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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #1,021 January 30, 2004 A Fairy Tale Once upon a time, a long time ago, in a country far, far away... That is how many people view the Bible. They perceive it as some sort of a fairy tale, or a collection of myths and half truths. In fact, just recently someone explained to me that the Bible couldn't be true, science had disproved it. Is that a valid way of looking at the Bible? Well, I suppose it could be, but if we're Christians and that perspective is true, then it is time for us to give up on Christianity because we've been deceived. How do I know that? Let's look at a couple of basic issues. The Bible tells us that Adam and Eve were the first man and woman. From them came all people. Their sin caused them to be cast from the Garden of Eden and cut off from eternal life. And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 2:22-24 NIV If we believe that there was no literal Adam and Eve how do we explain the need for a Saviour? How do we explain the entrance of sin into the world? We can't. The first promise of Christ comes in that same Genesis account So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:14-15 NIV The serpent would strike his heel (Satan succeeded in having Christ killed) but Christ would be resurrected, defeat death and ultimately crush the head of Satan. If we can't trust the Old Testament accounts, we can't trust the claims for Christ to be the Messiah. In fact we wouldn't even know we needed one. Some will say to me, but science has proved we evolved and that the earth is ancient. Science has disproved the Bible. Science is a wonderful thing and we've gained great benefit from it, but let's never forget it is always changing and today's scientific "fact" is yesterday's discarded theory. A little more than a hundred years ago, Australian aboriginals, and some African tribes were "proved" to be not human. Fortunately for them and us, this was found to be false. The thyroid and pituitary glands were once "known" to be useless glands, a leftover from the past. Now we know they have a vital role in sustaining life. Darwin and his followers "proved" we evolved. Now even many ardent evolutionists are saying it couldn't be random, it took some form of "intelligent design" (read "God" although they can't use that word, it's not "scientific enough"). We know the world isn't flat as science once "knew" for a fact. There are thousands more examples. Science hasn't even come close to putting the Bible in doubt. Don't misunderstand, I'm not anti-science, in fact I find it fascinating. There is a lot we can learn about the mechanics of how things work through science, but science can only explain, it can never prove origin. I'm simply saying we already have the truth, and the science must be weighed against that standard not the other way around. We needn't worry about measuring the Bible against science, that's doing things backwards. The Word is truth. I believe that so strongly that I'm committing my hopes for eternity and my plans for this life on that fact. Until next time, rejoice in the fact that God cared enough to give us His Word and reveal the truth through it. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING If you're looking for answers to life's problems. Look past science, and look at real truth. There is hope and you have a purpose in life. There more to life than looking after yourself at the expense of others. There is true hope, peace, joy, love and forgiveness available to you. It is found in God. All you have to do is open your heart to Christ. You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2001-2004 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Ministries International - All Rights Reserved
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