Faith is the element in our lives that confirms our soul to salvation. It was God’s breath in the beginning that created man as a spiritual being with a soul. Since we were created by God we realize this separation and long for the reunion with our Creator. There is nothing on this earth that can fill that void. We were created for a life here on earth and in heaven. The soul will live for eternity and needs to be fed and nourished as a living being. Matthew 10:28 reads, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both the soul and body in hell.” Jesus spoke and healed many during His time on earth, but many still did not believe. Even though many witnessed these great miracles they refused to believe in Jesus as their Savior. In this case, seeing did not result in believing. John 5:37-38 reads, “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.” Peter was acting on faith as he stepped out of the boat and into the water. He was confident and knew without any doubt that Jesus was who He said He was. Peter’s faith allowed him to act on his belief. Faith comes from hearing God’s word and allowing God to control our lives and to continue in the process of dying to self. Faith in God will result in the love of His word and for the love of your neighbor. 1 Peter 1:7 reads, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” The tested and refined faith is beyond value and will bring praise and honor to our Lord and Savior.
God’s blessings are found throughout the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The goal and ultimate blessing is to develop a close relationship with our Lord and Savior. The path to this goal may require trials and hardships that can be physically and emotionally painful.
1 Peter 5:10 reads, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”
The Messiah’s royal lineage was blessed from the beginning and is detailed in both the book of Mathew and Luke. The book of Mathew details Jesus’ genealogy beginning with Abraham and ends with Joseph the husband of Mary. The book of Luke traces Jesus’ genealogy back to Adam using Mary’s ancestors. In both genealogies Jesus is a direct descendant of King David.
Isaiah 9: 6-7 reads, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Introduction
The greatest blessing man has received has been from God when he gave His only Son so that man’s sins may be forgiven and he may enter heaven. God allowed his only Son to be born on this earth as a man to deliver His word and to reveal His love. God’s only Son died on the cross and rose to break the seal of death and allow man’s soul to escape the penalty of sin.
Isaiah 53:3-5 reads, “He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him: he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
God’s only Son bore the sins of all men as He was tortured and hung crucified on the cross. Jesus Christ was the sacrificial lamb that paid the price for man’s sins. This sacrificial blessing is beyond our comprehension and no man is worthy of such a gift.
Ephesians 1:3 reads, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
We humbly kneel before our Lord praising His name and thanking Him for all our blessings. We praise and thank our Lord for His Holy Spirit that counsels us, and guides us through each day.
The God we worship is a sovereign God that controls all that occurs within the universe. Our God is immortal, omniscient, and omnipresent, meaning He has always been and will always be present everywhere and is available to each person. Our God is the same today as in the past, and as in the future. There is nothing impossible for God and His control is based on His love.
Our God is a personal God that is interested in each individual. The Bible provides genealogies that list names of each individual both Jew and Gentile that were related to Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and in some cases details how God worked through their lives. These genealogies also confirm the prophecy that Jesus was the Son of David by detailing the name of each person that was an ancestor of Jesus the Messiah. The historical accuracy of the Bible is substantiated by listing all the ancestors of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus starting with Adam.
It is believed that both Mary and Joseph shared the same genealogy from Adam (est. 4223 BC) to King David (est. 1010 BC). It is believed that from that point forward Mary’s and Joseph’s genealogy changed. Mary the mother of Jesus was a descendant from King David’s son, Nathan and Joseph was a descendant of Solomon, another son of King David. A number of verses in both the Old and the New Testament prophesied that the Messiah would be the Son of David. Consequently, Jesus Christ was a descendant by blood of King David from His mother Mary and by adoption from His earthly father Joseph.
Creation
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In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth from nothing. He created man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. God created woman from a rib of man. Generation after generation of women and men live and die, returning to nothing but dust. Their lives are short and in many cases die without any thought or hope for their souls and the eternal spiritual life with their Creator. They are simply willing to die and ignore the promises in the Bible and its message of salvation.
Genesis 1:1-3 reads, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
Genesis 1:21-22 reads, “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after that kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.”
Genesis 1:27-28 reads, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
The original sin of man began with Adam and Eve. Satan did tempt them with great riches and power and the promise they would be like God. Genesis 3:5 reads, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Man is easily puffed up by pride with accomplishments, success, possessions and an endless list of other things. Pride has been in existence before man and is very dangerous and can quickly lead to sin and separation from God as was the case with Satan. Lucifer’s pride led him to being cast from heaven. Lucifer became extremely proud of his beauty, intelligence, and power to the point he desired all the glory and not God. Pride, arrogance, and taking on an attitude of superiority are contrary to loving your neighbor as yourself. Pride leads to making comparisons