My Story: Bible Story Minute and Bible Fun Facts with New Lines of Faith Ministry

By Glenda K. Durham

MY STORY

You will never be the same! Walk side by side with Bible characters as they experience the celebrations and tragedies of life in their discovery of the holy living God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Feb 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887383446

Glenda K. Durham

Glenda is a Christian author, musician, and social media and radio-content creator. She graduated from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma, with a bachelor of arts in management of human resources and a master of science in management. Her professional career has been spent in public education, human resources, and ministry.As a teacher's kid, she has found it a natural process to teach others about the things she enjoys learning. Glenda follows her passion by putting the Bible into easy-to-understand stories that describe our Creator and our Savior. Most of all, Glenda loves God with all her heart.

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My Story

It all started in the garden, on a long journey back home to God.

Dedication

To my husband, Mark

You generously love and support me in whatever I do. You are a blessing from God that I do not deserve. Mark, I love you. My heart is yours.

To my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren

You have brought me to a beautiful place I could have never known without your presence in this world. You make me laugh, and you make me cry. I love each of you just for who you are.

Denise Ford

This book would not have been created without your suggestion. We went to lunch in 2015, and you said, You need to write a book. Then you reminded me about it one million times. My sweet friend, thank you!

To the world

When God tells you to do something that does not make sense, do it anyway. If it is His will, then it is His bill (Romans 12:2).

Acknowledgment

I once met a man named Kenny Bingham of Bowie, Texas. He wanted to teach me how to play the guitar. Then, he opened his radio station to our New Lines of Faith Ministry. Together we created the Bible Story Minute and the Bible Story News. He has grown our ministry in ways I never imagined. It would not have happened without him. When I told him I was going to write a book based on our radio broadcasts, he said, We support you; you’ve got this!

Kenny and his wife, Angie, have the vision to reach the world for Jesus Christ through free Christian internet radio and music. I hope you will support them by downloading their Upper Room internet Christian radio station.

Our deepest appreciation to Kenny and Angie Bingham for believing in us.

https://upperroomchristianradio.com

Acknowledgment

I once met a man named Lenny K, aka Kevin Myers, of KNTX Oldies Radio in Bowie, Texas, through a political campaign.

At the end of the race, he asked me what else he could put on the radio for us. I described the Bible Fun Fact ministry that I post about on social media every day. His reply: Awesome, let’s do it! The Bible Fun Fact Ministry on a secular rock ’n’ roll radio station was born that day.

Kevin has continued to support our ministry in every way he can. We have temporarily stepped away from the Bible Fun Fact ministry on KNTX due to costs. We hope the sales of this book will put us back on the air with Kevin and others across the country.

Our deepest appreciation to Kevin and his station manager, Doris, for believing in us.

https://kntxradio.com

Foreword

The books of Genesis and Exodus set the stage for the world as we know it today. God gave us a record of our beginnings with stories of ancient tragedies and celebrations with teachable moments for us to live by. Most of all, God introduced His Son, Jesus Christ, to us through the Bible. He told us about the one who died for all of us on a cross altar made of wood.

I hope this book encourages you to read the Bible word for word. Friend, you can understand it!

Introduction

The Durham Family and Our Faith Journey

I was born into a Christian family with many generations of believers who walked before me. However, I had to find the way for myself. No one could do it for me. At eight years old, I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior in a Turner Falls youth camp through the Assemblies of God church. Then, I was called into the ministry as a teenager. It would be years before I made a complete dedication to the ministry. In 2015, I sold out to God. I gave Him everything: my money, my personal life, my kids, everything I owned, and most of all, myself. I was done with life’s nonsense. As a single female professional, I knew it had to be God’s way or no way. And I refused to work for anyone who made their money through alcohol or cigarette sales. Then I closed some doors. There were those who simply could not be in my new presence.

It was six months before I met the one, God’s man. Our paths had run parallel all our lives, yet we never met. We lived one and a half miles apart in Ada, Oklahoma, then two blocks from each other in Midland, Texas. We met against all odds; at least, that is how it seemed. It took dedication on his part and dedication on mine for heaven to move on our part. It also took my supervisor to invite me to his church so he could win a Sunday school contest; that was a divine appointment! Mark and I were individually focused on God’s plans for our individual lives. Mark had decided that something was missing in his life before we met. That decision led him to God, then to me.

Mark grew up in a non-faith family. As a child, he was not taken to church or taught about our Lord and Savior. In 2015, he was invited to church by a friend. Once he got there, he gave his heart to Jesus; he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Mark has been growing in his faith ever since.

As husband and wife, we serve the Lord together in our community, our church, our home, and the New Lines of Faith Ministry. Mark was saved in 2015, and I made my God’s way or no way commitment in 2015; we met in 2016 and married in 2017. Our wedding was held in that little church of a simple Sunday school contest. In 2017, Mark and I answered the call to ministry as a married couple. Best decisions ever!

‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’ (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).

The Book of Genesis

The Book of Genesis Devotion Stories

Genesis covers the greatest account of time in all of Scripture, more time than the other books in the Bible combined! While the ancient history recounted in the first eleven chapters gives no indication of a time span, Abram’s story begins around 2091 BC (Genesis 12:1), and the book ends with Joseph’s death in Egypt around 1805 BC (Genesis 50:26).¹

Moses wrote the book of Genesis.

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1. Chuck Swindoll, Genesis, Insight for Living Ministries, accessed September 22, 2022, https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-pentateuch/genesis.

Main Characters of the Book of Genesis

God

The one true God. The creator of the universe. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1, KJV).

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve were created by the hands of God—the first man and woman to walk on the face of the earth. There were no other humans before them.

Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel were the children of Adam and Eve. The first recorded murder was committed by Cain when he murdered his brother, Abel, over a rejected sacrifice.

Noah

God chose Noah to build an ark to save his family from the destruction of a worldwide flood and to restart a world population.

Abraham and Sarah

God made a covenant with Abram and Sarai (later Abraham and Sarah) to become the parents of many nations through their son, Isaac.

Lot

Lot was the nephew of Abraham. God sent two angels to rescue Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isaac and Rebekah

Isaac was the only child of Abraham and Sarah. He married his relative, Rebekah. He would become the grandfather of Joseph, a man who saved the world from hunger during an extreme drought.

Keturah

Abraham married his concubine Keturah after his wife, Sarah, died. They had six sons together.

Jacob

Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah. His sons would become the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter with two wives and two maids.

Esau

Esau was the son of Isaac and Rebekah. He sold his birthright and lost his inheritance through deception.

Dinah

Dinah was the daughter of Jacob and Leah. She was sexually assaulted by a prince. Her brothers killed every man in the town over it.

Joseph

Joseph was the son of Jacob and Rachel. Being sold into slavery was the best thing that could have happened to him. He later became the governor of Egypt.

Judah and Tamar

Judah was the son of Jacob and Leah. Tamar was his daughter-in-law, who posed as a prostitute. They had twins together.

Ephraim and Manasseh

Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Joseph and Asenath.

The Beginning

Genesis 1

One day, God was sitting on His throne in heaven when He thought of a place called Earth. Magnificent works of light spun winds of energy around Him in splendor. Still, something was missing. So, God created the heavens and the earth for His first earthly son, Adam. That is where my story began.

Somewhere in the ages of time, there was a moment when our planet and the galaxies around us were not fixed in the heavens. A work of art with brushstrokes of color and life would become a masterpiece fit for a King.

So, God spoke the light and darkness into existence. He called them day and night. At His word, the waters separated from the sky to make our morning and our evening. The seas drew away from the ground. His whisper hung the moon, the sun, and the stars to mark the seasons, days, and years. A holy word filled the seas with living creatures and the skies with birds flying across the clouds. God created every living creature and plant to live on this earth.

It was done. God spoke the earth and everything in it into existence for one purpose: He wanted to fellowship with His creation. The earth sitting in the universe was something not found in heaven. God created a man in His own image. He was someone to visit every evening in the garden. The man was given authority over all the earth.

On the seventh day, God rested from His work. A masterpiece was done. He blessed it and made it holy forever. The galaxies of the universe lay at the bedside of the earth. The sun, the moon, and the stars shared their light and darkness. The waters and the soil waited to sustain us. God positioned animals and plants all over the earth to comfort us and feed us. It all belonged to God.

God created a perfect place to care for mankind.

Gold Nugget

The spirit of God has always been on this earth because God created this earth. The earth belongs to God. He carefully spoke it all into existence. We are still discovering what God made during those seven days of creation!

God already knows all about you because He created you. He knew you before you were born. Friend, have you asked God about His plan for you lately? You might be surprised at His answer. Have you made a commitment to allow your God plan to even exist in your life?

It starts with a prayer and willingness to accept God’s answer, even if you do not understand it. God is the creator of the universe; that includes you and me.

Bible Fun Facts (Genesis 1)

God created heaven and earth in six days (Genesis 1).

There was a time when our planet did not exist (Genesis 1:1).

God had the first spoken words in the Bible, Let there be light (Genesis 1:3).

The first human being was created out of the dust of the earth, just like every other living creature on the earth (Genesis 1:26–28).

God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26–28).

Green is the first color mentioned in the Bible when God said, I give every green plant for food (Genesis 1:30, NIV).

Adam and Eve

Genesis 2

There once was a garden called Eden, created by the hand of God. In it was life itself for the creatures and plants within its fence line. It was a garden that needed a gardener, someone to care for God’s lovely work of art. So, God made a man in His own image from the dust of the earth. He breathed His breath into his nostrils and called his name Adam. God gave His only created son authority over all the earth.

The garden was a place of life without death for all time. In the middle of the garden were two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watered the garden. There was nothing that could make the man sick except one bad fruit. A single command was given to Adam by God—he could never eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden because it would kill him. Anything else in the garden was good for food, even the fruit from the tree of life.

God gave Adam the right to choose; it was his own free will. Adam had the ability to choose life over death in his authority over the earth. Yet, Adam did not understand death or punishment; he only knew the goodness of God.

In time, God saw that something was missing. Every living thing He had created was male and female; each one complemented the other. Adam needed a female to make him complete. So, God put Adam into a deep sleep and created a woman from the bone of Adam’s flesh. A woman to walk beside him every day of his life, to become one body with him. God brought Eve to Adam; He introduced them. The three of them held the first wedding ceremony in the garden. The man and his wife were innocent; they felt no shame in their nakedness.

Gold Nugget

God’s original plan was for man to live a healthy life inside the Garden of Eden. It was a choice of life over death for eternity. God gave Adam free will to decide. It was a simple command to Adam before Eve existed: not to eat the bad fruit.

When Jesus died on the cross in Matthew 27:45–54, He gave us a choice: it was eternal life instead of eternal death. It was the end of a conversation between God and Adam back in the Garden of Eden.

Jesus explained God’s plan in John 10:10 (NKJV), The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Heaven and hell are real places that man will someday inhabit by choice. Friend, have you chosen eternal life in heaven? Will you choose life or death? Heaven or hell?

Bible Fun Fact (Genesis 2)

Eden means paradise or delight when translated from Hebrew.

Life in the Garden

Genesis 2

When God described the beginning, He did not tell us about Himself or His heaven. Our heavenly Father only wanted us to know how our world began, so Moses was careful to pen His words in His description of creation.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1, NKJV). After God made this planet a suitable place to support life, it was time for the final masterpiece. He formed a man out of the dust of the earth and called his name Adam. Adam did not have a companion. So, God formed a woman out of the bone of the man. We can only wonder about the private conversations between God and Adam, God and Eve. Eve always knew her place in Adam’s life and the world.

God brought Eve to Adam from another place in the garden. The introduction had to be perfect; it must be love at first sight. The gift, such a beautiful creation, did not have a name. So, Adam called her woman because she was made from the bones and flesh of man.

It would be later that Adam would call her Eve because she would become the mother of all generations. Eve was created to be a helper comparable to Adam, someone to share in the work and the rewards of the garden. She was as wise as Adam about the artistry of God even though she was not present in the early days.

Adam carefully explained the unity of their relationship to Eve. It was the first marriage ceremony. He pledged a vow to her. A man will leave his father and mother and