Reading a Book You’ll Actually Read
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A couple of months ago during Vintage Church’s “CHANGED” series, we gave away digital copies of our first book, We Are Vintage. This was a book Pastor Rob Wilton and I wrote a couple years ago for our church. After months of working on it with several rough drafts, we were excited to give it to anyone and everyone. For many, though, it seems overwhelming. The book is over 300 pages long. However, the book is designed as more of a devotional for someone to walk through daily. And the daily readings are only three to four pages with several discussion questions. So, over the next few weeks we want to share excerpts from the We Are Vintage to give you a taste for what the book is like. Our prayer is that this content would be both equipping and encouraging for you. Look for more excerpts in the coming weeks. Enjoy!
Who is God?
There is always a beginning. Everything has a start. You have a beginning. Before you were ever born you were conceived because of your parent’s actions. What we call life today began with a Being. He was the first and great cause of life. This is where the story begins. Sometime in eternity God chose to create. Before we can unpack creation though, we have to understand who the Creator is.
It seems obvious, but before you ever get to know someone you have to first know that they exist. Think about it. If you never knew your best friend existed then you would never get to know that person. The same is true for God. You would never have a desire to learn and know more about God without first knowing God exists. Although questions will always be raised, the Bible is very clear about God. Read Deuteronomy 4:35. What does it say? “The LORD is God; there is no other besides him.” First, this passage says who God is. When you see LORD in the Old Testament that is the personal name of God (i.e. Yahweh). The passage then says the LORD is the only God. This shows us that there is only one God and his name is Yahweh.
If there is only one God as the Bible describes, what does that mean for other religions? Read Exodus 20:3. What does God command of the Israelites?
Having no other gods before God does not just mean gods such as Allah, Shiva, and others. What are some things that can act as gods in your life? What holds your excitement, time, energy, resources, etc. more than Jesus?
