We believe without a doubt that the Bible is God’s gift to us so that we will have a constant guide throughout life and a well written map to eternity.  In that book are instructions for life, wisdom for daily living and a history of God’s relationship with His creation.  One scripture says it this way,

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done and Your thoughts toward us;
there is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them,
they would be too numerous to count. Psalm 40:5

Is there a way to describe the history of the world?  Sometimes it can only be with a word like “wonder.”  How we have survived and made it to the 21st century some consider a miracle in itself!  So we offer to you the following... what the Bible considers the Greatest Wonders from God’s Word.

To try and wrap your brain around the fact that God spoke and creation became is the very definition of “wonder.” The very first words in the Bible state that, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” 

No matter how man has tried to explain creation, the simplicity and awesomeness of it defies words, no matter how complex, intricate or far reaching the formula.  It is both infinitely simple and beyond wonder to consider how He cast the tens of billions of stars exactly in their place. 

But beyond all of that, His next act became the pièce de résistance, the grand finale of His creation.  After our little earth was completed, the Bible tells us that He created us as men and women that have His image, His divine fingerprint, which sets us apart from all other created things. 

God then offered His creation a close and intimate relationship with Him.  Those first humans, Adam and Eve, had the very best that their loving Creator could give:

• A perfect environment
• The power to rule over all other creation
• Total freedom
• No shame!

We were created in perfection, intended for relationship, and promised happiness, intimacy and safety.  And that, friend, can only be described as wonder-filled!

 
One of the darkest days in history took place under the boughs of a tree in the center of God’s garden that held the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  From thousands of other trees Adam and Eve could enjoy the delicate fruit of God’s Garden.  God reserved only one tree for Himself and it was under that tree where Eve met mankind’s mortal enemy. 

The story is told in Genesis 3... the devil told lies, Adam and Eve disobeyed, and perfection instantly turned to chaos, a chaos that continues in the world until today.

• A perfect environment became a total ruin of rebellion
• The power to rule became the sentence of death
• Total freedom became bondage to sin
• No shame became complete guilt

The result was far more reaching than could be imagined for until this day each one of us suffers the same tragic consequences because each of us have fallen through sin. (Romans 3:23, 6:23)

Man was created for intimacy - closeness, familiarity, friendship, knowing and being known - but on that terrible day, creation’s gift was destroyed.  The Bible tells us that Adam’s first response to his sin was to cover himself from Eve and to hide from God.  Fear of being known was now an ever present reality.  Man was now separated by a great chasm which he could never span. 

The Bible tells us in Isaiah 59:2 that “Your sins have separated you from your God.”  That great chasm cannot be crossed through religion, sacrifice, or knowledge.  In fact, there is nothing that any of us can do because of the result of sin in our life.

One writer put it this way, “You were mired in that old stagnant life of sin.  You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience.  We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat.  It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.  Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us.”  Ephesians 2:1

And that great chasm between God and man does not end here on earth.  Tragically our sin separates us for an eternity from our Creator who loves us and longs to restore creation’s intention but here is the good news. God had a rescue plan.  The greatest plan of deliverance ever put in motion.

“For God so loved the world  that He gave...”

So begins one of the most beloved passages in the Bible.  Though God could have rescued us with a word, He made a choice to become like you and I.  He became like you and I.  Jesus was born only a generation away from slavery, into a ethnic group under the boot of Roman rule, to an unwed teenager engaged to a jobless and homeless man. 

All of that was part of the plan.  As common and tragic as His birth was, this Baby was also born of a Virgin, of the very seed of God, and destined to be the Savior of the world.  Born in a sheep shed, the angels came and declared that a Savior had been born!

For the next 32 years, Jesus represented Father God to the world.  He healed the sick, comforted the depressed, befriended the lonely, gave hope to the condemned, forgave the sinner, set the captives free and declared the good news that a new day had arisen. 

The rescue mission was now underway and the Great Divide would be forever crossed.
 

 

From the early days of creation, sin separated man from God.  What could possible heal the wound?  What could possibly bridge the chasm caused by man’s willful defiance towards God? 

A perfect sacrifice was needed.  A sacrifice so blameless and holy, one that was offered with the same freewill that man used to turn from God would now be used to submit to God. 

Jesus died to pay the just penalty of the sins of the world.  He willingly sacrificed His life so that you and I could gain new life.  The Bible says that He “took on His body the sins of the world” and by doing so demonstrated the immense love of God for the world.  The Bible explains this wonderful truth this way:

This is how God showed His love among us:  He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  This is love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:19

Christianity stands or falls on fact:  Jesus died on a Roman cross, was placed in a grave and rose from that grave alive and very well!  Other religions worship dead men or old philosophies but Christianity points to an empty tomb.  How do we know it is true? 

1. Jesus appeared to more than 500 people after His resurrection.

2. Apostles and disciples alike went to their martyred deaths declaring the truth of the
    resurrection.

3. Generation after generation of Christians have demonstrated by changed lives the reality of the
    power of the Jesus.

Paul the Apostle said,

For what I received I passed on to you as one of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-6

There is no record of a single eyewitness recounting what they witnessed even when tortured and put to death.  From these simple men and women came a church alive with changed lives and dynamic faith.  And you can have that same power that changed their lives. 

Why die and rise from the dead?  
Like a prisoner condemned to die with no hope of parole, mankind went through history “a dead man walking.”  Hopeless is the only word that comes close to the despair of mankind, yet one more wonder remained.  The simplicity is astounding.  The mercy is overwhelming. The grace, simply amazing.

Through Jesus, the Holy Creator comes and offers peace.  Through Jesus, he pays the ultimate price, our death sentence, that we might live. Jesus took His cross and laid it across the Great Chasm that separated God from man and bids us, “Come!”

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

Because of what Jesus has done, each and every one of us has the same choice that Adam had in the Garden.  We can choose to love and trust God or turn and live life on our own terms. 

Jesus said in John 10:10 that “the devil has come to steal, kill, and destroy but I have come that you might have life and life more abundantly!”  The choice is to accept the freedom that Jesus offers or suffer the pain of death as the result of sin.  Won’t you trust His wonderful words to you today and begin today to live a life of freedom and intimacy with God?

Here is what you must do:

• Tell Jesus what you and He already know: “Lord, I am a sinner, You know it and I know it.  I have lived life on my terms and have nothing but guilt to show for it.  I am asking You to forgive me and cleanse me of my sin.”

• Next, ask Him to send His Holy Spirit to take control of your life.  “I ask You to do what you promised.  You said that you would send Your Holy Spirit who would live in me forever and bring the same resurrection power to my life that flowed into your dead body.  Please send Your Holy Spirit now!”

• Finally, thank Him because Jesus does what He says He will do!  “Thank you, Jesus, for forgiving my sins!  Thanks You for sending Your Holy Spirit!  Thank you that I am now a Christian, I am on my way to heaven, and now I can live the life You always intended for me.”

Now, go and serve God!

Freedom Fellowship Church
410 Oak Run Point
New Braunfels, Texas 78132