The A, B, C's of the Deity

By Tod Edwards

The A, B, Cs of the Deity seeks to thoroughly examine the true nature of God via the alphabet. The layout provides the reader with a structured reading format that will feature an important biblical word (the topic), a Bible verse that illustrates the word in action, a synopsis of a related scriptural passage, and the authors interpretation of the topic. It will appeal to those who do not have much time for an exhaustive study but require a concise understanding of righteous living. The book will hopefully propel the encouraged to pursue a closer relationship with the Creator.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449724818

Tod Edwards

Tod has been a student of Christianity since his second rebirth in Christ. His parents baptized him and his twin when they were infants, probably during a Sunday church service; infant baptism into Christ was customary. Even though this was for his acceptance into God’s family, he knows now that he did not have the capacity to understand what they were doing. High school, college, 3 jobs, 2 kids, and 1 divorce later, the opportunity came again to be baptized on October 10, 1990. He was an adult and this time had the capacity to understand what he was doing, but he still did not have a clue.

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Copyright © 2011 Tod.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-2482-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-2483-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-2481-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011961361

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/27/2012

Contents

The Author and The Book

Acknowledgments

Foreword

About the Format

Advice

Belief

Conduct

Discipline

Endure

Faith

Gift

Humility

Inheritance

Judgment

Knowledge

Love

Mercy

Neighbor

Obedience

Prayer

Question

Righteous

Salvation

Truth

Understanding

Vow

Wisdom

Xmas

Youth

Zion

Biography

Truth is Truth

It can be stirred, shaken but not mixed.

Truth can be stepped on, hustled into a lion’s den

but it cannot be destroyed.

Truth can help, hurt or hinder. Contrary

to popular belief, one cannot bend,

stretch or punch holes in the truth.

Lies are told to cover a truth but

truth never cover’s a lie.

Truth is Truth

The Author and The Book

Tod has been a student of Christianity since his second rebirth in Christ. His parents baptized him and his twin when they were infants, probably during a Sunday church service; infant baptism into Christ was customary. Even though this was for his acceptance into God’s family, he knows now that he did not have the capacity to understand what they were doing. High school, college, three jobs, two kids, and one divorce later, the opportunity came again to be baptized. An adult now with the capacity to understand what he was doing but he still did not have a clue.

Tod’s receipt of the Holy Spirit was vague. Shouting, which he was accustomed to seeing while growing up in a Southern church, was not an urge. A friend found Christ and immediately had the gift of glossolalia (speaking in tongue). She stated at times it was uncontrollable, especially at work. He questioned why he was denied the language of God. Then he thought the absence of tongue meant the absence of spirit.

By nature, Tod is a detail-oriented kind of guy. By work, he is an accountant; a balance sheet isn’t balanced until he says so. While those two characteristics easily merged, the combined result was carried to his studies of Christianity. The symbolic washing away of sins had to have an undercurrent of principles, and he was desperate to find them. He also needed to know more about that man from Nazareth.

Tod’s initial walk with Christ was confusing. He had defeats that ripped his heart apart. He was told that baptism freed him from his filth; that the highway to happiness was straight ahead. Not so fast junior was bellowed to his core. More cleansing was needed. Then, a GPS was installed (God’s Purposeful Spirit) to help him avoid the avenues of the lost. However, to this day he has yet to speak another language.

Whatever had the potential to impede his development from becoming the person God wanted him to be was to go astray, family and job included. He lost both. Gradually he regained some of the important items that were seized; a daily upbringing with his children was among them. A teaching church with a caring congregation was an added blessing.

Years later, he understood that those God-induced defeats originated from his overhaul. Then he saw his conquered trials being acted out again in many of the lives of his brotherhood of believers. His experience allowed him to counsel the newly confused to stay on course. A stint in the children’s ministry at the church allowed him the time to explain God’s word, which also led to the writing of this book.

Those principles he was looking for became more visible each day, each month, and each year. The more he researched, the lesser the blur. However, the seven deadly sins and their neighbors were constantly knocking on his heart. He opened, they rushed in. Then he was pinned down by his own weakness. Further, one un-confessed trespass on the words of truth led to another.

Man saw disdain toward the Word of God, which led to his excommunication from the church. He harbored no bitterness toward the leaders because they were scripturally correct in their decision, and he still feels a lot of love for them. Fortunately, the Lord still saw some good in him.

Because he was harboring the guilt for so long, God orchestrated a revealing of the concealed sins but only on the Lords terms. God needed him to confess and repent, for there was a ministerial assignment waiting for him. Tod—a minister? He thought this must be a joke. But a minister to a homeless community in the lower streets and bitter cold of Chicago was he. God knew his true nature, his destiny and his threshold for inclement weather.

Writing continued every spring, summer, and fall. Winter was reserved for tax season. Only death or a summons from the White House could pry him from his desk. His impetus was the Holy Spirit; his qualification was spirit-inspired thought. Tod’s style is his unique conveyance of those thoughts. His target of thought is the heart of a child.

Young children are very impressionable with their surroundings. TV, music, movies, and the Internet invade their fledgling intellect at any given moment throughout any given day. Propelled by the groans of his spirit, he felt an intense need to communicate to youngsters about the power of the literature of God.

A discourse of twenty-six biblical topics could be easily found. Questions about other concerns could promote their own study. He even had a catchy title. But what started out as a simple, lower-case crusade for kids ended up being a ten-year, upper-case odyssey tailored for younger to older adults.

The span of years comprised many days and nights of research, sacrifice, discipline, dedication, and prayer. Biblical research was invaluable. Non-biblical resources helped tie-up the loose ends. Finally, in the opinion of the Holy Spirit,

The ABC’s of the Deity was in balance.

Younger minds take-in when older minds teach.

Older minds give-out when younger minds reach

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to:

Eddie Kornegay, who planted the seed to leave a written legacy,

Elizabeth Edwards, who nurtured me, kept me grounded, and kept the books I needed to finish the job,

Rob and Wanda Edwards, the keepers of Elizabeth’s flame,

Paul Davis, who introduced me to Christ while I was riding a bike,

Steve Staten, who opened the scriptures when I was off the bike,

Lauren Edwards, who increased my faith with every safe bus trip to school,

Quincy Edwards, who reminds me to keep my friends close and the spirit closer,

Arpita Agrawal, who temporarily gave me up to the literary world and allowed me to witness how others view life,

The Relatives, who fed, housed, and supported me on my journey, and

My Friends, whose personal struggles gave me the fuel to finish this leg of the race.

Foreword

A word about "J"

Every religion on the planet believes in a God. Some say he is here or there; some point to everywhere, with an eye toward the sky given the first nod. Their individual practices are