Bethany Bullet - September 20, 2011

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Ever notice how sometimes our TRUE stories grow over the years or include new/exaggerated details that help us grow in influence or importance? Like Jesus inventing the HIGH FIVE…

So, you have actually caught a fish. You set the hook, reeled, landed, consumed or released this fish; but over the years that trout began to sprout and what once was…

…when it was caught, is now…

It is the “glory days” story – when it actually happened, you did score the winning touchdown. The ball was fumbled in the end zone, you fell on it, and your team won the game. However, by the time it is retold at the 25th High School Reunion…you now have the ball handed to you at midfield, you’re breaking tackles left/right, and you have scampered into the end zone for the victory!

Here’s another…In their classroom they are bright fine students, with a paint brush their works of art are pleasant enough, and when at the keyboard you can actually identify the song they are playing. Yet, when grandma recounts their acts/activities they are now Einstein, Michelangelo, and Bach all rolled into one!

God never needs to exaggerate to communicate His great love and desire to relate to us.

From the stories start to the stories heart, God is simply proclaiming the Truth of His love for us. When He does so, He never lies. Each and every story – creation’s story, Israel’s story, redemption’s story, and the early church’s story – they are all true.

Sometimes our stories are not just exaggerations sometimes they are fabrications.

God’s Story, however, is always a verification of what happened:

• Who He is
• What He did,
• What He is doing,
• And what He will do!

The Scripture records the Truth of God:

• His love for us,
• His desire for a relationship with us,
• His redemptive actions on our behalf.

The Scripture records the Truth of Humanity:

• Its original creation in God’s image,
• Its corruption and fallen nature due to rebellion from God,
• Its fate and doom if not forgiven,
• Its hope found in Christ alone.

Every word of His is true, every word inspired by His Spirit.

“ALL SCRITPURE is God-breathed and useful for teaching rebuking correcting and training in righteousness so that the person of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

-II Timothy 3:16

The Story…His story is the very foundation of who we are, what we believe, and how we are called to live – so we will allow ourselves to be taught, rebuked, corrected and trained by it – and that is how Jesus wants it – true Story.

-Pastor Kevin Kritzer