GOD’S TRUTH IS REVEALED TO MAN

Have You Ever Wondered?

1. What does the word “Revelation” really mean?

2. Is the Bible the only way that God chooses to speak to us?

3. Why is it important that we know the mind of God?

This Is What God Says: (Scripture Reading)

I Samuel 3:1-10 ; Proverbs 2:7

This Is How We Understand It:

“And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, ‘Speak; for thy servant heareth.’” (I Samuel 3:10)

God talked to Samuel in much the same way that he talked to Moses, “And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, ‘Moses, Moses.’ And he said, ‘Here am I.’” (Exodus 3:4)

How would you like for God to call your name out loud while you’re out walking in the woods someday? I would be pretty scared, wouldn’t you? I mean, it isn’t every day that someone hears the voice of God. Well, okay, I don’t think anyone ever hears the voice of God just like that now-a-days, but we’ll talk about the reason for that in just a minute. But there was a time when God did speak to His people regularly.

Just look at a few examples from Scripture:

1. Genesis 15:1 - ... the word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision, saying...

2. Genesis 18:1,2 - And the Lord appeared unto him (Abraham) in the plains of Mamre.

3. Exodus 33:11 - And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh

unto his friend.

4. 2 Samuel 12:1 - And the Lord sent Nathan (the prophet) unto David (the king).

5. Luke 1:26-38 - And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God...to

a virgin...and the virgin’s name was Mary.

6. Matthew 2:13 - ...behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream...”

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish...” The word ‘vision’ means “God’s revealed word” or “a revelation of God’s truth”.

Think about it. If there were sinful people who never heard the truth of God taught or preached, they wouldn‘t know how to live. These people would want to hate, fight, and kill each other, and they wouldn’t know that God wants them to love, forgive, and help one another. These people would continually die without knowing of salvation through Jesus Christ, and they would be doomed to spend an eternity in hell. Without a “vision” of God’s truth, these people would do whatever they felt like doing, and God says they will perish.

The word ‘revelation’ means “unveiling”. Picture it this way. When people don’t know Jesus as their Savior, its like they have a piece of material blocking their spiritual eyes so that they cannot see God. God wants to remove the veil, or covering so that everyone in the whole world can know Him, worship Him, and obey Him. That’s why it is so important that people called ‘translators’ copy the Bible in as many languages as possible before Jesus comes back to take us home. God did speak to mankind through special men like Moses, and through men called prophets, but now He wants to speak to everyone through the Bible.

“For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6) The Bible is where we have the words of God written down. The Bible is the book where God has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind. It used to be that only a few men could hear from God, but now everyone has an opportunity to know the mind of the Almighty!

Think About It:

1. Hebrews 1:1,2 tells us, “God, who at sundry times (different times in history), and in divers manners (many different ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son...” Do you think that it is important to know God’s Son Jesus Christ before God speaks to you? Why?

2. Can you think of other places in Scripture where God spoke to someone in a vision, in a dream, or even face to face? How did that person respond?

3. What kind of a person do you think you would be if you did not have God’s ‘vision’ or ‘revelation’ to study and obey?

4. What did you learn in this devotional that you didn’t know before?

Devotional # 6 - Creation

\GOD CREATED THE DINOSAURS

Have You Ever Wondered?

1.  When did God create the dinosaurs?

2.  Why do I always hear about dinosaurs living millions of years ago?

3.  Does the Bible say anything about dinosaurs?

This Is What God Says: (Scripture Reading)

Job 40: 15-24 (Job chapter 41 is also very interesting!)

This Is How We Understand It:

     We know that God created everything in 6 days.  Right?  The Bible tells us that “without Him (Jesus), was not anything made that was made,” Right?  And here in Job 40 verse 15 we read, “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee...”.  God is talking to Job about God’s great and awesome creation.  God is telling Job that He created the gigantic creature ‘behemoth’ on the same day that He created man.  In other words, dinosaurs and man walked the earth at the very same time!

     Evolutionists, (people who believe that every living thing ‘evolved’ by chance over millions of years), think that dinosaurs lived millions of years before mankind. You see, they think that a bunch of monkeys began changing and turning into what we know as mankind, but it was after most of the big dinosaurs had already died off.  That’s really what they believe, even though they have no proof.  Do you know one of the things that really bothers them?  There have been found fossil footprints of a man walking side by side with footprints of a dinosaur!  People who believe in evolution can’t accept that.  “Men can’t be living with dinosaurs!  It doesn’t agree with what we believe,” the evolutionists would say.

     Well in our Scripture Reading for today, God is telling Job to look at these huge, and very strong creatures.  Look at how He describes them, “He (behemoth) moveth his tail like a cedar.”  This sounds like a big dinosaur to me!  God also says, “His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.  He is the chief of the ways of God.”  If God was trying to impress Job with His awesome greatness, do you think that He would have been making Job look at a hippopotamus, or alligator and call it, “The chief of the ways of God,”?  I don’t think so.  He is definitely talking about a very large dinosaur.

     If you want to read about a really scary creature, read what Job saw when God told him to look at Leviathan.  “Shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?”  Just looking at this creature would scare you silly!  Listen to this.  “His teeth are terrible round about.  His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal. One is so near to another that no air can come between them...Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.  His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth...He esteemeth (thinks about) iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood.”  Just in case you were thinking of going hunting for this creature listen to this warning.  “Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook?  Canst thou put a hook into his nose?  Shall the companions make a banquet of him?  Lay thine hand upon him, remember the battle, do no more.”  Did you know that even some Christians think that this is talking about an alligator or crocodile?  You probably know of some men who capture alligators and crocodiles by hand.  By the way God describes leviathan to Job, I don’t think these men would be going anywhere near leviathan!

     So you see, friend, God created dinosaurs on the same day he created man, and if you follow all the births and deaths mentioned in the Bible, generations of people, you will find out that the earth, from the time of Adam, is less than 10,000 years old.  It is not, and never has been, millions of years old.  In other words, the big dinosaurs lived even 6,000 or 7,000 years ago, but not millions of years ago.  The scientists are all wrong on this one!

Think About It:

1.  Have you ever seen lizards that you thought looked like dinosaurs?  Well, they were created at the same time as T-Rex!  His kind just didn’t live that long.

2.  If you were wanting more information about the Bible and dinosaurs you could locate ICR, Institute for Creation Research, or Answers in Genesis with Ken Ham, on the internet.

3.  What do you think happened to all the large dinosaur lizards?

4.  What did you learn in this devotional that you didn’t know before?

Devotional #5 - Creation

SIN RUINED GOD’S CREATION

Have You Ever Wondered?

1. Why are there so many mean people in the world?

2. Why do I keep doing bad things, even when I don’t want to?

3. How can I find victory over this thing in my life called “sin”?

This Is What God Says: (Scripture Reading)

Genesis 3:1-19

This Is How We Understand It:

Well, if you read the Scripture reading for today, and you really should, you learned where all the trouble on earth came from. This is where it all started.

We know that God created Adam and Eve with no sin. They were perfect, living in a perfect garden. They enjoyed sweet fellowship with their Creator every day. There were no laws, so to speak, because they didn’t need them. Well...ok, there was one law - “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it...” (Genesis 16:17a) That was it. Adam and Eve could have everything in the garden but that one tree. And if they chose to disobey that one command and eat of that tree, there was a stiff penalty, “for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 16:17b).

Do you remember when Lucifer, that beautiful and powerful angel, was thrown out of heaven because of his pride? Do you know where he ended up? That’s right, in the Garden of Eden here on earth. We now know him as “Satan”, the “Devil”, or the “Prince of the Power of the Air”. Satan wanted to mess up God’s plan on earth. He wanted to destroy God’s special creation - mankind. So he tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, telling her that she would not die. She looked at the fruit, she studied the fruit, she thought about the fruit, and then she ignored God and did what she felt like doing. Eve ate the fruit, “and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:6).

“But they didn’t die,” you might be thinking to yourself. But, yes, they did die! They began to die physically. It was a very slow death as their bodies began to get old, and began to deteriorate. But they died in an even greater way. They died to God! They died spiritually. They no longer could enjoy the close relationship with God that they once enjoyed, but they were separated from Him because of their sin. One day they would be separated from Him forever in hell, a place that was created for the devil and his fallen angels (Matthew 25:41). Not only Adam and Eve were doomed, but every man, woman, and child who has ever been born has been born in sin, and faces eternal punishment. All of us are separated from God, and we sin because we can‘t help it. We are sinners. “For all have sinned, and come short or the glory of God.“ (Romans 3:23) I’m sure Satan thought he had won.

But God had already prepared a plan. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) God’s justice called for death, the shedding of blood. Someone had to take our punishment. Jesus, God the Son, stepped forward. He came to earth as a man, lived a perfect, sinless life, was taken by His sinful creation, and crucified on a cross. He shed His blood. He was buried, but on the third day He rose again from the dead. Jesus is alive! Jesus proved His power over death and His power over Satan, and He wants to give eternal life to you if you will repent of your sin, and surrender your life to Him. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9,13)

If you know that you are lost and dieing because of your sin, just cry out to Him, today!  Confess your sin, ask for His forgiveness, and place your faith in His free gift - salvation through Jesus!

Think About It:

1. Have you ever taken something that your mom or dad told you not to take? I’m sure that it would have been hard for us, in the           Garden of Eden, staring at that fruit everyday, but knowing we couldn’t have it. What do you think?

2. Can you remember a time that Satan or his demons tempted you to do wrong?  Was it easy to do the right thing?

3. Was there ever a time that you realized that you were a sinner and that you were going to spend forever in Hell? Did you then            realize that God loves you, and that you wanted to love Him back? Did you call out to Jesus to forgive you and ask Him to     save you? If not, why don’t you decide to do it right now.

4. What did you learn from this devotional that you didn’t know before.

THE CREATION OF MAN

Have You Ever Wondered?

1. Why is there so much in the Bible about mankind?  Why didn’t God talk more about animals?

2. What jobs did God give to mankind while he is here on earth?

3. What about all the men and women who don’t care what God says?

This Is What God Says: (Scripture Reading)

Psalm 8: 1-9

This Is How We Understand It:

     “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?”  That’s what David asked God, and I think that it is a very good question.  When you look up into the heavens at nighttime and you see the moon, stars, and planets, and realize that the universe is even too huge for us to understand, and when you consider the glorious angels that God created to serve Him night and day, and you know that man cannot compare to their beauty, glory, or power, why would God spend so much time thinking about man, and trying to work with us?  Don’t you sometimes think that man is so small and unimportant compared to other parts of His creation?  Well, God doesn’t think so!  He thinks that you and I are very special.

     “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created He them.” (Genesis 1:27)  We are so special, that out of all the other things that God created on earth, we are the only ones created “in the image of God”.  That sounds pretty special to me!  Not only that, but in the 2nd chapter of Genesis we are told that God Himself, “breathed into his (man’s) nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  God never said this about any other part of His creation, only us.  We are God’s very special handiwork.

     Since mankind was the only part of creation that could enjoy a personal relationship with the Creator, He gave us a very important job to do - care for the rest of creation.  God told mankind to, “have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)  You see, even though we need to take care of these animals and make sure that we don’t foolishly kill them off, God has given us the right to “have dominion” over them.  In other words, we control them, they don’t control us.  The animals are not more important than the needs of men, women, and children.

     “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31)  That is why we are here on earth, to bring honor and glory to the One who created us.  And since He created us, everything that we do should be for Him, and we should do it the very best we can, with a good attitude.

     “But what about all those people in the world who do not love God, or do not even believe in Him?”  That is a good question, and the Bible has a good answer.

Adam and Eve were created perfect beings in the image of God.  They had no sin, but they did have a choice to disobey God if they wanted to.  And they did.  But remember, we are just as guilty in God’s sight as they were.  Now, the entire world is in sin, and our first choice is to ignore God, not love Him.  God is being patient right now, but He is perfect and holy, and He must punish wrong doing.  That is why in Romans 14:12 we read, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”  One day every man, woman, and child will stand before God and be judged for all the bad things they have done.  God does love us, but He has to punish us also.

Think About It:

1. Have you ever thought about how your eyes and ears work?  What about the rest of your body?  God certainly cared about every part of us, didn’t He?

2. Can you think of some ways that mankind “has dominion”, or control, over the other parts of creation?  How about chicken farms, for instance?

3. When you stand before God, what do you think He will say to you?  Why?

4. What did you learn in this devotional that you didn’t know before?