Letters From Grandpa #197

LETTERS FROM GRANDPA # 197

Dearest grandchild,

Today letter will hopefully encourage you to dream a dream and fulfill your greatest potential for God. Just as your mom and dad are helping you to do this, so is God. From the very beginning God has been working with mankind, and He still does so today. We are workers together with God (1 Cor. 3:9). As you know, God didn’t have to give authority to man to rule over all the creatures of the earth, but He did (Gen. 1:26). God could have taken care of Eden by Himself, but He didn’t. He chose to let Adam do it. God could have named the beasts and birds by Himself, but He didn’t. He chose to patiently wait for Adam to give them names (Gen. 2:19, 20). Thus Adam was privileged to pioneer in science as the world’s first taxonomist. God could have created billions of people in the same way He created billions of stars, but He didn’t! He chose to let Adam and Eve slowly fill the earth with people by means of human birth. While we may not be able to explain all the reasons why, it is evident that the eternal plan of God involves us! This is, of course, one reason why the devil wants to destroy us!

The devil is not omniscient! He knew he was cast down to earth but really didn’t understand God’s eternal plan. Nobody did until God revealed it! Even the prophets who predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow, searched intently with the greatest care but still didn’t understand it. Even the angels longed to look into these things but were not able (1 Pet. 1: 10 — 12). The fact that the devil’s demise would involve humans was revealed by God in Eden: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Gen. 3:15). This information was of strategic value to the devil. Now he knew that we were his enemies. Now he could focus his diabolical efforts on us. He knew the Seed of woman would crush his head, but he didn’t know which one or when. Therefore he determined to attack all of humanity at all times. He noticed that Abel was righteous and therefore seduced Cain into killing him (Gen. 4:8). Then he tricked Lamech into killing a young man who wounded him (Gen. 4:23, 24). The devil, as you know, was a murderer from the beginning (Jn. 8:44). Even now he is responsible for all murders. He was also responsible for the death of Jesus. The good news is that through death Jesus destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil (Heb. 2:14). The point is, our Heavenly Father wants to help us, and the devil wants to harm us!

So this simple thought helps us not only to understand all of history, it also helps us to understand out own relationship with God. Look again at Abraham. This obscure nomad has become one of the most important men in all of history. He is a hero to Christians, Jews, and Muslims, but he didn’t attain this fame without the help of God. One famous example of God's help involves the miraculous birth of his son Isaac. God promised that he would have a child even though he was about a hundred years old and his wife had a dead womb (Gen. 15:1 — 6). This miraculous conception came by faith, but not by faith only! Isaac was not virgin born. Sarah became pregnant, as you know, not just because of what Abraham believed, but also because of what he did (Rom. 4:18 — 25).

The writer of Hebrews quoted from the 118" Psalm: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid of what man can do to me” (Heb. 13:6). Please focus on this tremendous promise! The Lord wants to be our helper! Itis a godly thing to help God, but this passage promises that God will help us! If God is your Helper, no dream is too big and no challenge is too great! Yes! You have the advantage of good health and intelligence, but the real secret for your success will be enlisting the help of God. Jesus called His Father “Abba” or “daddy” and so can we (Mk. 14:36, Gal. 4:6). We can come boldly

into the presence of God just as we can come boldly into the presence of our earthly father (Heb. 10:19). Please never be afraid to ask help from God!

One of the many ways that God can help us is by means of angels. They are ministering spirits who are sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). God sent angels to help Jesus during His temptation in the wilderness (Mk. 1:13). God sent an angel to help Jesus in Gethsemane (Lk. 22:43). And God will also send angels to help us. We must remember, however, that even though angels are our helpers we are still responsible for our own obedience. Angels did not build the ark, Noah did! Angels do not preach the Gospel, we do! Angels do not use the Sword of the Spirit, we do! Etc. This brings us back to the beginning. God created us in His own image and from the beginning of creation has consistently helped us to achieve our full potential. This means that God wants you to help you now! He will help you dream a dream for His glory, and will also help you in every way to make that dream come true.

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce