Heb. 11:6; 2 Tim. 3:15, 16 Do you believe there is a God? Do you believe Scripture is inspired by God? What evidence supports your beliefs? These are the topics of the first two days of the devotional, Walk in Newness of Life.
I wrote the devotional as a practical tool to lead people to Jesus, encourage them in their walk with the Lord, and equip them to disciple others Mt. 28:18-20. It can add insight and blessing to go through this devotional with someone. It’s an investment in your walk with the Lord. We’ll look more into Sunday’s topics on Wednesdays.
Is there evidence to support the existence of God? Faith is essential to Christianity Heb. 11:6. Faith is essential for every belief system. We all believe something that has not been proven by experiment or observation. And yet, our faith in God is supported by evidence. I wrote four: the existence of creation, the precision design to sustain life, the awareness of God in worship, and the human conscience.
For time, we’ll look briefly at one today. Gen. 1:26, 27 God created us uniquely in his image so we could be in close relationship with him. If we’re not in right relationship with God as our Father, we’ll make substitutes to worship rather than the true and living God Acts 17:22-29. Why do people in all cultures, throughout history, worship something or someone? The awareness of God is in our hearts.
Can the Bible be trusted? What evidence supports its claim of inspiration? Again, I wrote four: Its amazing unity, preservation 1 Pet. 1:23-25, fulfilled prophecy Isa. 49:5, 6 NLT, and convicting power Hb. 4:12 Like a mirror, God’s word “exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” NLT
God convicts us out of love, to show us our need and draw us to himself. Acts 20:32 God’s word also has power to save, comfort, encourage, strengthen, free, and heal.
In Move, the authors surveyed 1,000 churches to find the key factors for spiritual growth. The results? “Nothing has a greater impact on spiritual growth [at all levels of spiritual maturity] than reflection on Scripture.”
Jesus said his Father’s word is truth. Scripture is a progressive revelation of God and his will. God wants us to know his character, power, holiness, grace, mercy, and self-sacrificing love for us. What begins in Genesis concludes in Revelation. It is one continuous narrative of creation, sin, redemption/Jesus, new creation. It all points to Jesus.
For example, God placed humanity in a garden paradise. Two specific trees are mentioned: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve did not believe God’s word nor trust his heart. They wanted to be their own gods and decide what was good and evil. When they broke God’s word, they broke their relationship with God, and the law of sin and death was set in motion.
Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden paradise and barred from the tree of life, but God promised a seed who would crush the head of the devil and redeem creation back to God. Centuries later, Jesus, the seed, went into a garden and surrendered himself to redeem us. He suffered and died on the tree to pay for our sins. Three days later, Jesus was raised back to life from a tomb in a garden. In the last book of the Bible, we see God’s people placed back in paradise, and once again, given access to the tree of life.
God breathed into a body formed of ground and man became a living being. All Scripture is breathed out by God. It’s life giving, receive it that way. Feed your faith in God with his word. Dwell on it, declare it. Ask God for wisdom from his word and the power of his Spirit to live it out.
Jn. 7:17 NLT If Scripture is inspired by God, it has his authority to speak on every topic it addresses.
Do you want to do God’s will?
What will you do with his word?