At the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year I decided that I wanted to take the youth group through the bible in two years.  The goal was that we would all come away with a general overall understanding of the events in the bible and a better understanding of the GOD we serve.  I chose two years because I didn’t want to rush through the important stuff.  Well you know what they say about hindsight being 20/20.  We are currently starting Deuteronomy and have only covered Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Galatians so far.  I have 50 percent of my time remaining and just over 92 percent of the bible left to go.  As you can see, two years will not be anywhere near enough time to just hit the important areas in the bible.  The thing that I keep running into that slows me down is that GOD keeps blowing my mind with the simplicity of what HE expects from us.  So far the biggest things I’ve learned are:

Genesis

After thousands of years, humans as an entire race have yet to accomplish anything that compares to the GOD of Chapter one.  Yet, in Chapter two (2:19) the same transcendent GOD that just created the entire universe sits down with Adam and, with an excitement that parallels a father watching his son catch his first fish, parades the entire animal kingdom before the two of them just to see what Adam thinks each one should be called.  Then when Adam has seen the whole of creation, GOD pulls one more out of the hat.  Adam begins to realize that everything in creation has its perfect mate, everything but him.  You can almost see GOD smiling as HE finishes this huge love story when Adam’s heart is finally ready.  Eve gently walks into Adam’s world and things were never the same again.  The coolest part is that GOD has designed every single child since then and there isn’t a single one of us that doesn’t have our perfect mate out there.  Likewise, we don’t have to look for them because just like Adam and Eve, we too have a divine arrangement to become one with another. 

There is so much more in Genesis: the fall of man and the instant revealing of GOD’s redeeming heart being the biggest part of the story.

Exodus

GOD chooses a people to participate in making HIM known to the world.  Not that GOD needs us; it is more like a loving father allowing his children to help him construct something, in the end the dad spends twice as much time on the project because half of his time is taken up by straightening bent nails.  GOD calls out to this people, “I will be your GOD.” And they reply, “We will be YOUR people.”  It’s like a beautiful wedding takes place in the wilderness.  Then GOD reveals how to be HIS people:

I.             I am the only GOD.  Don’t think that you can replace ME.

II.            Don’t claim MY name for your life and then behave as if you were not joined to ME.

III.           Conduct yourself in the manner that I conduct MYSELF.

Galatians

(I did this book out of order just to remind the teens that even though we were about to go over the Mosaic Law, we are no longer under the Law but under grace.)

Biggest lesson in Galatians for me was that there is nothing we have done to gain salvation.  No prayer, no baptism, no repentance, and no lifestyle is sufficient, and those of us who live as if we have completed the necessary steps to receive salvation are living under a ruse of self-righteousness.  Paul sums up the entire gospel before he even addresses the topics of self-righteousness or licentiousness.

                Grace and peace to you from GOD our FATHER and the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who gave HIMSELF for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our GOD and FATHER, to whom be glory and honor forever and ever. Amen

                                                                                                                                Galatians 1: 3 – 5

We are saved by the grace of GOD, period!  Humans seem so anxious to add something that makes salvation an accomplishment.  We couldn’t do it the first time, but we insist on making additional requirements anyway.  It's alsmost like we feel it gives us the right to begin judging the validity of another’s salvation.  If you believe you’ve done something that makes you more likely to get into heaven than somebody else, you’re fooling yourself.

Numbers

There is a huge lesson in chapters 13 and 14 about trusting in GOD versus leaning on our own understanding.  I’ll try not to be cliché, since I’m sure this passage has been taught thousands of times throughout the centuries. 

                “Not one of the men who saw MY glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but disobeyed ME and tested ME ten times – not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers.  No one who has treated ME with contempt will ever see it.”

                                                                                                                                Numbers 14: 22 & 23

This generation will, to me, be remembered as a bunch of whiners without faith.  Who, despite what they witnessed GOD do, still only trusted in their own understanding.

·         They understood that it would be dangerous, reckless, bold and daring to move against the Canaanite peoples.

·         They did not understand that it was already given to them by GOD.

·         They did not understand that by refusing to challenge the peoples and tribes that existed in the promised land they were instead making a challenge to GOD!

There is more to the world around us that we do not understand than we do understand.  Take something as simple as a stone, we might be able to tell people what color it is and that it is hard, but we cannot just look at it and know its weight, chemical composition, and age.  We need to be humble enough to realize that each situation has more details than what we actually see.  Therefore, a wise person will patiently wait for GOD’s guidance and then quickly follow when it is given.

                Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge HIM, and HE will make your paths straight.

                                                                                                                                Proverbs 3: 5 – 6

¬  Something to think about…

                GOD foreknew that what the spies saw would provide the people of Israel with just enough information to challenge their faith.  GOD also foreknew they would rebel against HIM when the spies returned. 

               

                Maybe what we need to realize is that GOD does not want us to go into situations blindly, but instead we are supplied with just enough information to cause us to choose to either fear our circumstance or our GOD.

I had a solid realization take place while I was studying Numbers; the entire bible can be broken into four categories.

1. People trusting in GOD

2. People leaning on their understanding

3. People praising GOD for HIS faithfulness

4. People being punished for their faithlessness

                The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.  Those who know YOUR name trust in YOU, for YOU, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek YOU.

                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                Psalms 9: 9 & 10