Yes, God does truly have the whole world in his hands, but he chooses to allow us free will to choose.
From the picture above, just imagine God with the world in his hands as it now looks. He was the Creator and is timeless and endless and what do you think He is thinking of us and how we treat Him? Well, no one but God can answer that, Christians, but if you take His word for it from the Old Testament, the books of the Bible shared by Christians and Jews worldwide, it might give you a clue.
God created the world in six days and then on the seventh He rested. We all know that from the Book of Genesis (Genesis 2:2). After finishing His work, He looked at it and found it pleasing and decided that it was a good time to take a break. And from that came the Jewish Sabbath, or what many Christians call The Lord's Day. We also, of course, celebrate His day on Sunday, rather than Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. We We also know that in Exodus 20:8-11, the Fourth Commandment of the Ten Commandments directs us to "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." God expects us to honor Him on His special day and it ties in directly to the day of rest that first came to light in Genesis.
And there is another factor that must be added for consideration. In modern societies such as the United States, the technical and organizational skills have advanced to the point where most of us can work a five day work week. This, of course, means that we aren't just limited to one free day of week, but two, or nearly thirty percent of the total work hours which would be available if we worked seven days weekly. And that brings up a question which I think is appropriate when we consider our faith and how much we do, or just give lip service to, our love of The Lord.
Here's the question: If we have seven days in a week and two of those are free time, how can we be a believer in God if we say we can't find the time to worship Him? Seriously is it really a question of time or is it one of commitment. Each of us needs to answer that question individually and, of course, with our gift of free will we can do what we want. But, remember, whatever choice we make, we can't hide it from God, who knows everything we do and when we do it.
We each need to look deeply within our hearts and decide whether we truly want to put God first in our lives or just live out the charade that we may be doing. Sometimes the truth hurts and we are all guilty of lapses in responsibilities as the sinners we are, but to be really committed to God means a regular routine of prayer, Bible study and communion with fellow believers in the Lord's House. Now that House can be in many different places, even a natural setting where a group can feel very close to God, but the advantage of a church is in the rituals, the group hymn singing accompanied by beautiful music and such things as the altar and the Cross in prominent display which clearly add a most reverent touch.
I'll close this with a short fact about my own faith which I use to exemplify my own frailties and weakness in my faith. Like everyone, I need a form of prodding to stay the course sometimes and my big weakness was always regularly studying His Word. So, for many years I have been a volunteer Bible studies teacher. By doing so, I can't put off until tomorrow what I must do today, for I never want to get up in front of my group unprepared. Think of something that will prod you to maintain your Christian development experience and you'll find over time that it becomes automatic. That's where we need to take our faith in action.
God bless you all.
God created the world in six days and then on the seventh He rested. We all know that from the Book of Genesis (Genesis 2:2). After finishing His work, He looked at it and found it pleasing and decided that it was a good time to take a break. And from that came the Jewish Sabbath, or what many Christians call The Lord's Day. We also, of course, celebrate His day on Sunday, rather than Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. We We also know that in Exodus 20:8-11, the Fourth Commandment of the Ten Commandments directs us to "remember the Sabbath and keep it holy." God expects us to honor Him on His special day and it ties in directly to the day of rest that first came to light in Genesis.
And there is another factor that must be added for consideration. In modern societies such as the United States, the technical and organizational skills have advanced to the point where most of us can work a five day work week. This, of course, means that we aren't just limited to one free day of week, but two, or nearly thirty percent of the total work hours which would be available if we worked seven days weekly. And that brings up a question which I think is appropriate when we consider our faith and how much we do, or just give lip service to, our love of The Lord.
Here's the question: If we have seven days in a week and two of those are free time, how can we be a believer in God if we say we can't find the time to worship Him? Seriously is it really a question of time or is it one of commitment. Each of us needs to answer that question individually and, of course, with our gift of free will we can do what we want. But, remember, whatever choice we make, we can't hide it from God, who knows everything we do and when we do it.
We each need to look deeply within our hearts and decide whether we truly want to put God first in our lives or just live out the charade that we may be doing. Sometimes the truth hurts and we are all guilty of lapses in responsibilities as the sinners we are, but to be really committed to God means a regular routine of prayer, Bible study and communion with fellow believers in the Lord's House. Now that House can be in many different places, even a natural setting where a group can feel very close to God, but the advantage of a church is in the rituals, the group hymn singing accompanied by beautiful music and such things as the altar and the Cross in prominent display which clearly add a most reverent touch.
I'll close this with a short fact about my own faith which I use to exemplify my own frailties and weakness in my faith. Like everyone, I need a form of prodding to stay the course sometimes and my big weakness was always regularly studying His Word. So, for many years I have been a volunteer Bible studies teacher. By doing so, I can't put off until tomorrow what I must do today, for I never want to get up in front of my group unprepared. Think of something that will prod you to maintain your Christian development experience and you'll find over time that it becomes automatic. That's where we need to take our faith in action.
God bless you all.
RSS Feed