"Making God Part of Your Family" is not just a book of Bible stories. It is a study book. Whether your goal is to spend 10-15 minutes on a dinner-time devotional or bedtime reading with your children, or spend more in-depth study time together once a week, this flexible resource will make it easier to carve out time amidst hectic schedules to study the Bible together, and help you to:
* Develop a better and deeper relationship with God our Father, and his son, Jesus;
* Learn how we are part of God’s family;
* Learn how God expects us to live amidst the joys and sorrows of life;
* Apply practical lessons and eternal truths to the situations you face today.
"Making God Part of Your Family" is not just a book of Bible stories. It is a study book. Whether your goal is to spend 10-15 minutes on a dinner-time devotional or bedtime reading with your children, or spend more in-depth study time together once a week, this flexible resource will make it easier to carve out time amidst hectic schedules to study the Bible together, and help you to:
* Develop a better and deeper relationship with God our Father, and his son, Jesus;
* Learn how we are part of God’s family;
* Learn how God expects us to live amidst the joys and sorrows of life;
* Apply practical lessons and eternal truths to the situations you face today.
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Overview
"Making God Part of Your Family" is not just a book of Bible stories. It is a study book. Whether your goal is to spend 10-15 minutes on a dinner-time devotional or bedtime reading with your children, or spend more in-depth study time together once a week, this flexible resource will make it easier to carve out time amidst hectic schedules to study the Bible together, and help you to:
* Develop a better and deeper relationship with God our Father, and his son, Jesus;
* Learn how we are part of God’s family;
* Learn how God expects us to live amidst the joys and sorrows of life;
* Apply practical lessons and eternal truths to the situations you face today.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781630472559 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Morgan James Publishing |
Publication date: | 02/10/2015 |
Series: | Morgan James Faith Series |
Pages: | 260 |
Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 2.70(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
The Story of Creation
Genesis 1
* * *
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void and darkness covered the earth and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light and there was light." God saw that the light was good; he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night and there was evening and there was morning: Day 1.1
What a powerful God we have! He spoke and light came into being. Notice that creation occurred each day as God spoke. God is someone we should honor and respect as the creator of all things.
Creation Timeline
When I was growing up in the 1950s and early 1960s, I was taught that God's creation occurred over six earth days. During this time many people were beginning to question this six-day creation time period. Science and the six-day creation story were not matching up. Over the years as I have studied the Bible, I have found most often that it is man's interpretation that goes wrong rather than there being an inconsistency in the Bible. While there are many things we cannot explain, so much more of the Bible can be explained. Let's explore this six-day creation story further to see if we can come up with an acceptable explanation.
Yes, the Bible does say that the heavens and earth were created over a six-day time period. But how long was each day? Is Moses writing about twenty-four-hour periods? Well, the first chapter of Genesis makes it pretty clear that these are not twenty-four-hour days. How can I say this so confidently? In the first five verses of Genesis 1, God calls the light day and the darkness night; therefore it would appear that it would be "one day." However, this light that is created on Day 1 is not the sun because it was not until Day 4 that the sun and moon were even created.
So this initial light that God created was not the sun as many people have believed; it was some other light that God created. This light, which is day, and this darkness, which is night, were God's day and night, not a twenty-four-hour period. We do learn later that to God one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day to him. Does this mean God created the heavens and earth in six thousand earth years? We're not sure. What science tells us is that it took longer than six thousand earth years to do all the things that happened during creation. So we're left with a mystery, and we will have to wait until sometime in the future when God chooses to reveal more details to us.
We discover on Day 2 that the earth was nothing but a pool of water. On this day God separated "the waters from the waters" and put the heavens in between. This heaven means our sky, where the sun, moon, and stars were placed. And we learn on Day 3 that God separated the waters below the heavens into one section and let the remainder be the dry land, and it was so.
I have never heard anyone talk about the separation of the waters in Day 2. Where did the water above the heavens go? We are never told. One day science may have an explanation for us. One explanation I have is that this was the water that rained down from heaven when God flooded the whole earth in the story of Noah (Genesis 6-9). Now there is no specific biblical support for this idea, but we can infer a few things from other Scripture verses that may support this idea. First we learn in Genesis 2:5 that the Lord had not yet sent rain upon the earth, but a mist rose from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. And it did not rain until the time of Noah — more than fifteen hundred years later. We learn this from the book of Hebrews where it says, "By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in obedience built an ark." I believe the "things not yet seen" was rain. And, finally, in Genesis 8:2 the Scriptures tell us "the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had closed, and the rain stopped falling from the sky." So were these "floodgates" the water that had been put above the heavens, thereby explaining how it could have flooded the entire earth?
Remember, it is God's spoken Word that results in the new creation. God said, "Let there be light and it was so"; God said, "Let there be heavens between the waters and it was so"; God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place and let the dry ground appear and it was so." And so it was for each day. When God speaks, what he says comes into being. There is power in his spoken Word. And we later learn that this Word is Jesus, God's Son. This is a mystery we will hear more about in our later stories.
I grew up with schoolteachers telling us not to be upset if someone said something mean or hurtful. They would say, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." While this was meant to be well intentioned, it simply isn't true. In most cases a broken heart or hurt feelings are much harder to mend than a broken bone. We are created in God's image and inherit his characteristics. So the power of our words is great, and we should use our ability to speak to create kindness, joy, and love among our fellow human beings.
Science and the Bible
What have you learned in school about how the earth was created? There is a lot of talk and books written today about how science contradicts the Bible. People say that you cannot trust science in the Bible. I do not think this is the case. It is important to realize that the Bible does not try to be a science book, but it is remarkably consistent with what we have learned from science and the study of the earth. No doubt in school you have read or will read about the theory of evolution. The first thing to remember is that theories are founded on assumptions that may or may not be true. They are based on the building of evidence. And, yes, there is a lot of scientific evidence regarding how the earth was created and in what order that creation occurred. Equally interesting is that Moses, who wrote Genesis around 1500 BC, knew nothing about evolution and yet recorded the events of creation in a similar order to what science tells us of the earth's creation. First there was land covered with water; the plants and vegetation were established before any animals; the fish were the first living creatures, followed by the birds (Day 5); then came the animals; and lastly man (Day 6). How did Moses get this correct? Clearly God revealed this to him.
Scientists tell us that many of the creation steps presented in the Bible do not correspond with the scientific evidence. If Moses had been trying to write a science book, maybe we could be concerned with missing details, but he was not — and his story is remarkably similar to the order in which scientists now believe creation occurred. I am not trying to support the theory of evolution; I am simply pointing out that true science and God are consistent with each other. One day the theory of evolution will likely be replaced with a new theory as mankind grows in his understanding of God's creation of the heavens and earth. Further, I expect that it will all be revealed to us when we enter eternal life with our Creator. But until then we can build our faith knowing that the Bible, while not a science book, is supported by science, and it is a book that we can trust when we allow God to help us in the proper interpretation. How do you think that God can help you understand the Bible?
Mankind's Responsibility
Why are human beings so important in God's creation plan? We were created to have fellowship and friendship with God. Put in human terms, he wanted a family to love and be loved by. God chose to love us, and he wants us to choose to love him. And just as parents love their children in spite of their actions, God loves us even when we do wrong. Since we are his family and the Bible is a book about God's family, these stories are about our family too. Therefore, as these stories are read, we can enjoy the fact that they are about our family — just as you may read in an ancestry book.
But they are not just about our family because we all come from Adam and Eve and from Noah. We will learn later in the story of Abraham that we, as believers in God, are chosen and set apart for God to be his "special people" — his family. So even though we may not have Abraham's human blood in our veins, the true children of Abraham, and thus the true children and family of God, are those who believe that God sent his Son, Jesus, to become a man who died on the cross and rose to save us to be with God forever. Also, God is not our great, great, great grandfather; he is our Father.
As a part of our relationship with God, he has given us certain responsibilities as we live our lives on this earth. First, God calls us to worship and serve him as part of his family. We are given a choice whether to serve him or serve ourselves. None of his other creations were given the ability and/or the choice.
Secondly, in this first chapter of Genesis we learned that God formed us in his own image and according to his likeness; further, he created us with the authority to "rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth ... male and female." Therefore, we are given the privilege and responsibility to take care of the earth and all its inhabitants. We are called to act and respond in a Godlike way by taking care of ourselves, our fellow human beings, and all things on the earth. Jesus came to earth to show us how to behave by being our perfect example. Because he died and rose from the dead, we may be forgiven for our mistakes and once again rule as he originally created us to do. God has given us an awesome task; let us honor him by thinking how Jesus would live if he were in our place, and then do it.
* * *
For Further Discussion
What has your school taught you about evolution? What do you believe? Did anything in the story help you understand how God and science fit together?
How do you think the world was different before it rained? Imagine sunshine and warmth every day with no thunderstorms, no hurricanes, and no tornadoes.
Each person needs to make a decision regarding what they believe concerning the Bible. As you read the Bible (God's Word) and as you read these stories, make up your mind regarding what you believe. Will you trust what God says or what other people say? How will you know the difference? I believe your knowledge will come as you grow in your relationship with God; as we do grow we learn when and how he speaks to us. You can start by reading the Bible.
The Bible tells us that when God speaks, new creation occurs. If we are created in God's image, then can we create kindness, peace, and love when we speak God's Word to our fellow man? Or can we instead speak destruction and hate?
Discuss this idea of creating when we speak and how that should teach us to be careful of what we say to God and to others.
What can we do to take care of the world God has entrusted to us? How should we treat the animals? What can we do to keep the environment clean, maintaining the beauty of the earth? And how should we treat our fellow human beings?
For Further Study
1. Genesis 1:1-5 — God's beginning for the earth.
2. 2 Peter 3:8 — One day to God is as a thousand years to man.
3. Hebrews 11:6, 24-27 — Things not seen (no rain).
4. God's spoken Word:
a. Hebrews 11:3
b. John 1:1-3
c. Hebrews 1:2
d. Psalm 33:6, 9
5. Romans 4:17 — God calls into being that which does not exist.
6. John 1:1-3, 14 — The Word was with God, he was God, and the Word became human.
7. Hebrews 11:6 — Faith is required to please God.
8. Galatians 3:26-29 — Believers are the children of Abraham, and through the promise of God we become the children of God.
9. Psalm 8:4-8 — Man was created to rule the earth.
10. Hebrews 2:6-18 — This scripture shows Jesus as our brother and fellow man and yet still God.
11. Romans 8:16-18 — We are heirs (rulers) with Jesus.
CHAPTER 2Adam and Eve: The Garden and the Fall
Genesis 3
* * *
Man and Woman: Adam and Eve
In the first chapter of Genesis we learn that God created man on the sixth day. To give the man a place to live, God created a beautiful garden called Eden. In this garden God provided for all of the man's needs. It would be man's job to take care of the garden and protect the animals that lived in it. God named the man Adam, which means "from the earth."
In addition to giving him the responsibility of maintaining Eden, the Lord told Adam, "You may eat from any tree in the Garden except from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (the Forbidden Tree); for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die." Adam was given a choice whether to eat from this Forbidden Tree; in other words, it was his choice whether to obey God's command.
God wanted to find a helpmate for Adam, a companion with whom he could share all the good things in his new life. After searching through all of his creation, God found nothing suitable for Adam. So He caused Adam to go into a deep sleep. While Adam was asleep, God took out one of his ribs and formed a woman and brought her to him.
Adam awoke and with great excitement said, "Wow! This is exactly what I wanted; it is the perfect helpmate for me." Okay, that is not exactly what the Bible says. It says, "This is bone of my bones; and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man." But it really does mean he was excited about this woman God created for him. Can you think of a time you woke up and saw something that you were so excited to see? How about one special Christmas morning? That was how Adam felt when he first saw God's new creation, whom he named Eve.
The Bible tells us that because this was a perfect match, "man shall leave his father and mother and marry a woman and they shall become one flesh," to form a family together with God. Adam and his wife, Eve, were both naked and were not ashamed, which means they were not embarrassed. At this time there was no sin in the world; accordingly, Adam and Eve could only see the good side of love that God created for them.
The Fall
For a while life was wonderful, with Adam and Eve enjoying each other and taking care of the garden and all the animals in it. But soon another character appeared in Eden: the serpent (a snake), who was craftier than all the other creatures in the garden. We later learn that he is the devil, who is also called by the name Satan, the evil one. His craftiness is revealed in his disguises and tricks, mixing lies with the truth to confuse us. This evil one can make you doubt what God wants by asking simple, seemingly innocent questions. Let's see how this plays out with Eve.
One day the serpent came to visit Eve. He said to her, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any tree of the garden?" Eve told the serpent that actually they could eat from any tree except for one tree in the middle. She said if they ate from that tree or even touched it, they would die.
Notice how Eve added to what God said. She told the serpent they were not even allowed to touch the fruit of the tree. Earlier in Genesis 2, before Eve was created, God told Adam about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. And so when Adam told Eve, he may have instructed her not even to touch it so that she would not be tempted. Or maybe she came up with the idea herself. Whatever the reason, Eve told the serpent they could not touch or eat from this one tree. I believe this helps us understand why the serpent approached Eve instead of Adam; she had not heard firsthand from God the instructions about this Forbidden Tree. Therefore, she would be more vulnerable than Adam to fall for the devil's tricks and lies.
Also notice the wisdom of the serpent; he was smart to ask Eve a question that was intended to create doubt. He did not immediately attack God. He asked a question to see what Eve knew. He did not ask about "the tree"; he asked about "any tree." He left it to Eve to bring up, which she did. Once he had her attention turned to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he was ready to attack.
Our villain, Satan (the devil), tricked Eve with a lie mixed in with the truth. He tells her,
You surely shall not die; for God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
It is true that Eve was innocent, and by eating from the tree she would be able to see (or understand) the difference between good and evil. She would be smarter. But she would be exposed to evil and fall into sin (which means doing wrong). And as a result her innocence and purity would be lost and she would be subject to death. Satan had created doubt, and Eve fell for his lie.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Making God Part of Your Family"
by .
Copyright © 2015 Michael Grady.
Excerpted by permission of Morgan James Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction to Making God Part of Your FamilyA Family Bible Study Book: Not Just a Storybook
Bible Background: Setting the Stage
Portraits of Christ
How True Are These Stories?
Volume 1: The Pentateuch
How to Use This Book
The Story of Creation
Creation Timeline
Science and the Bible
Mankind’s Responsibility
Adam and Eve: The Garden and the Fall
Man and Woman: Adam and Eve
The Fall
Adam and Eve: Punishment and Redemption
Punishment for the Serpent/Satan with Redemption for Mankind
Punishment for Adam and Eve and for Humanity
Digging Deeper into the Story
Adam as a Portrait of Christ
Cain and Abel and Other Sons of Adam and Eve
Cain Kills Abel
Enoch and the Other Sons of Adam and Eve
Noah and the Ark
Preparing for the Flood
God’s Judgment on Mankind
God Redeems Mankind
The Tower of Babel
The Power of Satan, the Devil
God Intervenes to Disrupt the Building of the Tower
God Calls Abraham
Abraham Obeys God’s Call
Abraham Stumbles but Is Righteous Because He Believes
Abraham’s Nephew Lot: A Righteous Man of a Different Sort
Abraham and Lot Enter the Promised Land
Lot Escapes the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
God’s Provision for the Unworthy
Abraham’s Son of Promise: The Birth of Isaac
God Can Deliver the Impossible, but Are We Ready?
God Delivers on His Promise
Abraham: The Sacrifice of Isaac
Abraham Put to the Test
Isaac, Portrait of Christ
God’s Plan Revealed
Isaac and Rebekah
Isaac Needs a Wife
Rebekah Chooses to Follow a New God
Isaac: God’s Chosen Child
Isaac Continues the Family Tradition
Turning the Other Cheek
Isaac’s Family
The Next Generation
What Are Birthrights and Blessings?
Jacob Receives God’s Blessing
Jacob Steals the Blessing
The Penalty of Deception
Jacob and God’s Chosen Family: Part 1
Jacob Finds His Mother’s Family
God Blesses Jacob with a Big Family
Jacob and God’s Chosen Family: Part 2
God Blesses Jacob with Wealth
It Is Time to Go Home
Jacob and God’s Chosen Family: Part 3
God Provides Protection for His Family
Jacob Returns Home and Confronts Esau
The Sons of Jacob
Trouble in Canaan
Judah’s Big Mistake
The Meaning behind the Stories
Joseph, the Faithful Son of Jacob: Part 1
Joseph and His Brothers
Joseph in Slavery
Joseph, the Faithful Son of Jacob: Part 2
Joseph in Jail
Has God Forgotten Joseph?
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams
Joseph, the Faithful Son of Jacob: Part 3
Joseph, the Prime Minister
Trusting When You Cannot See
Prophecy Comes True
Jacob and His Family Need Food, Too
Joseph, the Faithful Son of Jacob: Part 4
The Famine Continues
Joseph Tests His Brothers’ Remorse
Joseph Reunites with His Family
Portraits of Jesus in the Story of Joseph
Postscript from the Story of Joseph
The Early Life of Moses
Israelites Endure Slavery
Moses Escapes to the Palace
Moses Seeks Out His People
The Call of Moses
The Burning Bush
God Delivers the Plan
Moses Delivers Israel from Egypt: Part 1
The Journey Back to Egypt
Moses Confronts Pharaoh
Moses Delivers Israel from Egypt: Part 2
God Sends Plagues on Egypt
The Final Plague: Death for Egypt
Preparing for the Passover
Moses Delivers Israel from Egypt: Part 3
The First Passover
The Exodus
The Parting of the Red Sea
Moses and Israel Wander in the Wilderness
God’s Chosen People
Manna from Heaven
Miracles? What Miracles?
Moses Receives the Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments
Applying These Laws to Our Lives
The Laws of Moses for a Sinful Chosen People
The Golden Calf
Who Is Levi and What Are Levites?
Moses Leads God’s People to the Promised Land
Heading for the Promised Land
Entry into the Promised Land Delayed
The Promised Land Is for Everyone
Moses: Balaam and the Talking Donkey: Part 1
The King of Moab Seeks Help from the Man of God, Balaam
A Talking Donkey to Straighten Out Balaam
Moses: Balaam and the Talking Donkey: Part 2
God Gives His Blessing Even When Israel Does Not Know It
Evil Will Find a Way, but God Will Ensure Victory
Moses: The End of His Ministry
Moses, the Meekest Man on Earth
Moses, a True Man of God