SLIDE TO DESTRUCTION (TECHNOLOGY VS GOD)

Technology is amazing, that goes without saying. Technology is what we use for practical needs. The world is so advanced with technology that sometimes we forget about what’s important. New forms of amusement are made single-handedly YouTube videos, or big companies are making movies, video games, etc. But have we forgotten who God is? All of this stuff is cool, don’t get me wrong, but we need to focus our eyes more on God. I will admit that I spend more time with my Nintendo Switch than I do with God.

Now, that’s not to say that technology is always bad. The Bible app helps some people, like me, to learn about God via smartphone! And with technology, we can discuss online who God is. Even if you live in Australia, but your friend lives in Texas, you can still talk to God! Some creators also help you understand through their creations.

SOMETHING IS ROTTEN

Imagine if we were in a kingdom. One lousy king after another. That’s what happened in the Bible times! In Israel, they were just having bad kings. Baal even faced God once. Eventually, God sent Elijah to talk to the people. He said, “How long will you waver between two gods?” The people were silent. They wanted an earthly god more than anything.

Even if you don’t expect him, God will surely come and make a difference in the world. The way he makes a difference is sometimes through us! If we do good, that’ll be him making a difference. I sometimes need to choose between my wants and what God wants.

SYMBOL OF A LAMP

Everything God says is true. One example is when God promised Abraham his son. He was 100 years old when Isaac was born! He was 86 for Ishmael, though. But, his one promise is when he promised the savior of the world. “He will be born through the line of David,” he said. He was.

What does all of this have to do with a lamp? It’s simple; God is the lamp in the darkness. Darkness is just… well, that. The dark goes away when light shines. A lamp is a good source of light. God shines through the bad moments of our lives. God wasn’t the lamp. He was the light of the whole universe! Even more than the Sun!

A SAVIOR

Probably the most important theme in the Bible is the story of Jesus. The people did not keep the Sinia covenant, so God offered a brand new covenant! The new covenant wouldn’t be written on stone tablets, but rather on their hearts. We no longer needed to sacrifice animals, for Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. The new covenant did not have conditions. It was based on Grace and Forgiveness.

Of course, the savior was Jesus. He is the whole world’s savior. My savior, your savior, everyone’s savior!

CONFLICT/DOUBT

Everybody struggles with believing in God sometimes. As life goes on, we get older and wiser. You start questioning things like, “Why is life hard?” or “Is God even real?”

Jacob fought with God out of anger. Israel sometimes struggled with God. In fact, sometimes I struggle with knowing who God is. What if something else happened? What if the Bible was just a story some guy wrote because he was bored, and we made a religion out of it? God is hard to believe in, sometimes. Especially when we get older. We just accept that God is real when we are kids. But, even in these dark times, I still believe that God is real. Sometimes, we just need a little more evidence. Ask somebody “Where do you see God?”

COVENANT

What is a covenant? A covenant is a deal between two people. The biggest covenant was with God. He gave us the covenant of the cultural mandate. The cultural mandate is something really important. Since God made the world, he made us the people to rule over it and do our part.

There are two types of covenants. One of them is where we have to do our part; conditional covenant. The other is an unconditional covenant, where it’s basically a promise. I can relate to making promises because sometimes I need to make hard promises.

SLAVERY AND SALVATION

Once in the Bible times, Moses was born into slavery. This was when the Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians. Moses went away with a boat. Eventually, he met God via a burning bush. God told him to free the slaves. At first, he said no. Of course, later, he was convinced and freed the slaves with the help of God.

Sometimes today, we can feel kind of like slaves. I know that sounds silly, but hear me out; do we ever have to do work that we just don’t want to do and can’t control whether we do it or not? Well, that can be kind of like being a slave. Not that I’m saying it is slavery. It’s a metaphor.

met·a·phor

ˈmedəˌfôr,ˈmedəˌfər/

noun

• a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.
• (Thanks, Wikipedia.)

CALL

Do you ever hear God? Maybe you don’t, maybe you do. God always calls people. He called Abraham and Sarah to be the parents of a great, big nation! Now, Abraham and Sarah didn’t always trust God. Sometimes they just did their own thing, kind of like we do, today.

If we want to hear God better, I think what we should do is just sit down in a quiet room with nothing except for a pen and a paper. Meditate on what God says. See if he says anything. That’s what started my dad’s church. Maybe it can lead to something great in your life, too!