IN LIGHT OF OUR TIMES
It’s said that the basic rules for writing a story requires three things: a beginning, a middle, and an end. A story is not a story without any one of these elements. Context is found in this simple format and without context, you lack clarity and meaning. Perhaps what makes the Bible so supernatural, and fascinating is that it’s a collection of 66 books written by over 40 different authors who wrote over a span of 1,500 years and yet it has a consistent storyline running all the way through. The collective work of the Bible has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If one didn’t know any better, you’d think it had only one author… For those who do know better, we know that apart from God being the true author, those 40 different scribes (inspired by the Holy Spirit) could never have written what they wrote with such cohesiveness.
In case you didn’t get a chance to read the entire thing yet, let me help give the big picture here. The Beginning: God being perfect, created a perfect world with meaning and purpose for man to live in relationship with God. But man fell short and broke God’s perfect creation. Thus, man and creation needed to be saved but no one was able to fix that which was broken. The Middle: So, God initiated a rescue plan and sent His only son, Jesus Christ, into our world to redeem and restore all things back to His order. Jesus paid for all the brokenness with His perfect life and then being raised from the dead, He offered new life. The End: For those who want His fellowship and redemption, all things will be made right once and for all. And for those who do not wish to have relationship with Him, they will be forever separated from His creation and presence.
This is a very simplistic summary of the Bible, but it is especially good news for all who read it and believe it. It’s said that nearly 30% of the Bible is prophecy. This prophecy is broken down between those things which have already been fulfilled and those things which are still to come. This means, that even though the Bible is a finished work, it’s Words are not yet. Yes, the Word of God is alive and active. With prophecies that are still to come, we are beginning to see some of them come true today while others are coming into fulfillment very soon (no one knows the day or the hour). As we prepare to close out 2023, I want to personally invite you to join us this Sunday as we sit down with our church family to discuss what we are seeing and what we can expect to see in light of the times we are living today. It’s a great day to have context (know your Bible) because it will give your life greater meaning and clarity.
I’ll see you Sunday,
Pastor Ryan