XXXI. Simple Complexity #3

The Bible

The Complexity:
Did you know?

• It was written by men and women, giving us views from both angles.
• Many of the books actually may have been one at one time but were separated by man due to the subject matter (Ex: Luke and Acts).
• There is not one contradiction in all of its verses.
• The OT is about God's people who strayed so far they needed rules written down for them to follow (the Ten Commandments). The NT is about God's people who had strayed so far they needed a savior to help them (Jesus Christ).
• It's also a history book.
• It's also a psychology book.
• There were 66 writings found and kept and put together that gives us a complete story on how to live our lives.
• It is separated into two main parts, an Old and New Testament, each having its own purpose.
• It spans about 2000 years but talks about roughly 6000 years of man's existence.
• It is the best selling book of all time.

But did you also know?

• The people in the OT at first did not have to live by the Ten Commandments. They lived by faith. But since they lost their faith God gave them a second chance and allowed them to see how He wanted us to live so He wrote down ten righteous acts to live by.
• The people in the NT did not live by the ten rules anymore, so God knew the only way to save His people was to send a savior, and so today we are living by faith once again. There will not be another second chance.
• Some of those who wrote the bible or were bible heroes were uneducated, had speech impediments, were murderers, cheaters of money, even prostitutes, yet God used them to tell us what life is all about and changed them as well.
• Each book represents Christ in its own unique way. So no matter what book in it you read, it's about Christ.

The Simple:
Did You know?

• It has never lost its relevancy, each subject is still for today's person with problems.

XXIX. Simple Complexity #2

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

The Complexity:

Did you know?

• The term Gospel means "good news". The good news is about how God came down from His throne to live among us to show us the right path to salvation.
• There are many "gospels" that were written but there are only 4 credited accounts of the life of Christ. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The gospels of Thomas and Judas ARE NOT credible, no matter what Dan Brown says.
• The earliest one written was about 20 years after the resurrection of Christ; Mark.
• There were numerous miracles in the Bible however the first miracle of Christ is recorded in only one of them; John.
• There are 238 separate accounts of the life of Christ in the Gospels.
• There are no written records of Christ's life from his ages 13-29.

But did you also know?

• Out of the 238 accounts only 19 are found in all four books. And most of these are about Christ's last week on earth.
• Every prophecy written in the OT about Christ can be found in the four books.
• Only one book talks about Christ as an infant; Luke.
• These words were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Since man can see things in the wrong way the Spirit inspired these men to write down the story of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 2:13
• There are four books written to show you four different viewpoints; one is for the Jew who can not believe in the Messiah (Matthew), one is for those living in the Roman Empire who need to know Rome was not the only authority (Mark), one is for the Gentile leaning towards earthly ways (Luke), and the other is to show the personal relationship with Christ for all (John).

The Simple:

Did you know?

• There is one theme in all four: Repent and believe. Matthew 28 16-20, Mark 1:15, Luke 19:10, John 3:16

XXVII. Simple Complexity #1

You.

The Complexity:

Did you know?

• There are 206 bones in the human body. Each bones has its own shape. Each bone has its purpose.
• In one day, your blood travels nearly 12,000 miles. Your heart beats around 35 million times per year. Your heart pumps a million barrels of blood during the average lifetime -- enough to fill three supertankers.
• Your fingerprints are like no one else on this earth...ever!
• You have anywhere between 50,000,000,000 to 100,000,000,000 cells in your body, all functioning by themselves yet working together to create different parts of your body. Some form bone. Some form skin. Some form organs. And some form blood.
• Your body has a temperature ranging 97 degrees to 99 degrees. Too cold and you get hypothermia. Too hot and you have a fever.
• Your brain can remember every second of your life and still have room for more memories for the future. (Now accessing it takes time :) )
• You are the most complex yet most efficient "machine" on this earth. You run for 70 or 80 years with more parts to keep working on than any other machine that could ever be created.
• And that is to just name a few.

But did you also know?

• You are made up of a trichotomy. You are not only a body, i.e., you can interact physically with your surroundings. You are also soul, i.e., you can comprehend and reason around the physical objects and have feelings about things. But you are also spirit, i.e., you have something special from God that separates us from the rest of creation. You are made in His image. You were created to be with Him. Hebrews 4
• You are the only creature in all of creation to have a relationship with Him. There are no other alien being in all the universe. There is nothing else created like you. You are created in the image of God. You bear His likeness. Genesis 1
• Your home is not here on the earth. Even though we have the physical on the outside, we are spiritual beings. John 14

The Simple:

Did you know?

• You are valuable to God. Romans 5

XXVI. Christianity: A Simple Complexity

Hebrews 5:12-13

• 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.
• 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.

Why do we make something out of nothing at times and leave out something to make nothing at other times? Christianity is simple, but it is also full complexities. The term here is not referring to being complexed, rather it is referring to being full of vastness. We live a simple life but there is so much of it we can learn from it. Simple, yet complexed.

Here are some simple things:

1. Without Christ, there is no hope. We think we can do things on our own. We can succeed in this life with our own physical strength, intelligence, or even luck. But in the end what does it get us? The same as everyone else. He who dies with the most amount of toys...still dies. Without Christ, there is no hope.
2. No one is perfect. We are made of flesh with desires. Desires uncontrolled cause sin. We all do it. No one is perfect.
3. We all need forgiveness. Since we are not perfect, we need something to transform us into perfectness. God's forgiveness is what transforms us.
4. We all need a relationship with God (the Trinity); as a father/child, as a brother/savior, and as a guide/counselor.

But, with these four simple ideas comes a world of abundances that few ever try and achieve. Many go through life using ignorance as blissfulness when we are not supposed to be that way. Have you ever thought about why the Bible was written the way it was? Or why the men who wrote it were picked to write it? Have you ever thought about why there are so many stories about man's character and flaws? Have you ever wondered why we need to go to church, pray, worship and read our Bible? Has it ever occurred to you that we are more than physical beings and was meant to search for your spiritual nature? Those four simple ideas of who we are as stated above can open up a whole new world to you.

Milk is good. It does a body good. But with the milk, we need a little substance. Let's go get some substance. Stay tuned for more.