Before I proceed with other posts with insights that I've received while spending time with God, I would like to share the gospel in this post which is the most important message to be found on this website. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1). This is where our story begins, humanity's story. In the beginning God created everything ex nihilo, meaning out of nothing, as biblical scholars put it. From what I believe being an insight from God, I wouldn't say He created everything out of nothing, but that He created everything out of Himself, since He is the source of life, the starting point of everything. God Himself was not created, and this is hard for us, created beings limited by time and space to comprehend, but He has always been and will always be. "‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come." (Revelation 4:8b).
God created everything for Himself just as a painter may create a painting for their own enjoyment and also to share the beauty of that painting with others. “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." (Romans 11:35-36). According to Genesis 1, God created the earth and everything in it in 6 days and rested on the seventh day, which I believe was to admire and enjoy His creation. Mankind was created on the sixth day of creation: "Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:26-27). You may have noticed that God said "let us make mankind in our image and likeness" and may be wondering who else was He referring to by "us". Without going into much detail regarding the trinity on this post, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, are three distinct persons that constitute God. They are one with each other. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19).
So, God created mankind in His image and likeness, placed them in the Garden of Eden, and said that they could eat from the fruit of every tree, except from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, because if they did, they would die. The serpent (the devil), deceived Eve to eat from the fruit, who in turn offered it to Adam, who also ate the fruit. Sin and death entered the world in that instant, even though Adam and Eve didn't die physically that day, the physical process of death and decay was started, and also, they died spiritually, because death ultimately means separation from God, since He is the Source and Author of life. Adam, Eve and humanity's relationship with God, with one another, and the rest of creation has been sorely affected ever since. For reference, please read Genesis chapters 1-3.
Since God is omniscient (all knowing), He knew that Adam and Eve would sin and had already prepared a way to save mankind even before the foundation of the world as it is written in Revelation 13:8. Because of Adam and Eve's sin, sin nature is passed on to mankind from generation to generation. We are born with sin in ourselves into a world permeated by sin. Every single human being sins, and every sin committed drives us farther and farther away from God and consequently from life, and also from one another. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). Let's say that sin is like a contagious disease and God is Holy (pure) and will not be contaminated by it. Because He is Holy, Good, and Perfect, He has either to eliminate the disease (sin) or cure it and He made a way to cure it. The evil that we see all around us in the form of violence, disease, natural disasters, etc., is just an outward expression of the power of sin inside of us and in the rest of creation, but the effect of sin is not limited to this life alone. Without the cure, sin does not only lead us to death is this world, but since our inward condition, our souls are also contaminated by it, and eternal separation from God is the consequence. Those who die in this sinful condition are sent to a place where evil is punished forever, called hell. Remember that God is the Author of life and without Him life doesn't exist. Since God loves mankind, He made a way for us to be cured and saved from our sinful condition. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). His Son is Jesus Christ, the One who not only forgives us if we give our lives to Him, but He also cleanses us from all sin. He can do that because He came to this world as a man and while here, He didn't sin, and died as a sacrifice for us. Because He lived a sinless life, His blood shed on the cross was the payment necessary to cleanse mankind from sin and we can access that if we put our faith in Him. Not only did He die for us, but since He died sinless, death could not keep Him, because the sting of death is sin. As a result He was raised back to life by God the Father and conquered death and hell by the power of His resurrection, giving all those who put their faith in Him the same power.
Only through Jesus can our relationship with God be restored. "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). Jesus, who is God the Son, is our only way back to God the Father. When we put our faith in Him, He saves our souls from the power of sin and death. "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10). When someone gives their lives to Christ they become a new person, because Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to live inside them to transform them into who they were actually created to be. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). While we will still face hardships and most likely death in this world, for those who have accepted Jesus and have His Holy Spirit living in them, they will conquer sin and death just like He did and live in the presence of God forever. When someone dies in Christ, they go to Heaven to enjoy the fullness of God's presence, but also, after accepting Jesus as our Savior, we have a taste of Heaven inside of us, through the Holy Spirit. Would you like to join us? If yes, please just pray to God from your heart as if having a conversation with Him. You could also say something like: God, I know I have sinned against you and that you made a way for me to be forgiven by sending your Son Jesus to die for me. Please, forgive me from all my sins. I want Jesus to be my Savior and Lord. In Jesus name, amen. After doing that, I recommend reading the Bible, starting with the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I also recommend reading Genesis. Also, please find a church that believes the Bible, preaches the Bible and lives the Bible. God bless!
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