Bible in five Statements..can you?.. Challenge submitted

"Summarise the Bible in five statements, the first one word long, the second two, the third three, the fourth four and the last five words long. Or possibly you could do this in descending order. Tag five people."

So, here goes...

Adam
And Eve
Ate the fruit
Jesus came and died
So we could live again

Faith of a child.

The Little Children and Jesus: Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

I was trying to think of what "child like faith" actually is.

I thought of when my boys were young and I would pick them up and hold them up over my head, they would have a look of fear of the height, but in time they came to love being held up. Then as they got a little older I would throw them in the air and catch them, they would flail their arms and I would catch them. Later I would put them on my shoulders, then I would swing them around, step by step they learned I would never let them go. They would later come to me and lay on the floor in front of me begging to be swung around, thrown in the air or anything. Calling out again, again dad more. They knew I would never allow harm to them. They trusted me completely.

Our Heavenly Father will never let you go. He wants you to come before him fall before him put yourself in his hands and let him swing you around, throw you in the air and trust him. He wants you to trust him so much that you have absolutely no fear. God wants us to cry out more daddy more. Perfect Love casts out all fear.

Boldly before the Throne

When you walk into a Bank to withdraw money from your account you are full of confidence and boldness if you know you have money in that account.

Let's imagine you have 1,000 dollars in your account and you want to withdraw 500. You hand your signed check to the cashier and wait patiently as she fiddles about with pieces of paper and the computer keyboard making the necessary arrangements to get you your money. She occasionally takes a glance at you. You are not bothered. You have the money in the account and you know it. Her short delay in getting you the money does nothing to dampen your confidence and boldness.

Now imagine another situation where you only have 500 in your account. You are not quite sure of the exact amount. You desperately need 510. You walk into the Bank, hand the cashier your signed check for 510 and wait nervously in her presence. Each time she takes a glance at you makes you feel uneasy. The longer it takes for her to sort out the money the more nervous and uneasy you get. Boldness is the last word to describe your situation.

God wants us to come boldly into His presence. Our confidence and boldness should be based on His mercy and grace. Indeed His very presence is called the Throne of mercy and grace.

God blesses us and gives to us because of His mercy and not His greatness. Millionaires don't dish out their riches to everyone around simply because they are millionaires. The motivating factor to giving is love, mercy and grace. Our God has an abundance of these.

Next time you go to His presence bear this in mind. It will give you the boldness to hang around long enough in His presence to receive from Him.

Gods will our perception

We need to remember that God's will is good. It may not seem like it at times, but it is. His plan for us is good. However, He usually doesn't give us a detailed blueprint. Usually, God reveals His will to us in bits and pieces. He sees the big picture, while we just see a little at a time.

If you had been the father of Joseph, surely like all parents, you would have prayed for the welfare of your child. But when Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers, you could have easily said, "God, what are you doing? Why did you allow this?" But if God had not allowed this to happen, Joseph never would have been put into that position of influence that enabled him to save the country and his own family.

If you had been the mother of Moses, how your heart would have broken when you saw your own child being taken into the Pharaoh's court! Yet it was all part of God's plan to mold Moses into that leader who would lead Israel out of Egypt and its bondage.

If you had been the mother of Jesus and watched your own son hanging on that cross, how easily you could have said, "Lord, why did you let this happen?" But if Jesus had not died on that cross and taken our sins upon himself, we could not know Him today.

So when you look at the will of God in progress, it may not always make sense. But you must believe that God knows what He is doing. His will is good. Just wait until He finishes what He has begun.
Jeremiah 29:11 - 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, '

plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

My File Room.

The Room...By Joshua Harris

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings.

As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I have liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one. And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was.

This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I have betrayed." The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird.
"Books I Have Read,"
"Lies I Have Told,"
"Comfort I have Given,"
"Jokes I Have Laughed at."

Some were almost hilarious in their exactness:
"Things I've yelled at my brothers."

Others I couldn't laugh at:
"Things I Have Done in My Anger"
"Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents.

" I never ceased to be surprised by the contents.

Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I have watched ," I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me.

One thought dominated my mind:

No one must ever see these cards!

No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!"

In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot.

Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.

And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With."

The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all.

The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards.

I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments, couldn't bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own.

He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one? Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room.

He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. "No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him.

His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side.

He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished." He then lead me out of the room. There was no lock on the door, because there were more cards to be written.

Destiny?

How remarkable that the God of the universe would actually want to communicate with us! We are creatures of a material, physical world to which we relate through our five senses. God is a spiritual being. We in our physical state cannot see him, hear him, or touch him, so how can he communicate with us? Through the Bible.

Over several centuries, God inspired a select number of people to write down what he felt we needed to know about him and how he expects us to live. These writings have been collected into this book, called the Holy Bible. In a miraculous way, the Bible speaks to each of us. Its truths apply across generations, across cultures, across all life experience.

When it comes to reading the Bible, most of us read just enough to get by. Read God's Word daily so you can thoroughly understand all God wants you to know.

We read the bible but do we understand? Do we really know God is there, through the trials, through the tears, He is carrying us. he is making the way for us. All we have to do is follow.We condemn our own mortality. We are critical of ourselves and think God ordained our destiny. It does not say he wanted us to sin , quite the contrary,
"It is not his will that any should perish but all should come to him and have eternal life."
We choose our destiny, We self prophesy, we use the part of the Bible that says "God knew I would be here at this time, He is an all knowing God." That is true but we have free will to turn and follow him, He also knows if we are going to do that. Give God his due and cease blaming him and choose to say, "God help me to follow you with all my body, heart, soul and spirit."

" God let me always see you in my trials, Let me feel your spirit, even though you don't come to me in an audible voice and say, This is what I want you to do, Let me hear the spirit."

Amen