and Future All at Once
Long long ago in a land far far away...That’s where it all begins, everyone’s story, it begins at the beginning.
I love history, and I love words, and learning their meaning and where they originated. I just love learning, but I’m not always so good at retaining the details. I often find myself going back and researching subjects over again to get a better grasp of it or to refresh my memory. Isn't that kinda the same with society any more? We have so much information right at our fingertips with the Internet, but how much of it do we retain? We don't really need to, if we can always just go on line and look it up whenever we want. When is the last time you had to memorize a phone number? Now you just touch a picture in your phone’s contact list to call them, or better yet, tell your phone to call them. How easy is it for mankind to forget history, whether it is recent or stretches far into the past.
I think it is very important that we don't forget our history, we learn from it, and don’t forget where we came from. I'm sure that is why God had Moses start writing down what he witnessed, experienced, and learned. To keep a record of mankind's history. So we could learn from it. You've heard the saying, “those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Since the time of Moses, and probably earlier, man has had a desire to record history, leaving a legacy behind for the future generations. If keeping a record of history is so essential to man’s life experience, why is it so easy for us humans to forget it or discount its importance?
I believe God knew this would be a problem for us humans with our limited minds and our ever decreasing attention span. Which is why the Holy Spirit spoke through and inspired not only Moses, but prophets and even “regular” people to keep record. It is why Jesus promised direction from the Holy Spirit and Paul was able to write so much of God’s inspired word. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” God worked through individuals who yielded to His will, to bring them to a place where they could record history without being wrong.
The very unique thing about the Bible is that it isn't just a book of history but a book that gives a glimpse of the past, present, and future at the same time. Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “The thing that has been, is that which shall be; and that which is done, is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” God doesn't change, and Satan continues to use the same tricks of the trade including: fear, doubt, and accusations to keep us from looking to God. Man’s reactions to life events are influenced by the devil’s very predictable and harassing tricks, more about that later.
Many ask about the validity of the Bible with the seemingly many contradictions. What people fail to realize is, The WORD is God inspired, not the people who penned it. The word “inspired”, in 2 Timothy is translated from the Greek word theopneustos meaning divinely breathed in, or God-breathed. Which makes it inerrant or unable to be wrong. While the original Hebrew and Greek Word of God is given by inspiration, the trouble that is often found in the Word we have today, is due to the fact that we have a translation of a translation. We have copies of the inspired word. However, the main point is always the same: Jesus Christ is coming, He came, died for our sins to redeem mankind so that we may have fellowship with God the creator, and Jesus is coming again.
In the meantime we are to live in God’s will, in relationship with Him. Jesus said in John 14:26, “But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” It’s important we have that relationship so that the Holy Spirit can help us understand what has already been written in our hearts. Although, as more archaeological and historical evidence is revealed, less contradictions seem to be found in God’s Word, The Bible. Besides that, God’s word was written to and for His followers, those who seek to have a relationship with Him. If you're not seeking a relationship with the one who inspired the Word, so that you are able to learn from history, then your understanding will be very limited.
History's mark on the world has never been as important as it is today. All the events from the beginning of time have been building up to what is happening in the world today and what will take place in the not so distant future. As time goes on and major events are taking place in the world and in our own personal lives, history is being created. History is His story! The story God has been writing from the very beginning, is the same one that has been written on our hearts. God is the author of His story we are the characters that are continually developing to fulfill the end He has already planned. We are unique characters in the fact that we have a free will to do and live as we choose, the end will always be the same but the course we take to get there and the people God chooses to use to bring the the story about will change depending on our actions. Whether the actions are in our personal life or actions taken by global leaders, they all have an affect on the outcome of His story.
People emerge throughout our personal life whether for a short paragraph, maybe even a chapter or two, or for the whole epic tale. During that space on the pages of His story we are to fellowship, love and look together to the one who is still in the process of creating. Seek out how He wants us to fit into the plot. When we turn to the Creator God our personal stories flow more smoothly into history. As our lives impact those around us we need to always consider the way in which we want to be portrayed. If we're incorrectly portraying the one who is still in the process of developing our character, then future chapters may be erased, so that His will to bring about an appropriate end will be fulfilled. In those deleted chapters we may miss out on a key blessing along the way.
Like every good story there is always an adversary, in this case we know and understand him to be Satan, the devil. Life events as I mentioned before whether in the personal or global areas are influenced by the devil’s very predictable and harassing tricks. Face it, life happens! People have free will and make dumb and not so dumb choices. We can learn from them, turn to God for forgiveness and guidance, and move on; or we can listen to the devil and give into the lies and deception he throws out there. He does it through relationships, government, workplaces, religious choices, anything that influences a person or group of people. Lies and deceit can be used by that not so crafty devil who uses the same old tricks to get us forgetful humans to fall every time. He doesn't need to create situations or cause events to happen, we do that on our own. All he has to do is throw out a few lies here and there and if we're not careful to learn from history we fall. He did it in the Garden of Eden and he is doing it today! 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
Today people who are considered conservatives, progressives, Christians, Jews, atheists, plain ol’ religious, religious zealots or just religious nuts, those in political power and those who aren't, and those who think they aren't a part of any of the above, all are very aware of the wars and rumors of wars, rise of ISIS and it's false doctrine, as well as other terrorist organizations. They all are people who have bought into many of the devil’s lies a time or two that have gotten us to this place in the story. The plot has truly thickened. We've reached the climax of history and we know the end of this story is close. There shouldn't be any fear in the end however, as the end brings about a new beginning. It is at this point in the story decisions are being made about which characters get to be included in the next volume of the same story, His Story. While we have the book of histories, the Bible, it is very important to learn as much as we can, follow the lead of the creator and let your life flow and continue to be woven into the greatest story ever! Where is your hope and future, is it reflected in History, His Story? All of us have a story, our own history. It's important to tell, because your history is His Story and there is much to learn from those pages!
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