The Beginning, The Middle, and The End
3/20/17
Daily there are claims from millions of people that the Bible has no reference to our lives and that it is a book that should be tossed aside and deemed fiction. As each day passes this conceptual lie grows and defines countless numbers of people. The truth of our lives lies within this eternal Word and we should study its content with enthusiasm because it provides all the answers that we need to have an abundant life. From the first word of the Bible until the last our definition resides so it is logical that both sides of our eternity should be at war involving our content. God has not only provided us with His Word about Him but also has given to us a description of what He designed our lives to be. The Word of God is alive and shall be the One true source of information about our lives and until we understand that the Bible is for us and not against us, we will continue to slide into the darkness.
To begin this message God asks us to allow Him to speak to each one of you in a personal manner for it is through this book that our entire existence depends upon and it is the source that provides the truth that all of us are in search of. God has mentioned to us many times before that our lives are very important to Him and that He created each one of us to have a purpose for His Kingdom. How can we go on our ways without understanding what our Creator has in store for our existence, no wonder the enemy has overtaken our lives with such diversity in our physicality of persons, it is his way of controlling our presence on earth with slavery conditions to his kingdom? God provides – an action verb and an active verb – the ultimate guide for us to live by and to understand that all of us have a beginning, a middle, and an end which all determine where our eternity shall remain which proves as to why God gave us His Word as a guide and not as a punishment.
When the Bible begins it starts with a process of darkness and then one by one the accounts of life are brought forth in a manner in which our physical minds can wrap around. While not every detail can be readily explained, we can grab the gist of what God did in those early days of our creation through the story of how He started with nothing and ended with a beautiful and perfect creation upon which He looked it over and saw that it was good. Now, coming from a being that is perfect and holy in all areas of His existence, having the written proof that He saw His creations and they were good means a great deal about how they were made.
Being a part of the Church family for all my life, for a long time, I honestly believed that I knew a great deal about the book of Genesis, how God created everything, and what they meant to our lives. But as God has remolded and reshaped my heart through His writings that He has given me, I have learned that I basically know just the surface of what His Word has for my life, this too being a “beginning” for me and one that has watered and provided spiritual food for my heart and all around existence ever since. This is a growing process in which God is trimming and also dressing His dominion according to His command in the Garden of Eden, a painful experience at times but well worth it for the fruit of His work is being fulfilled for others to receive. It is this detailed process which gives us the first picture of new life that was created in a specific manner by God and then after a certain period of time, another process of great trial enters the picture and is promoted as our current setting and living conditions today.
Jumping forward we come to the point in which the last book of the Bible contains a vast information trove that confuses many people and for most causes and states a place where total and complete destruction reigns. The picture painted here is hard to imagine and one that while hope is mentioned takes a backseat to the events that humanity continually has to endure. This unscientific method of engaging what occurs during this period of time throws the entire world into a complex setting in which every type of madness, hatred, and destruction comes into play. It seems like the entire world has plunged itself into an uncontrollable chaos yet if one understands what really is transpiring they know that it was directed and allowed by the same Eternal Being hat began the process millennia earlier, and is STILL in control of what is allowed to come to pass.
Does this setting sound familiar to anyone? It should, because what the book of Revelation shows us is a general picture of a person dying and what usually occurs when such an event occurs. Death is never an easy subject to deal with, or even talk about for that matter but it is one that all of us will have to face one day unless God intervenes in our lives somehow. But the question still remains concerning how the world ended up in this chaotic spot, well beyond any type of repair, a placemat of destruction that cannot be denied or ignored yet seemingly not being able to touch either. While the words of Revelation haunt us, it says to us about a society that has received what they sowed which is the product of what occurred during their life, the middle portion of their existence, the part where growth occurs and dividends are placed into the public eye.
Ah, yes, the middle portion of the Bible represents many colorful characteristics in which people love to argue about. From the time we begin to seek out life and survival in this world we continually look for those surroundings that would provide a friendly and comfortable, a welcoming ground for our humble abode. But quickly we realize that the events, people, and opportunities around us do not provide this comfort and produce hardships beyond belief instead. This brings us to searching out for those who are like minded or close in proximity to our understanding with wishy-washy results at best. We have two options in this search, one that beholds the truth of the world or transmits the truth of eternal life God’s Word. There is a boatload of information that occurs in the “middle” of the Bible, so much so that this information alone would take a lifetime to study and pass over once.
It is this information that represents how people live and how they grow during this time period in their lives. It is the active part of the tribes of Israel, the Greeks, Romans, Jews and Gentiles all rolled into a group of letters that God handpicked regular people with abundant hearts to convey the entire message of God concerning life. It is this portion of the Bible that contains all of the essential tools needed in order for us to combat our eternal enemy, tell others through example about God, and both general and specific information how to approach and go through each day that we take a breath. This portion of the Bible cannot be understood with just one reading, it must be studied continuously and referred to over and over again in order for us to figure out what God is showing us and why He is showing us things.
Every aspect of our lives can be found in these middle portions of God’s Word. It does not matter what topic one wishes to know about or to receive instructions about, it is all inclusive with answers to life’s problems as well. It is a defensive portion, it is an offensive portion, it is even one that guides one to know when to be still and wait. This portion of God’s Word is one that contains births, deaths and the lessons learned as one person or a nation travels along the ways of existence, it does not leave out the bad parts of living either. All truths and experiences about life can be found in the middle portion of the Bible. Why is this information a true claim and presentation from God? Because we understand that the Bible was given to us as a guide for our lives and what occurs in our lives and most importantly how to live through them we can then live life abundantly as the Bible promises. I understand that not everyone in this world will adhere to what God is saying, but for those who will recognize that the Bible is their own personal life source things will be totally different in your daily walk.
As we look at some of the harsh stories unfold throughout the bible it is easy for us to claim that God is a menace and that His Word is filled with grotesque settings for people. But when we put together the entire Bible and apply its words to our hearts we can recognize that it all comes down to obedience. I do not know about you but when I obeyed my parents and the guidelines that they set for the household my life was soo much easier and healthier. It is this personal revelation of my life that I only can find in the Bible, it did not matter if my parents would have beaten the Bible into my heart but it was through my choice alone to live by God’s Word that I found true freedom and life.
While the beginning and the end of the Bible are important details of our existence it is the middle portion that gives the complete picture of what I am supposed to be and do. The beginning of the Bible contains so much information about how my life began and how I was created, just as you. But this information cannot sustain my life by itself and it cannot give me any true help when trials and tribulations present themselves. The same goes for everyone else that walks the earth as well, for God loves everyone and not just some and it is His desire to see all of us live according to His ways which display and portrays holiness, peace, tranquility and prosperity all wrapped up in His Word of Life.
The end of the Bible gives us an overview of what occurs when we do not listen to God and obey His ways, the picture drawn for us is not a pretty one and not much good comes out of it for the majority of the world’s population. Revelation 21 is a short summary of the entire Bible and it proclaims the life of God as being the only way to true eternity, but as each one of us knows we have to face this death grip and answer its call at some point in time. But as Revelation 21 claims this summary it also claims the personal story of you and I as well for the Bible was given to all humanity, not just a select few. The end of Revelation commands that we understand the middle portion of the Bible and the beginning of it as well and it forces us to recognize that the middle portions of God’s Word describe our lives themselves and how we decide to live it is determined just as all of the examples and stories were played out.
So, we can see the importance of the beginning of the Bible for without it all mankind would not be able to have a solid and holy foundation for us to hold on to when things come our way. We also are fortunate to have an ending for it allows us to understand that at some point in time we shall see our maker face to face. But most importantly the middle of the Bible gives us plenty of settings to which our hearts can be shaped and if we understand that God’s Word is for us and not against us, our eternal setting will be set in stone when our day of leaving this earth arrives. In many aspects the Bible is not a scientific reference and there is a huge reason for this, if it were not many people would be able to understand its content on a personal basis, but the Bible is God’s Word to mankind which every human has the ability to think and to reason out what is being said to them. It is our eternal enemy that seeks to destroy us by lying to us and twisting and watering down what God has to say for our lives.
Wake up Church and open your hearts to what God is saying to us. Time is running short and it is our responsibility to teach the nations of this good news! We cannot afford to whimsically sit around and candy coat the message of the Bible for its content is written for each and every one of us. God loves us and He wants us to know that we can bypass many of these problems that we are dealing with if we only turn to Him and study His Word as we walk and breathe. The world shall not be a friend to us, only a death march because the road may look large and easy but at the end of the highway you will not find what you are looking for. That longing and search for truth can only come from God and it is found only in His Word, the beginning, the middle and the end. We are at the forefront of explaining what our lives mean according to the bible, as in the middle portion of God’s Word. For you see, the beginning has already been completed and our ending has also been projected, but it is what we do with the middle portion of God’s Word that determines our eternal, and it is the eternal that is the most vital portion of our existence.
DLB
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