life go by.
I'm lonely
even with you near by.

I can't explain
why I feel this way,
Because I'm afraid
that you might walk away.

I'm just lonely.

TAZ HALL OFF FAME

Here is Taz playing with a gift bag at
Katie's Birthday Party

Playing hide and seek.

Look.. the proof his on his face! He got his
nose in my bouquet!

Comfy shoe box huh?

How did he squish in there anyway?

Israel's Foolish Leader

If a leader today was to try and pull a stunt like Joshua did in the Bible, the world would surely condemn him as very arrogant and foolish! I mean how can you divide up nations you haven’t even conquered yet? But that is exactly what Joshua did.

Joshua’s actions, as recorded in the Bible, would have earned him the title “arrogant fool” if he was a leader in today’s world. In the middle of the book of Joshua, he describes the dividing up of the land of Canaan that will become the country of Israel. Why would this make him a fool you say? Often conquering people will reorganize the boundaries of a land; change the names of cities and so forth. But you need to understand is that in this point in time most of the land being divvied up had not even been conquered yet! (Joshua 13:1-6a) If a leader was to try and pull a stunt like that today, he would be looked down on as very arrogant and foolish. The world would have condemned it as an absurd move by Joshua. How could you divvy up property you don’t even own yet? It makes no sense!

However, it was really a very smart move on Joshua’s part, because Joshua believed and trusted God to do what He had promised. In his entire life, he had already seen a myriad of miracles, and what the power of God could accomplish, many of them in just that past few months time (ex. Joshua 10: 12-13). Now, in Joshua 13:1, 6b, 7 (KJV) we see these words: “Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed… them I will drive out from before the children of Israel; only, divide it by lot to Israel as an inheritance, as I have commanded you. Now therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh.” Now Joshua’s action before the land was conquered makes more sense. He was obeying God (see Joshua chapters 14-21).

Joshua’s faith was not in the strength of the people of Israel, but in the strength of the LORD, God of Israel. Joshua believed what God promised He would accomplish. And, if you read further in the books of the Old Testament, you find, that God did keep His promise, the land was conquered in proportion to the obedience of the people of Israel (Joshua 21:43-45). In accordance to God’s promise He gave the complete land of Canaan to the Israelites. To the world today, Joshua’s actions may seem cocky, but in reality it was his well positioned faith in the LORD, God of Israel, and his obedience to God that made this bold move possible. The LORD, God of Israel is in control!