The Beginning-
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God exists. God has always existed. God is not an idea, nor a fairytale. God exists! He is real. How do I know? Because I know Him.
I am Jillybean. I have been a believer and follower of God for a long time. I felt compelled by God to create this website. I am very glad you are here! 😊 I want to give you the basic truths about God. There is a lot of information in the world about God. Some correct. Some false. So, how can we know what to believe?
Everything I say, I will ask this of you- do not just take my word for it. Think about it for yourself. Read about it for yourself. Talk with God about it. Some ideas about God that are shared in the world, even in some churches, are false. So, question and seek answers without just believing everything you hear.
What I can promise- I will be 100% honest. I will share my experiences with you. I will share what I know about God. I will share what the Bible says. (Scripture reference listed at the bottom.) I will not speak what I do not know to be true. If I am not sure, I will say so. There is a lot that I do not know. And I can admit that I do not know everything. I still have questions. I still have struggles. I am just like you. I am sure we have differences. But we are all humans. We are all created by God. We are all created for a purpose. 😊
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God has always existed. From the beginning of time, God has always been. He was not created. God is the Creator. He formed the heavens and the earth. He created animals and plants and mountains and oceans. He created everything that you see in nature. He made the sun and the moon. He put laws into place, like tides and seasons. He created everything perfectly. He did not build them from materials. He just spoke everything into existence.
He also created all people; first, Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. This is not just a kid’s story. Eden was a real place on earth where everything was perfect. God was with them and He provided every need. God wanted Adam and Eve to trust him and to rely on Him. There was peace and harmony. It was just as God planned. Well, we know that our world is far from perfect. It is downright awful, at times. So what happened to that perfect world that God created? Quick answer: sin.
God created people with free will. That means, they are free to choose. God could have made us all like robots and forced us to think a certain way. But, God wants a relationship with us that is genuine. God wanted us to choose to love Him, not be forced to love Him. He wants us to choose to trust Him, willingly and gladly. So, God gave us free will.
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In the garden of Eden were many fruit trees that Adam and Eve could eat from. God warned them not to eat from one single tree, because if they ate from it, they would certainly die. (I will summarize, otherwise this will get super long.) They ate the fruit from that restricted tree, which is how sin entered the world that had previously been perfect.
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What is sin? Sin is anything we do that goes against what God says is right. Remember, God created the world and he created the people. He is the author of everything. He designed “right” and “wrong”. Humans know the difference between right and wrong because God created us this way. This may seem like this is a lot of power for God to have. Yes, it is! God is more powerful than you or I could ever imagine. Thankfully, God is good. He is perfect. He is all-powerful, and that is a good thing! It is bad for someone with evil intentions to be in control of everything and be powerful. But God is good! His intentions are good. He wants what is best for each of us. He loves you! He created you. He wants you to know Him. He wants that perfect relationship again. He wants us to be with Him, like he designed.
Sin keeps us apart from God. Why? Well, because God is holy. God can not allow anything unholy to be in His presence. Sin makes us unholy. What are some examples of sin? Telling lie. Stealing. Murder. Using God’s name in a bad way. Disobeying a parent, can also be a sin. As you can see, we all sin. Even very young kids sin. And, because of sin, we are separated from God.
But God had a plan to solve the issue of sin and restore the relationship with Him. God made a way for us to have our sin taken away so that we could be holy and be with God someday. God sent Jesus to the earth for a purpose. Jesus came to the earth to be born as a baby. He lived a perfect life, completely without sinning. As an adult, Jesus willingly went to the cross to die, to pay the penalty for every sin. He died and was buried and then, on the 3rd day, God raised Jesus back to life again. Many people saw Jesus die. Many people saw Jesus 3 days later, after He was raised to life again. It all happened according to God’s perfect plan. You may have doubts and questions. You may be like, Hold up, Jillybean! How on earth do you know this?
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And then, I am like, uh, LOL. Yeah, I kinda left out something important. Cause God created the world way, waaaaaay long ago. And Jesus was born looooong ago. So how do we know what really happened? A couple of ways. For one, the Bible is a book that is a collection of events from the time of creation. The Bible is written by many different people, over the course of about 1,500 years. The Bible is inspired by God. He guided them, and inspired them in writing. The Bible is God’s Word. He says so Himself. God is all powerful and God is good. He wants what is best for us. So He made sure that the Bible was without error. He tells us about Himself through the Bible, so we can get to know Him. He tells us what he cares about. He tells us His characteristics. He compiled it all together in one book- the Bible. We know that it is correct because God wants us to know Him and He wants us to have a relationship with Him. If He were to have allowed the Bible to have errors, we would have wrong information about who He is and what He cares about. God made certain to preserve the Bible over the years for accuracy.
Many historians (lots that do not believe in God) have confirmed the accuracy of the Bible. It has historical proof. There were many witnesses to lots of the events recorded in the Bible. There are many writers, who record the same stories. There is a lot of proof that we can trust the authenticity of what is written. There are historians and atheists who have tried to disprove the Bible, found it to be accurate and true, and a few have even became Christians because of their study and in depth searching.
But most importantly, I know it to be true because what I have learned about God has been proven to me in my relationship with God. I have experienced His goodness! I have witnessed his almighty power! He has helped me when I needed help! I have trusted Him for long enough now, that I can look back on a time in my life and realize what God had done. In that moment, I could not always see how God was working, but looking back, I can recognize God’s work in my life. I can know the Bible is true because my experiences have proven it to be true.
​This may the first time you are hearing anything about God and Jesus or maybe is familiar to you. Where ever you may be coming from, Jesus has already died to pay for your sins. He offers you forgiveness. He offers to remove your sin and offer His holiness for you. Do you want it? There is an action required from you, if you want to have a relationship with God. You must believe, you must accept, you must ask for forgiveness, you must repent, and you must follow.
Believe in God and in Jesus, accept the gift of salvation that Jesus is offering, by repenting of your sins, asking forgiveness and turning away from your sins to sin no more, and following in the ways and thoughts and attitude of Jesus. He does not expect perfection. He desires a relationship with you, much like a Father and kid. The Bible refers to God as Father. We can think of Him like our Father. He wants to help us. He wants to guide us. He wants what is best for us.
God speaks to you. Are you willing to listen? It is not an audible voice. You will hear him speaking to your heart. He has been trying to get your attention for a while. Do you feel it? Or sense it? If so, do not wait. I encourage you to talk to Him. Ask Him if He really there. Tell Him what you are thinking or feeling. He wants to hear from you. Open your heart to Him.
Below, I have listed Bible references for things I said above, so you can see in the Bible for yourself. It is always good to read around the scripture references, so you can get the whole idea. Instead of reading one sentence, read the whole paragraph.
Check out the resource tab for helpful hints if you are just getting started, a guide to praying and asking God to forgive you, and some helpful advice for those still seeking answers or new in the faith.
Remember- DO NOT JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. Look into things for yourself. Ask God to help you. Read. But be careful what you read. Some authors in the Christian book section are not Christians. I suggest sticking with the Bible. The Bible is enormous. It has names I can not pronounce. It can be confusing. When I started reading the Bible, I started on page one and read like a normal book. And I got discouraged quickly. Ask God to help you read and understand. And, keep at it. It is sooooo worth it! 😊
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-from Jillybean, with love!
Scripture references:
​-God has always existed-
John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 Timothy 2:9 (talks about before the beginning of time)
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-God is the Creator-
Genesis chapter 1 and Genesis chapter 2 gives the account of creation.
Isaiah 66:2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
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-God wants a relationship with you-
James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
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-How sin entered the world-
Genesis chapter 3 gives the account of Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden tree and allowed sin to enter all of humanity.
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-What is sin-
James 4:17 Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
1 John 1:8-9 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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-Everyone has sinned-
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of God's glorious standard.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there in not a righteous person on earth who does good and never sins.
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-God is good-
Psalms 107:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good.
Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
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Not only does God tell us that He is good, but He proves it over and over again.
Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Psalm 33:5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
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-We know the difference between right and wrong cause God created us this way-
Genesis 1:27 God created mankind in His own image. (image- not a visible image, but in thought and characteristic, etc.)
Jeremiah 31:33 “After that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.”
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-God is all-powerful –
Jeremiah 10:12 It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.