From The Dust

The ongoing debate of evolution verses creationism rages on. Even some Christians subscribe to evolution, if the big bang theory and all of life’s development were sped up so that it was “created” in seven days. But even if that were true, I don’t know how you could get around Genesis 2:7 which says:

"the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."

Now, either that verse is true or not. It can’t be interpreted that a single celled organism sprouted from the dust and developed into a man in mere micro-seconds. And even if we were foolish enough to entertain that notion, it still says that God breathed into the nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. So, all of this discussion about evolution verses creationism – in my mind, can only fall into one of the two camps. Evolution or Creationism, both can’t be true. And I think you know where I stand on the matter.

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The bible is clear about who created the universe and how. The only question is whether you believe in the bible, or the theories of man. Evolution verses creationism has been debated for centuries, and you may be wondering why it is even important. It is important because creationism is the linchpin to our relationship with God. If we sprung up from nothing and God found us and loved us, our relationship with God would be totally different. Besides that, the bible teaches us that creationism is true and if it weren’t true the whole bible would be suspect. The fact that God made us and set us above all the creatures of the earth, explains why we are so precious to him. So, I encourage you to believe what the bible says – all of what the bible says, and always over the words of men.

Choose What Is Better

You ever get so busy with life, work, school, entertainment, friends, or whatever makes up your day, that you forget about making time for our Lord? I’m sure all of us have, and do, every now and again. All of the things that make up our day may not be bad in and of themselves, but we should never forget what is better. There is a story in Luke recounting when Jesus was at Martha and Mary’s house. Martha was doing housework while Mary was sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. Martha gets upset with Mary for not helping her, then Jesus replies with these words in chapter 10 verses 41 and 42:

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus was right in the room with them and Martha chose the distraction of her preparations, while Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet. Making preparations isn’t a bad thing. But like Mary, we need to remember to take time to spend with Jesus – especially if he were right there in the room with us. So, I encourage you to do what Mary did, and at least once in your day, choose what is better.

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There are 24 hours in every day. We need to go to work or school, we need to sleep, we need to eat, and we need to spend time with Jesus. If we learn to prioritize that spending time with him is actually more important than eating our physical meals during the day, we may begin to do what Mary did. We may choose what is better. 24 hours seems to go by fast, but I would argue that if we prioritize by choosing what is better, which is spending time with Jesus, we’ll find that there is plenty of time left to get all of the other important stuff we need to accomplish done as well.

Success Trap

Without a healthy dose of humility in our lives, earthly success can become a trap to almost anyone. Because without humility, any form of human success is often measured by what we’ve done or accomplished even though it is actually God who gives us the ability and the means to succeed. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 says this:

"You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today."

In this portion of scripture Moses is warning the Israelites not to forget that it is the Lord who gives them the ability to produce wealth. Likewise, when the Lord blesses us with earthly success, we need to remember that it came from his hands, not exclusively from our own abilities. He wants to bless us, but he doesn’t want our blessings to cause pride to well up in us, or to lessen how much we believe we need him. Blessings and success can be good as long as we remember that it is a gift from God, not produced on our own. I believe that God gives us skills and abilities, but he is the one who sparks inspiration, ideas, and opens the doors to success. If we remember that, there is less of a chance for our ego to get clouded with pride by the misguided notion that we’ve succeeded on our own.

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It is not by our own power that we produce wealth or success, but it is God who gives us the ability. If you look at those who we consider successful in our world, only a small portion of that success was within their control to obtain. I’m sure you’ve heard of “being in the right place at the right time”, or that it matters more who you know that what you know. Can’t you believe that God orchestrates these connections for your benefit? You can be highly skilled and super talented, but if God doesn’t open the door for you, your career will go nowhere. And besides that, it is God who gives us the skills and talent to begin with. So, I encourage you, if God blesses you, don’t fall into the trap of believing that you accomplished your success on your own. Because if you do, pride can well up and you can end up falsely believing that you don’t need God.

Motives Matter

Have you ever done the right thing for the wrong reason? Maybe you visited someone in the hospital just to impress the girl you’re interested in. Or maybe you’ve joined a bible study because the guy you like is leading it. Or maybe you’ve helped someone out financially just so that you can have something to hold over their head if they don’t behave the way you want them to. Proverbs reminds us that it isn’t just what we do that gets the attention of our Lord, but that our motives matter. In chapter 16 verse 2 it says:

"All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord."

It is good to do good, but we should also think about why we’re doing what we’re doing. Is there a hidden motive? Even if we can hide them from those around us, or even if we try to convince ourselves that what we’re doing is for the right reason, God knows our motives and he weighs them even if we’ve convinced ourselves that our motives are innocent. I encourage you to reach out to others without the thought of getting anything in return. When we’re able to do that, we’ll know that our motives are in line.

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It is great when we have opportunities to help others or do what seems pleasing to our God, but we need to keep our motives in check. We need to remember that when we model the attributes of Jesus, because of our faith and belief in him, we are representing him. We’re often reminded that we reflect Jesus’ hands and feet on this earth, so shouldn’t we reflect his heart as well? And the motives behind our actions will tell us whether our hearts are right or wrong, even when on the surface they seem innocent.

Karma

“Karma” isn’t a term that is widely circulated in Christian circles. Though it may have Buddhist and Hindu origins, it has become a common term referring to the principle of “what goes around comes around”. In other words, what you sew will eventually come back to haunt or bless you. If you’re kind, kindness will come back to you, but if you’re mean, you will eventually reap that as well. Proverbs supports this principle in chapter 11 verse 24 when it says:

"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty."

This just proves that often times we really do reap what we sew. Knowing this, we should sew what the bible encourages us to sew – things like love, forgiveness, and mercy. Because if we do, these things may be revisited back on us as well – yes from God, but also from our fellow man.

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Proverbs supports the concept that we may reap what we sew. The example used refers to our giving nature – or lack thereof. “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” The bible is truth and I’ve seen this proverb play out in my life and in the lives of those I know. So, I believe that we, as believers, should really take it to heart.