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Belief in God is different than faith in God. Even the demons believe in God and they shudder. Faith in God is believing His Word, trusting in His Word.
Do you know what the Bible says? Are you sure? Let us look at the book of Genesis. On the sixth day God created mankind. He tells them to fill the Earth and multiply. He tells them that every tree and plant is food for them. He rests on the seventh day. It is then that He creates Adam and Eve. He places them in the garden. The two have a tree they cannot eat of, unlike the rest of mankind. They come together and have Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel. God puts a cursed mark on him and he tells God that anyone who sees it will kill him. Who will kill him? His mother? His father? Are they the only other people on Earth? Cain leaves the garden for the land of Nod and finds a wife there and that is only possible if there are others. It is clear that Adam and Eve were created separately from the rest of mankind.
In either the American Standard or King James versions of the Scripture on Day 1 of Creation God created day and night- before He created the sun, moon and stars on Day 4. He says that the moon has its own light, not that the sun shines on it.
On day 2 He created the firmament. The firmament “divides the waters above from the waters below” so we know that it is solid enough to hold back water- and lots of it. During the flood God opened the windows of the firmament to fill the Earth with enough water to cover the mountains. Where did all that water go if we live on a spinning ball hurdling through “space” at a curious 66,600 mph? How does Polaris stay fixed year after year, age after age? How does it make sense that the moon “spins so slowly” that we only ever see one face? He tells us that He hung the sun, moon and stars within the firmament.
The Bible tells of the sun standing still in Joshua 10:12-14, the sun moving backwards in 2 Kings 20:1-11 and the sun refusing to give light in Matthew 27:45.
Often the Bible states that the Earth does not move.
1 Chronicles 16:30 “…tremble before Him, all the earth. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
Psalm 33:8-9 “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere Him. For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm.”
Psalm 93:1 “The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty; the LORD has clothed and armed Himself with strength. The world indeed is firmly established; it cannot be moved.”
Psalm 96:10 “Declare among the nations: “The LORD reigns!” The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.”
Psalm 104:5 “He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.”
Isaiah 14:7 “The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.”
Zechariah 1:11 “And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.”
Job tells us in verse 38:14 that the Earth is formed like clay under a seal, like with the face of a signet ring.
Man says the Earth is billions of years old, God gives us a history spanning between 6000-7000 years in its genealogies. Man tells us we come from apes or primordial goo. God tells us we are created in His image. Man tells us we live on an insignificant ball in an endless expanse. God tells us we live under a firmament. Man says there were dinosaurs yet the first “fossil” wasn’t even “discovered” until the 1600s. The Bible speaks often of giants and Leviathan that man has relegated to myth. Man tells us we cannot be cured without their medications. Jesus says He is our healer. Man tells us that the climate is changing. God promises us in Genesis 8:22 that the climate will remain.
God says that without faith we cannot please Him. Ask yourself, do you have faith in God or do you have faith in man? The Bible warns us in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.” Or 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Put your faith in God and He will help you put down all the worry, all the stress, all the need in your life. He promises He will care for us, that He will bless the work of our hands. Many think the Bible is simply about laws to follow. Actually, it is the secret of true freedom. Freedom that brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. This is the way of Christ, the way to life.
Pick up your Bible again and let the Spirit speak to you for “For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12.
We are heading into the Tribulation, not waiting to be raptured. God was with Daniel in the lion’s den. God walked with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace. Noah was protected within the flood. Read Matthew 24:26-31. Jesus said we will be collected from the four winds after the Tribulation. Until then we can find our refuge in walking with Him. He will be with us even through the valley of the shadow of death. Jesus tells us to be prepared. Prepare by building faith in the Alpha and Omega or you and yours will be caught off-guard.
– Janna Swanson
