In the beginning … our beginning … God decided to do something else that we don’t totally understand and sometimes try to explain away.\u00a0 He Created.\u00a0 The writer describes activities that only a True Creator can do.\u00a0 He spoke and things we don’t understand happened.\u00a0 Now, let me tell you something.\u00a0 If the guy who existed before the beginning speaks, I’m thinking it would be wise to listen.\u00a0 Don’t you?<\/p>\n What did He say?<\/p>\n God decided to create people who He would love and who could choose to love Him in return.\u00a0 We get a glimpse of some of His thoughts when the writer describes what God said.\u00a0 One of the things He said is, “Let Us Make Man In Our Own Image.”\u00a0 Cool.\u00a0 Something else we don’t fully understand.\u00a0 How can One God Talk about Us, In The Beginning?\u00a0 Well, the writer describes this some, but still leaves us with a little uncertainty, because, GUESS WHAT!\u00a0 We’re not<\/u> God.\u00a0 If we were, we wouldn’t be here reviewing this story.<\/p>\n God the True Creator, Created.\u00a0 But He couldn’t (at least He decided not<\/u> to) create just spirit babies who would float round in the nether world.\u00a0 He created real physical space in which His Creation would live and move and interact.<\/p>\n The writer says, everything was created perfectly.\u00a0 At first, God created a whole bunch of animals and the place for them to live, we’ll call it Earth.\u00a0 He created a man, Adam different from the animals and gave him the assignment to care for the animals and to manage the Earth.\u00a0 But there was a problem.\u00a0 For all of the animals, God created mates.\u00a0 Male and Female.\u00a0 But He chose to create Adam alone…..and He said, “It is not<\/u> good for man to be alone.”\u00a0 Before God did another miracle of creation, he made Adam feel, alone.\u00a0 Adam needed to understand that he needed to be with someone.\u00a0 So God used Adam to create Eve.\u00a0 Don’t believe it?\u00a0 The writer says so.\u00a0 WOW.\u00a0 Adam saw this girl and was immediately taken.\u00a0 “She will be called woman, because she was taken out of the man.”<\/p>\n There are lots of details and techniques that God used to help the people He created understand how important it is to have a close relationship with Him.\u00a0 One thing is very clear.\u00a0 The writer made sure we understand that God, the True Creator never<\/u> wanted puppets.\u00a0 He wanted a true give and take relationship with the ones He created.<\/p>\n There are a couple of ways He displays this fact.\u00a0 First, the writer tells another part of the story.\u00a0 We’ll call it The Backstory.\u00a0 While God created a couple of people, the writer says he also created at some other time, a very large number of spirit beings.\u00a0 The writer calls them angels.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Angels.\u00a0 God didn’t want these “guys” to be puppets either.\u00a0 They’re not the same as people.\u00a0 Still, He decided when He Created them to give them the choice to either serve Him, or to do their own thing.<\/p>\n Why would He DO that?\u00a0 It’s something I don’t understand, but it is clear that God wants a relationship with people who CHOOSE to do what He says.\u00a0 Who CHOOSE to relate with Him.<\/p>\n The writer describes how the angel in highest position, right next to God decided that he would overthrow God and take His place.\u00a0 Apparently, the thought appeared out of the blue one day.\u00a0 Lucifer The Star of the Morning decided NOT to do what God wanted.\u00a0 God doesn’t<\/u> want puppets.\u00a0 Even the angels were given the choice to follow and obey God or to do their own thing.<\/p>\n The writer says Lucifer, The Star of The Morning got one-third of the angels to agree with him and revolt against God.\u00a0 They started a war in the heavens to take over the throne.\u00a0 When Lucifer and his legion of angels rebelled, they were thrown out of heaven.\u00a0 The place we refer to as Hell was established as their destination.\u00a0 Eventually.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Lucifer and his legion turned to the task of overthrowing God.<\/p>\n “You Can Be God” is the lie that Lucifer used to deceive Eve into doing what God and Adam told her never to do.\u00a0 Lucifer has used the same lie ever since to make people eager to join his cause.\u00a0 You see, if you and I are trying to be God, we aren’t doing what we were created to do or being who we were created to be.\u00a0 Let me explain what that is.<\/p>\n The writer says God created Adam and then Eve to be in a perfect connected relationship with Him and with each other.\u00a0 He walked with them personally in the Garden of Eden.\u00a0 Adam and Eve were both naked and felt no shame.\u00a0 But then something happened.\u00a0 When Lucifer deceived Eve, it caused a problem in the relationship between God and Eve and in the relationship between Eve and Adam.<\/p>\n The writer says everything God created was perfect at first.\u00a0 Nothing had a single flaw.\u00a0 Imagine that!\u00a0 But when Eve chose to do what Lucifer told her to do, it caused a separation between God and Eve.\u00a0 The perfection that God created now contained a flaw.\u00a0 The writer says that God requires perfection in His relationships.\u00a0 When Eve chose to follow Lucifer’s advice and “Be Like God”, she broke the relationship she already had with God.\u00a0 It turns out that Adam was given a new choice.\u00a0 Choose to do what God required, not knowing how that would affect Eve, or, do the same thing as Eve, and live with the consequences.\u00a0 It turns out he didn’t know for sure what God would do in either case.\u00a0 At least, the writer doesn’t tell us about that.\u00a0 The consequences of their decisions will continue until the end of time.<\/p>\n The writer says God threw Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden.\u00a0 The writer says God placed a curse on their relationships and on the earth.\u00a0 The writer says the brokenness of their relationship with God and each other is passed on to their descendants forever.\u00a0 That includes you and me.\u00a0 This is why we fight with each other.<\/p>\n The writer goes into a lot of stories that describe many of the tactics God used to deal with people.\u00a0 Let me describe the strategy for you.<\/p>\n The writer is telling The Story of Belonging.\u00a0 Many people get distracted by the tactics and argue about whether any of it really happened the way the writer said.\u00a0 I always ask you to consider very seriously, “What if it’s true?”<\/p>\n One of the fundamental needs of all people is not just to fit in, but to truly belong.\u00a0 To be at home, at rest, at peace and to feel safe and secure.\u00a0 Belonging is a state of being.\u00a0 Anyone who does not feel loved and accepted will try to at least fit in and in many cases will do anything<\/u> to find some place to fit. The writer says in the beginning, Adam and Eve belonged.\u00a0 They were safe in a perfect place with a perfect connection to God they were created to enjoy.<\/p>\n The writer says that God created people to have a personal relationship with Him.\u00a0 Belonging.\u00a0 When Adam and Eve chose to do their own thing and broke their perfect relationship with God, they also broke the perfect sense of belonging.\u00a0 The writer says God again went out of His way to make a way that people can again have that perfect relationship with Him restored.\u00a0 But this plan was extremely expensive.\u00a0 The writer says God took the cost of repairing the relationship He has with people on Himself.\u00a0 We are that important to Him.<\/p>\n Why does it matter?\u00a0 The writer says that before Eve decided to do what Lucifer said that there was no shame in the world.\u00a0 Remember that guilt comes from doing something bad or wrong.\u00a0 Shame comes from being something bad, wrong or broken.\u00a0 When Eve did what Lucifer told her to do, she brought shame into the world, because at that moment, Eve was<\/u> broken.\u00a0 The perfect relationship with God she was designed for no longer existed.\u00a0 The writer says Eve did her own thing trading the sure thing, the perfection she was created to enjoy, with the struggle to take God’s place and to be okay with it.<\/p>\n You know by now that the book I am referring to is the Bible.\u00a0 The Bible has two basic parts.\u00a0 One, the older part and two, the newer part.\u00a0 The whole Bible tells The Story of Belonging<\/i>.\u00a0 First telling us that we are not perfect like Adam and Eve started out, and we’ve got a very real problem.\u00a0 We can’t follow the rules because the rules are not written on our heart.\u00a0 The Old Testament describes the real need for a sacrifice that will satisfy the demands of a perfect God who desperately wants a relationship with you and me.\u00a0 It also points toward that specific sacrifice that provides the possibility of a perfect relationship, a connection back to God, the connection we were created for.\u00a0 The Jewish Nation look for a messiah that the Bible describes.\u00a0 The hope of the world.<\/p>\n The writer says that this messiah appeared and fulfilled all the requirements described throughout the old testament.\u00a0 The writer also says the people rejected Him just like the old testament said they would.<\/p>\n Listen for a moment as I describe what is really offered.\u00a0 Not religion.\u00a0 Religion is a huge distraction that keeps many from what is really offered.\u00a0 Connection.\u00a0 Real true belonging.\u00a0 The Story of Belonging<\/i>!<\/p>\n The writer says that God cares deeply about the people He created.\u00a0 He cares so much to have a real relationship and connection that He took a very huge risk…and He knew how much it would cost Him to have that relationship with you and me.\u00a0 First He, the True Creator spoke and created a place for people who could choose connection with Him or go their own way.\u00a0 Then He created a way to repair the damage at His own expense when those people, me and you, chose to do our own thing.\u00a0 The writer says that God tells us the way that we can again belong in the connection we were created to enjoy.\u00a0 A perfect connection with Him.\u00a0 Filling forever the hole that makes us feel empty inside.\u00a0 Ending the shame.<\/p>\n While we cannot be<\/u> God, we can be in a close connected relationship with Him.\u00a0 The writer says this is called being a child of God.\u00a0 We were made in the image of God and have some of the characteristics of the True Creator.\u00a0 When that close connection is repaired, we begin to feel the true belonging we were created to enjoy.<\/p>\n Some of my friends scoff at this story.\u00a0 Others ignore the story thinking they have their own version that makes better sense.\u00a0 What I ask you to do is consider very seriously, “What if it’s true?”<\/p>\n What if the relationships you long for can never work right without this missing part?\u00a0 The repair of the connection you were created for might be exactly what your heart has been searching for.\u00a0 How do you really deal with shame?<\/p>\n You could at this very moment be in another kind of battle.\u00a0 Do you do your own thing, or consider seriously the possibility that God offers you something you desperately need, even if you didn’t realize it until right now.\u00a0 What if it’s true?<\/p>\n Of course, you are free to make either decision.\u00a0 Remember, God never<\/u> wanted a puppet.\u00a0 He longs to know the real you with the kind of connection that cannot be described with words.\u00a0 True belonging.<\/p>\n If you have any questions about how it all works, please ask me.\u00a0 I am here to help you grow into the person you were created to be and always longed to be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Once upon a time; let’s call it, “The Beginning”, there was this guy.\u00a0 The writer calls Him God.\u00a0 The writer never really explains where God came from.\u00a0 The writer says He was always there.\u00a0 WOW.\u00a0 Something we don’t understand already.\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 So we have this guy God who already existed in the beginning.\u00a0 Cool!\u00a0 Now, … Continue reading The Journey of Belonging<\/span> ![\"The](\"http:\/\/takethenextbigstep.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/girl-571808_1280.jpg\")
<\/a>Once upon a time; let’s call it, “The Beginning”, there was this guy.\u00a0 The writer calls Him God.\u00a0 The writer never really explains where God came from.\u00a0 The writer says He was always there.\u00a0 WOW.\u00a0 Something we don’t understand already.\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 So we have this guy God who already existed in the beginning.\u00a0 Cool!\u00a0 Now, on with the story.
\n<\/p>\nBrokenness<\/b><\/h2>\n
Belonging<\/b><\/h2>\n
Shame<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Bible<\/b><\/h2>\n