What I Believe
My belief system can be summed up simply - I believe what the Holy Bible says - that we can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ - the God who came to us in the flesh. He is a wonderful Saviour and friend.
I believe that God is unknowable except as He is revealed through Jesus Christ, who is God's ultimate revelation of Himself. "Jesus is the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15 ) I believe that the Bible is the living and infallible word of God. The more I have read and studied it and compared it with secular historical documents the more convinced I've become that it is in fact inspired, directed and protected by Almighty God. The Holy Bible reveals God's purposes and plans to mankind. It consists of 66 books written by 40 authors in 3 languages on 3 continents over a 1500 year time span (with no computers or resource libraries to draw from) and it manages to have a developing story and consistent theme throughout. To my mind that's pretty miraculous.
I believe that God created humanity in His image, and gave mankind free will and dominion on this planet. Adam and Eve used that freewill to hand over their authority to Satan - resulting in sin, disease, corruption and death. So God gave mankind rules for life on Earth. Every human being has failed to meet God's expections as set forth in His rules. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
From before the foundation of the Earth, God had a plan to restore His creation to His original intent. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23). Although I don't understand why, I believe that God loves us extravagantly, and that He wants us to love Him back. James 4:8 says - "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." He is our Father and we are His children - He loves us, and like every good parent, He wants us to learn and grow and be obedient. He is righteous and just, and He has great integrity to do exactly what He says He will do in His Word.
This watercolor was painted when I lived in Biddeford, Maine
1999
