'Did God really say?'

The Bible begins, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” It then explains what was created, how it was created, and when it was created. These words were written by Moses, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, some 2,000 years after they occurred.
These words serve as an introduction to God’s revelation of time and history as He personally interacted with all that He created. The Bible tells the real-life story of human-kind’s rebellion and rejection of its Creator/God.  It also reveals the Creator’s commitment and consistent plan to reclaim that deviant mankind.
The Bible is very clear from the beginning that God’s plan for mankind was one of fine moral character and mutual collaboration with God and all of creation. The plan did not change even when the first humans, Adam and Eve, chose to disobey the Creator. The Bible reveals a gracious and forgiving Creator. He continues to build relationships, through the telling of His-story, with every generation of new humans, so that they might enjoy life as He planned it to be, perfect and eternal.  His plan for His creation is still that it might live forever in perfect harmony and everlasting peace.
The problem that keeps showing up in every new human that is born into this world is that we are all born sinful, that is selfish, greedy, and independent-minded.  We don’t want to listen to someone else’s plan for our lives, even if it is our Creator (Rom. 3:10-12). The Bible reveals how every desire of God is for the good of all that He has created (John 3:16). He continues to tell His-story through His church, the gathering of those who do listen and believe.
The solution to the problem of sin was answered by the Creator when He promised a Savior that would live a perfect and obedient life in this corrupt world, satisfy the debt of sin, defeat death, and rise from the dead in victory on behalf of all sinful mankind. This new and victorious life would be passed onto every sinner who would hear the Word of God and believe it. But the Creator also knew that no sinner would be able to believe this Word on their own and so He also promised that wherever His Word is proclaimed in its truth and purity, He would provide His Holy Spirit to create and sustain this faith in the repentant sinner.
Now when a sinner, by the power of the Holy Spirit, repents of wrongdoing and believes in the forgiveness of sins for the sake of the Savior, which the Bible reveals as Jesus Christ, they receive God’s gift of life as He planned it to be in the beginning. In this new life the Creator is our guide and He leads us to see and experience the harmony and peace of working together for the mutual good of all. When we make mistakes/sins, He is present to correct us and put us back on the correct path that is beneficial for all of mankind.
In the beginning our first ancestors chose to reject the Creator’s plan for their lives. We have all done likewise ever since. But thanks be to God that He does not give up coming to us with the truth and salvation we need.
God does really speak to us through the Bible. It is true and always will be. It is the source of life now and forever.