'I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. '  Galatians 2:20 

Everyone has a story. That story makes the most sense in light of the story of God. Listen in to hear more. 

'I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” '  Revelation 21:3-5 

Everyone feels in their hearts that this world isn't as it should be. We long for something better, and we love hearing stories where the character(s) find true joy. We know that all of that points to the reality of heaven and the new creation. Listen to this episode as we finish the last act of the story, which we're calling "the death of death". Oh, what a beautiful day it will be. 

'And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.'  2 Corinthians 5:18-21 

The climax of the story is always the part that has you on edge. "How is he going to do this?" and "Is it possible?" are questions we  ask ourselves as we see the story unfold. This all resembles the story of the Bible. The main character does the unimaginable; He dies and resurrects to rescue his people. 

"When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned." Romans 5:12 NLT 

In this episode, Mel takes us through the story of the fall in Genesis 3. When sin entered into the world, everything was messed up. Our mind, emotions, and our wills were messed up. The worlds entire ecosystem no longer functions the way God intended - in perfect harmony. Instead, all of our relationships are marked with mess ups and this is all due to the presence of sin. This is the problem. 

'Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.” God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.'  Genesis 1:26-28,31 

The stories we love and enjoy all borrow from the greatest story ever told - the Gospel. The Bible is all about this story and today we focus on the beginning of it; creation. God created everything as good. He spoke everything into existence, and then he formed man as the pinnacle of His creation. We were created in His image to show off His glory and to rule the world as extensions of Him. What happened and why is creation still relevant? 

'For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and returned to life for this: that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living. '  Romans 14:7-9 CSB 

The Prayer Booth started under unfortunate circumstances, but through it all God met us in a special way and while we didn't get what we wanted the way we wanted, we can still acknowledge that GOD is in control and He is good. We want to add to the resources out there for people like us. Be Blessed; God got you!