By REV. ADREN BIVINS 

Laymen Brotherhood Second Chance Outreach

When God created the world, he had everything in order for his people. All the way back to Adam and Eve, there was an order. The Book of Genesis is the beginning or origin, which was written by Moses. Genesis sets the stage for the entire Bible. He said everything he made was good and very good. All at once, we see God creating the world in a majestic display of power and purpose, culminating with a man and a woman made like him. (Genesis 1:26-27).

The Bible tells us that God spoke all things into existence. At the voice of God, everything was created. But before long, sin entered the world and Satan was unmasked. Bathed in innocence, creation was shattered by the fall, which was the willful disobedience of Adam and Eve. Fellowship with God was broken and evil began weaving its destructive hand. Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, a garden of plenty and beauty. Their first son turned murderer and evil until God finally destroyed everyone on earth except a small family led by Noah. The people in Genesis were simple ordinary people, yet God did great things through them. God loved them, but when they sinned, God punished them. Even after the punishment, came restoration. God uses ordinary people like us to carry out his assignment.

In the Book of Exodus, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. When the laws were broken, there was punishment. Moses was not allowed to get into the Promised Land, for disobedience. Joshua, the son of Nun, took them in. We need to be careful to follow God’s orders, which is his word in the Bible. His orders are the same as yesterday, today, and forever.

He said heaven and earth may pass away, but his word does not change. When we obey God, there are showers of blessings. When we disobey, there are consequences and punishment. All we have got to do is turn our lives over to God and surrender ourselves to him. We need to give our hopes, dreams, disappointments, hurts, failures and everything to the Lord.

We cannot handle anything on our own. God’s amazing grace is sufficient for us through his Son, Jesus. God loved us so much, he sent his only begotten Son, Jesus, to take away our sins and die in our place so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. God wants us to be saved and not spend eternity in Hell, but the choice is ours. But always remember, there are consequences of obedience and disobedience to God.

Prayer: “Lord, help us to submit to your word, which will lead us to eternal life with you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

The Rev. Adren Bivins Sr., a clergyman, is the founder of Laymen Brotherhood Second Chance Outreach Center Inc., a non-profit Bainbridge organization. He can be reached by calling (229) 465-3752 or (229) 416-0476.