I must confess that today's study is very dear to my heart and most exciting as well. I hope you find it equally so! Though it may seem off topic, and does not continue exclusively in Genesis, it is my prayer that you will understand why I mull over this piece for today. There is so much meat to be gleaned from by truly comprehending how complex, thorough, and loving God truly is.
We have come to the point where the earth was ready for God's final creation. His handiwork, His masterpiece, would come to life with absolutely everything he would need in order to exist without want. The warmth of the sun, the fruit of the trees, the water to drink, the animals, everything he needed was set in the world. All that was missing was man himself. So, once again, God spoke.
"Let us make man in our own image." This single verse points out that there is much more to God than meets the eye. It reveals that every one of the three aspects of God participated in this creation. We are going to focus on these eight simple words that encompass a not quite so simple yet ever important truth.
The Bible teaches us that God is three in one, what we call the Trinity. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is one, yet they are three; He is three in one. They are all part of the one same identity. I have heard many different attempts at defining it, but I think the simplest way I have heard it described is also the first.
If you take a look at an apple, it is a single piece of fruit. But there are different aspects of the fruit, each distinct from one another, yet all part of the one fruit. You have the skin, you have the meat in the middle, and you have the core which has the seeds. They can be separated, but they are all a part of the same apple. God is the same way, only more so. Though He is one, He can also, in effect, separate the different pieces of Himself from one another while continuing to hold the same integrity, without change. Who He IS never changes. Hebrews 13:8 states that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Perhaps the best example of this is given in the New Testament, in the book of John, when Jesus is talking with His disciples. He tells them that He comes from the Father and that when He has to leave, that the Father would send another, the Comforter, who would guide them. He is, of course, referring to the Holy Spirit who manifests Himself in the second Chapter of Acts.
In the same fourth book of the New Testament, John shares some of his insight with us. John was one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus when He walked this earth. His gospel is probably the most well known because he knew who he was in Christ and his book focused literally on the love of Jesus. He was known as the Beloved Disciple. Having a grasp of God's great love for mankind, John spread the good news of that love. How fitting it is, then, that the very first verses of his first book focus on the very beginning of creation itself. He describes the character of the Son in John 1:1-2.
"In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God and Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men." [Emphasis mine] Several places describe Jesus as being the Word of God, including this verse. He is the living Word of God. How magnificent to think that when God spoke the different things into being that it was the very essence of Jesus ~ before He ever became flesh on this world. "Let there be light." "Let the dry land appear."
It is by Him that we have received forgiveness of our sins. It is by Him that all things were created in heaven, in earth, visible, invisible. He set up the order of authority because He was under the authority of the Father. He came before all things. It is because of HIM that all things exist. He is the head of the church. We follow His example. His blood reconciles us to the Father. It is written in the New Testament, in the book of Colossians 1:14-18
We have already met the Holy Spirit. It is His presence that moves over us just as it moved over the face of the waters. It is He who stirs our hearts and draws us to Father God. No one comes to God but that He draws us, and God wishes that no man should be separated from Him. He gives us the power to resist temptation and He is the one to bring the Word of God to our remembrance when we are being attacked. He guides, teaches, and directs us in the same manner that He moved over those waters.
The Father heart of God is the ultimate authority. He commands. His will is dominate above all. He is the one who loved us before the foundation of the world was laid out, preparing a way so that we could take part in the inheritance. He is the One who set in motion even then the plan to deliver us from the power of darkness. He is the one who has brought us into the Kingdom. This truth is also found in Colossians, just a few verses earlier.
Every good gift, every perfect gift which we receives comes from the Father heart of God, from the LORD of Love. You can read that promise also in the New Testament, in James 1:17. Jesus also described the Father as loving in another scripture. In Matthew 7:9-12, the first book of the New Testament, He was teaching the multitudes about God's desire for us. If we being sinful men grant bread and fish to our sons who need it, how much more will the Father in Heaven, who is pure in His love, give us perfect gifts when we ask Him? He showed us that the Father is better than the greatest earthly Father, because He is the one who truly desires to give us good gifts when we ask for them.
Genesis 1:2 is perfectly clear in relating that the Holy Spirit of God took part of creation, but if you read those verses, Colossians 1:12-20, all together, you will see the full connection of the role of the Father and the Son as well. Genesis 1:26 shows the perfect unity in the heart of God in the creation of man. Even here, the Son knew the price He would one day have to pay for the salvation of humankind, but He was in complete agreement in this creation because He already knew us and loved us.
How fitting that the first book of the Bible and the last show this foreknowledge of Christ. He did not create man before He knew the sacrifice He would make. Revelation 13:8 mentions Jesus, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." This is also backed up by Peter, another of the original disciples of Jesus, when he tells us in I Peter 1:19-21 that before the foundation of the world Jesus was the chosen, spotless lamb, whose blood shed was our only hope in God. Matthew, yet another disciple of Jesus, in Matthew 25:34, recalled Jesus' very words in a parable about the kingdom of God in which the Son Himself welcomes the ones on His right to enter the kingdom that was laid out for them since the creation of the world. Jesus was fully knowledgeable even then of what He would have to suffer for us. There was no question in His mind. And yet He loved us. Yet He loved me and He loved You. Though He knew, yet He still said, "Let us make man in our own image."
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Omniscient Foresight
God is very orderly. He times everything perfectly and does everything in His time. He understands all because He is omniscient, all-knowing.Nothing that was, is, or ever shall be surprises Him, because He already knows how it will happen. He also knows the best way to make it turn out according to His plan. Nothing reveals this as His initial creation of the world.
It took five days for God to create the universe to this point in our study of creation. Now that the heavens were filled with flying creatures and the water was just as loaded with animals, God was ready for the sixth phase in His plan. God filled the land with life, as well. Genesis 1:24 shows us where God brings forth the beasts of the earth; He creates the lions and bears, the zebras and giraffes. God crated the cattle, cows, buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs, squirrels and monkeys. Everything that moves on the earth, He created on this day. Just like all the life created before this, God told them to be fruitful and to multiply after their own kind.
I think it's interesting to point out another piece of evidence that reveals God's foresight. If He had created the animals before the plants, what would the animals have eaten? They would have gone hungry; but God's compassion extends to all His creation. He provided all they would need before they were able to ask, before they were aware of their needs, before they even existed.
At last the earth was ready for God's final creation. God's handiwork, His Masterpiece would come to life with almost everything he would need in order to exist without want. I say everything, because that is a fun discussion for another day. We come afresh to the awesome power of God. For this final creation, once again God spoke. "Let us make man in our own image." This verse points out that there is more to God than meets the eye.
Even in Creation, God wants us to understand who He is. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm 19 that, "The heavens declare the handiwork of God." Before God created man, He wanted to make sure that man would be able to recognize God's hand in everything. He provided, through His creation, yes, through the very forming of man himself, evidence of the character of God. He knew man would come to question not only His deity, but His very existence, and He prepared a way to reveal that to the fallen, sinful man, that man would one day become. His very character, the very heart of God, revealed in the creation of this world and of man, is what draws us to Him.
I think I'll save this verse for tomorrow, for I think it's a study in and of itself. How wonderful, how glorious, how wise is our God, who fashioned the universe by His hands. By Him all things were created. Nothing that was created was created but by Him. He is before all things. For Him, and by Him, and through Him all things exist. The visible world and all that surrounds it and that abides in it was created by the invisible, almighty God. That His insight is what saved us from utter self destruction is truly unmatched in power.
It took five days for God to create the universe to this point in our study of creation. Now that the heavens were filled with flying creatures and the water was just as loaded with animals, God was ready for the sixth phase in His plan. God filled the land with life, as well. Genesis 1:24 shows us where God brings forth the beasts of the earth; He creates the lions and bears, the zebras and giraffes. God crated the cattle, cows, buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs, squirrels and monkeys. Everything that moves on the earth, He created on this day. Just like all the life created before this, God told them to be fruitful and to multiply after their own kind.
I think it's interesting to point out another piece of evidence that reveals God's foresight. If He had created the animals before the plants, what would the animals have eaten? They would have gone hungry; but God's compassion extends to all His creation. He provided all they would need before they were able to ask, before they were aware of their needs, before they even existed.
At last the earth was ready for God's final creation. God's handiwork, His Masterpiece would come to life with almost everything he would need in order to exist without want. I say everything, because that is a fun discussion for another day. We come afresh to the awesome power of God. For this final creation, once again God spoke. "Let us make man in our own image." This verse points out that there is more to God than meets the eye.
Even in Creation, God wants us to understand who He is. In fact, the Bible says in Psalm 19 that, "The heavens declare the handiwork of God." Before God created man, He wanted to make sure that man would be able to recognize God's hand in everything. He provided, through His creation, yes, through the very forming of man himself, evidence of the character of God. He knew man would come to question not only His deity, but His very existence, and He prepared a way to reveal that to the fallen, sinful man, that man would one day become. His very character, the very heart of God, revealed in the creation of this world and of man, is what draws us to Him.
I think I'll save this verse for tomorrow, for I think it's a study in and of itself. How wonderful, how glorious, how wise is our God, who fashioned the universe by His hands. By Him all things were created. Nothing that was created was created but by Him. He is before all things. For Him, and by Him, and through Him all things exist. The visible world and all that surrounds it and that abides in it was created by the invisible, almighty God. That His insight is what saved us from utter self destruction is truly unmatched in power.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Poetry In Motion
God was able to create life because He IS life. When I think of Genesis 1:20-23, I think of how vivacious He is, how creative, how inventive He is! Of course, the first four days of creation, He has already demonstrated His imagination, but man is only now beginning to see that portion of His handiwork. Whereas now we come to the part of creation where His diversity has been fully displayed for us. This is where He creates life on the earth as we know it. He truly spoke His wonderfully original poetry and brought a dance to this earth that had once been void of life.
I think it's amazing how in His great wisdom, He created the plants and the sun before the animals. Just about every living thing in this world requires oxygen to breathe, except for the plants. God created them to take carbon dioxide and, along with the sun and water, to convert it to oxygen. He created all life to require certain temperatures in order to survive, and He created the sun to provide that balance. So now the stage was set; the earth was ready. Once again, God spoke life into existence.
"Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." He didn't just want some creatures to be in the water, he wanted the waters to teem, to abound, to be full of life! That is the meaning behind the word used here. It reminds me of later, when Jesus said that He came that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly. This isn't just about quantity, it's about quality and diversity, just like the different fish and crustaceans and mammals that abide in the lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans. He created the birds to fly majestically over the land, letting their wings take them to heights soaring above the earth. When I think of this scripture, I think of an eagle taking flight, across miles, riding the winds, appearing regal in their expanse.
"So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds." In this day, He created octopus and narwhals, dolphins and whales, manatees and sharks, shrimp, crab, lobsters, sea anemones and sea cucumbers, and all sorts of fish too numerous to be named. Just thinking about all the sea life of which I am aware brings me to consider how great is our God. He even created the sea star. I wonder if in that moment He was thinking of the star that would lead the wise men to Bethlehem. He created the sand dollar which contains in itself the message of salvation. His love is spread through all creation!
He created "every winged bird according to its kind." He created doves and cockatoos, eagles and vultures, parakeets and finches, and so much more. He created them to rise above the earth, to use their wings as tools to go farther and higher than they would ever be able to travel on their legs alone. He gave many of them beautiful songs to manifest His presence to us, songs of praise and joy, and sometimes of sorrow as if to remind us that He feels our pain as well as our joy.
Here comes that old familiar phrase again..."And God saw that it was good." Gotta love His gift for understatement. He gives us thousands of species filled with color and music, and He saw that it was good. But He didn't stop there. He blessed them. He commanded them to "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth. Once again, He creates life teeming in the oceans and in the skies, but He commands them to continue that life, to increase, to fill the earth, so that it would grow abundant with that life.
There was the evening, which began with the moon and the countless stars in the sky, and He filled the waters with life, and He placed life in the heavens, just as He wants to do with us, so that we can walk fully in the light of His love. On the fifth day of creation, He gave us a physical reminder to let us know that He wants every part of our hearts, not just that on which we walk, but those places where even most of us dare not dread. We think it is easy to give that part of ourselves over to God which we see, but it takes a deeper faith to give over the deepest oceans of our life, to hand Him our skies, where we cannot soar without His touch.
Those oceans are not made for us to travel alone. We were not created with gills or with the ability to hold our breaths for four hours. We need His breath of life to sustain us in the underground caverns that are too dark for us to see. Those skies are impossible for us to traverse without His guidance on how to unfurl our wings and fly above all that surrounds us. He has called us to rise upon eagles' wings and to renew our strength in Him. Only when we are willing to let Him plunge into our deepest depths and fill every expanse of our lives will we be truly able to have abundant, joyful life.
I think it's amazing how in His great wisdom, He created the plants and the sun before the animals. Just about every living thing in this world requires oxygen to breathe, except for the plants. God created them to take carbon dioxide and, along with the sun and water, to convert it to oxygen. He created all life to require certain temperatures in order to survive, and He created the sun to provide that balance. So now the stage was set; the earth was ready. Once again, God spoke life into existence.
"Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." He didn't just want some creatures to be in the water, he wanted the waters to teem, to abound, to be full of life! That is the meaning behind the word used here. It reminds me of later, when Jesus said that He came that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly. This isn't just about quantity, it's about quality and diversity, just like the different fish and crustaceans and mammals that abide in the lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans. He created the birds to fly majestically over the land, letting their wings take them to heights soaring above the earth. When I think of this scripture, I think of an eagle taking flight, across miles, riding the winds, appearing regal in their expanse.
"So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds." In this day, He created octopus and narwhals, dolphins and whales, manatees and sharks, shrimp, crab, lobsters, sea anemones and sea cucumbers, and all sorts of fish too numerous to be named. Just thinking about all the sea life of which I am aware brings me to consider how great is our God. He even created the sea star. I wonder if in that moment He was thinking of the star that would lead the wise men to Bethlehem. He created the sand dollar which contains in itself the message of salvation. His love is spread through all creation!
He created "every winged bird according to its kind." He created doves and cockatoos, eagles and vultures, parakeets and finches, and so much more. He created them to rise above the earth, to use their wings as tools to go farther and higher than they would ever be able to travel on their legs alone. He gave many of them beautiful songs to manifest His presence to us, songs of praise and joy, and sometimes of sorrow as if to remind us that He feels our pain as well as our joy.
Here comes that old familiar phrase again..."And God saw that it was good." Gotta love His gift for understatement. He gives us thousands of species filled with color and music, and He saw that it was good. But He didn't stop there. He blessed them. He commanded them to "be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth. Once again, He creates life teeming in the oceans and in the skies, but He commands them to continue that life, to increase, to fill the earth, so that it would grow abundant with that life.
There was the evening, which began with the moon and the countless stars in the sky, and He filled the waters with life, and He placed life in the heavens, just as He wants to do with us, so that we can walk fully in the light of His love. On the fifth day of creation, He gave us a physical reminder to let us know that He wants every part of our hearts, not just that on which we walk, but those places where even most of us dare not dread. We think it is easy to give that part of ourselves over to God which we see, but it takes a deeper faith to give over the deepest oceans of our life, to hand Him our skies, where we cannot soar without His touch.
Those oceans are not made for us to travel alone. We were not created with gills or with the ability to hold our breaths for four hours. We need His breath of life to sustain us in the underground caverns that are too dark for us to see. Those skies are impossible for us to traverse without His guidance on how to unfurl our wings and fly above all that surrounds us. He has called us to rise upon eagles' wings and to renew our strength in Him. Only when we are willing to let Him plunge into our deepest depths and fill every expanse of our lives will we be truly able to have abundant, joyful life.
Friday, August 5, 2011
It's a Sunshiny Day!
God is light! He just exudes! When He makes His presence known, there is no doubt about it, He is there. So naturally, when creating this world in which we live, He would create something that exemplifies His character. Of course, the heavens declare His glory, and all creation shows forth His majesty. But nothing shows that quite like the sun.
On the fourth day of creation, God called for there to be lights in the sky, with a specific purpose. These lights were to separate the day from the night. They were set up to be markers of measure. These lights measure seasons, the days, and the years. They were specifically created for the purpose of this earth, to give it light and life, to be a tool by which man would live.
Why is that? Because He said so! Genesis1:14-15 tells us, "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years. And let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.' And it was so." I just love that phraseology that it uses over and over. God said it, and it was so.
On this special day, He created the sun, a wonderful depiction of Himself to us in a wonderfully symbolic way. Just think about it. The sun was created to rule the day, to govern it. It was created to give light so that we can see, so that the plants can have the ever necessary process of photosynthesis, so that we can receive the Vitamin D that gives us strength. It was created to give us warmth.
I love how the earth orbits around the sun. Astronomers say that if it were just a little closer in its trajectory, all life would be fried, it would all die because of the heat. And if it were just a little farther away, the earth would freeze and be unable to sustain the life upon it.
How like God is that? Not only is He the Almighty Creator, but He is the King of Kings! He is the King of the Universe! He is ultimately in control. Though He allows free will, nothing passes through to us that hasn't received His permission first...because He wants to give us life and to give it more abundantly. That is not to say that He causes evil to happen, because that is out of His Character. But He does use all things together for our good, because He has a purpose for us, if we are willing to walk in it.
He gives us light so that we can see; in the right time, He opens our eyes to the beauty of all He has created, to all He is doing in our lives. He gives us what we need to be able to breathe. He is the very air we breathe. He feeds us and gives us strength with His light. When the rays emanating from Him come in contact with us, we are strengthened. The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Because of His love, He is moved with compassion for us, and if we follow Him, we will also take that warmth and have compassion on others.
He created us with will, the ability to choose to follow Him. When we decide to follow Him, to make Him the center of our universe so that our lives revolve around God, we are walking in His protection. He will not let us be burned. When we walk through the flames, He is with us and will not allow us to be burned. When the circumstances around us look bleak and cold, we can rest under the warmth of His wings and find comfort and refuge.
But there is more to it than that. We cannot gaze directly upon the sun without being affected by it. If we stare at it too long, our eyes will be blinded. We can feel its warmth, see the light it creates, and see around us because of its light, but we cannot look upon it directly. God once said to Moses that no man can see His face and live. He is simply too glorious, too pure, too holy. To approach Him with little regard to Who He Is, is to approach the sun without protective coating. Our God is a consuming fire, and He will burn away all that is not holy. But He is our shield, as well. Just as he hid Moses in the cleft of the rock as He passed by and covered Moses' face so that He could not look upon his face, He allowed Moses to see His back and to be awed by it. After being in God's presence for 40 days, Moses was forced to wear a veil over his face because the people said it was too bright, that it shined like the sun. That is the glory of God.
Revelation describes Jesus' face as shining like the sun. There's a reason for that. God created the sun to be a picture image of Himself, of His glory, so that in our humanity, we can get just a small taste of how holy, how great and powerful, how majestic is our God.
On the fourth day of creation, God called for there to be lights in the sky, with a specific purpose. These lights were to separate the day from the night. They were set up to be markers of measure. These lights measure seasons, the days, and the years. They were specifically created for the purpose of this earth, to give it light and life, to be a tool by which man would live.
Why is that? Because He said so! Genesis1:14-15 tells us, "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years. And let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.' And it was so." I just love that phraseology that it uses over and over. God said it, and it was so.
On this special day, He created the sun, a wonderful depiction of Himself to us in a wonderfully symbolic way. Just think about it. The sun was created to rule the day, to govern it. It was created to give light so that we can see, so that the plants can have the ever necessary process of photosynthesis, so that we can receive the Vitamin D that gives us strength. It was created to give us warmth.
I love how the earth orbits around the sun. Astronomers say that if it were just a little closer in its trajectory, all life would be fried, it would all die because of the heat. And if it were just a little farther away, the earth would freeze and be unable to sustain the life upon it.
How like God is that? Not only is He the Almighty Creator, but He is the King of Kings! He is the King of the Universe! He is ultimately in control. Though He allows free will, nothing passes through to us that hasn't received His permission first...because He wants to give us life and to give it more abundantly. That is not to say that He causes evil to happen, because that is out of His Character. But He does use all things together for our good, because He has a purpose for us, if we are willing to walk in it.
He gives us light so that we can see; in the right time, He opens our eyes to the beauty of all He has created, to all He is doing in our lives. He gives us what we need to be able to breathe. He is the very air we breathe. He feeds us and gives us strength with His light. When the rays emanating from Him come in contact with us, we are strengthened. The Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Because of His love, He is moved with compassion for us, and if we follow Him, we will also take that warmth and have compassion on others.
He created us with will, the ability to choose to follow Him. When we decide to follow Him, to make Him the center of our universe so that our lives revolve around God, we are walking in His protection. He will not let us be burned. When we walk through the flames, He is with us and will not allow us to be burned. When the circumstances around us look bleak and cold, we can rest under the warmth of His wings and find comfort and refuge.
But there is more to it than that. We cannot gaze directly upon the sun without being affected by it. If we stare at it too long, our eyes will be blinded. We can feel its warmth, see the light it creates, and see around us because of its light, but we cannot look upon it directly. God once said to Moses that no man can see His face and live. He is simply too glorious, too pure, too holy. To approach Him with little regard to Who He Is, is to approach the sun without protective coating. Our God is a consuming fire, and He will burn away all that is not holy. But He is our shield, as well. Just as he hid Moses in the cleft of the rock as He passed by and covered Moses' face so that He could not look upon his face, He allowed Moses to see His back and to be awed by it. After being in God's presence for 40 days, Moses was forced to wear a veil over his face because the people said it was too bright, that it shined like the sun. That is the glory of God.
Revelation describes Jesus' face as shining like the sun. There's a reason for that. God created the sun to be a picture image of Himself, of His glory, so that in our humanity, we can get just a small taste of how holy, how great and powerful, how majestic is our God.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Water Fun
My children are very much on my mind right now, especially the fact that they love to just play in the water, whether it's outside by the hose, in the swimming pool, or right inside the house in their bathtubs. They love the feel of it; they revel in its refreshing purity. They love to let it seep into every pour of their bodies.
I wonder if God felt the same way those first few days of creation. He spent three days dealing with the water on the earth, and I wouldn't be surprised if he held as much joy in his heart creating this world as my children have playing during their bath times.
On the second day of creation, He commanded the earth to have an expanse between the waters to separate the waters from the waters. He gave the Word. And He put in this huge air pocket that surrounds the earth, containing every type of gas that we would need as human beings would need, as well as that which the animals and the plants would need. This expanse He called "sky."
Even now we look up into the sky and can see clouds. What are those clouds? Why, they are the very waters in the clouds as described in Genesis 1:7. They are the waters above the expanse! What happens if they get too heavy with water? It rains. It cannot be contained in the sky any longer, but must come down and join the earth. That's what He created on the second day. There was evening, and there was morning. And this was the second day.
So what happened next? Once again, the Almighty Creator spoke. He called all the water under the sky to be gathered to one place, to be connected, and He said, "Let the dry ground appear." He said it, and once again, it was so. Just like that, He said it, and it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the waters upon the earth He called "seas."
He made the dry land appear! First the earth has no form and is empty. Then there are waters and God moves upon them, separates them, and then calls forth the dry land. Did God stand there and say how awesome it was, how majestic, how creative and ingenious it was? Nope, you guessed it. He saw that it was good. Evidently, He is not a God of exaggeration. It was good. May I one day be as good to Him as that perfect world He created!
Once He has the earth primed and ready, He speaks the word once again and creates. He told the earth to bring forth plants, trees, grass, flowers, vegetation. He called forth the plants that bear seeds, each having their own kind, their own make up. In all His wisdom, knowledge of botany (of course, for He created it), He set in motion even then for a rose to bring forth a rose and an orange to bring forth an orange. Because of the laws of nature that He set in motion, we cannot plant a peach seed and get a pomegranate tree. How much imagination He must have to make so many different types of plants and to encode each of them with their own ability to produce after their own kind!
Once again, God saw that it was good. Not great, not super, it wasn't fantastic. It was good. There was the evening and the morning, and the third day was complete.
Go back to that good part. God created a perfect world from a formless void. I was once like that. I was aimless, without focus, wandering aimlessly with no apparent focus. But then God formed me. He moved over the rivers of my heart and stirred my innermost being. He cleansed me with His flow. He separated my desires, showing me what was good and acceptable, what was for immediate use, and what will be when the time is right. He planted His seed of love in my heart. He put only good seeds inside the fertile ground of my soul to bear fruit in its time, fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, and the like.
I think He enjoys fashioning our hearts, just as He moved over the face of the waters and created the sky. He revels in calling forth the dry land so we can stand firm on His foundation. He loves planting the seeds of His desire in our hearts. For my part, when the day is over, I hope and pray that he will look at me and see that it was good.
I wonder if God felt the same way those first few days of creation. He spent three days dealing with the water on the earth, and I wouldn't be surprised if he held as much joy in his heart creating this world as my children have playing during their bath times.
On the second day of creation, He commanded the earth to have an expanse between the waters to separate the waters from the waters. He gave the Word. And He put in this huge air pocket that surrounds the earth, containing every type of gas that we would need as human beings would need, as well as that which the animals and the plants would need. This expanse He called "sky."
Even now we look up into the sky and can see clouds. What are those clouds? Why, they are the very waters in the clouds as described in Genesis 1:7. They are the waters above the expanse! What happens if they get too heavy with water? It rains. It cannot be contained in the sky any longer, but must come down and join the earth. That's what He created on the second day. There was evening, and there was morning. And this was the second day.
So what happened next? Once again, the Almighty Creator spoke. He called all the water under the sky to be gathered to one place, to be connected, and He said, "Let the dry ground appear." He said it, and once again, it was so. Just like that, He said it, and it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the waters upon the earth He called "seas."
He made the dry land appear! First the earth has no form and is empty. Then there are waters and God moves upon them, separates them, and then calls forth the dry land. Did God stand there and say how awesome it was, how majestic, how creative and ingenious it was? Nope, you guessed it. He saw that it was good. Evidently, He is not a God of exaggeration. It was good. May I one day be as good to Him as that perfect world He created!
Once He has the earth primed and ready, He speaks the word once again and creates. He told the earth to bring forth plants, trees, grass, flowers, vegetation. He called forth the plants that bear seeds, each having their own kind, their own make up. In all His wisdom, knowledge of botany (of course, for He created it), He set in motion even then for a rose to bring forth a rose and an orange to bring forth an orange. Because of the laws of nature that He set in motion, we cannot plant a peach seed and get a pomegranate tree. How much imagination He must have to make so many different types of plants and to encode each of them with their own ability to produce after their own kind!
Once again, God saw that it was good. Not great, not super, it wasn't fantastic. It was good. There was the evening and the morning, and the third day was complete.
Go back to that good part. God created a perfect world from a formless void. I was once like that. I was aimless, without focus, wandering aimlessly with no apparent focus. But then God formed me. He moved over the rivers of my heart and stirred my innermost being. He cleansed me with His flow. He separated my desires, showing me what was good and acceptable, what was for immediate use, and what will be when the time is right. He planted His seed of love in my heart. He put only good seeds inside the fertile ground of my soul to bear fruit in its time, fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, and the like.
I think He enjoys fashioning our hearts, just as He moved over the face of the waters and created the sky. He revels in calling forth the dry land so we can stand firm on His foundation. He loves planting the seeds of His desire in our hearts. For my part, when the day is over, I hope and pray that he will look at me and see that it was good.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Before the Foundation of the World
God is so wonderful! He is majestic and powerful. He is the One Who Was, and Is, and Is to Come. Before the world had life, He was the life. I want us to understand that this Holy God who wants to have a relationship with us is so great that He is the only one who can create something out of the void. He is the true Almighty Creator.
The Bible is divided into two major sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each of these Testaments are divided into books. There are 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the new. Each book is then divided into chapters, much like books today, and then once again divided into verses. Right now, we will focus on the Old Testament. We will begin with the books of Moses, also known as the Pentateuch, or the Torah. The very first book in the Bible is aptly entitled Genesis, which means "beginning." Quite appropriately, that is where we will begin our Bible study. These first couple blogs or so, we will focus on creation itself.
Genesis 1:1 states that, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Before anything else, God was. The earth was not, the heavens were not, just God. And He is very creative and wanted to do something with that creativity. He decided to create the earth and all that surrounds it.
Verse 2 states that "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." God created this earth, but there was not yet any true form to it. It was empty. No light was shed upon it. It was completely dark and barren, but He was just getting started. In fact, the verse goes on to say that "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Looking into the Hebrew, transliterated as raw-khaf (emphasis on the second syllable), the word "moved" means to hover, to brood over, to flutter, to shake. God took an active part in his creation, in forming it just the way He wanted it to be.
One of my favorite verses is also one of the most widely known verses in the Bible, taught in children's church around the world, and even common knowledge to those outside of Christianity. It is verse 3. "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." God said it, and there it was, just like that. It wasn't even a snap of His fingers. He just spoke it into being. In a couple days, we'll be coming back to this verse, because it holds more importance than what we already see here, and it's exciting to realize that God repeats Himself and His plan throughout the Word in such a fantastic way!
God saw that the light was good. He didn't say it was awesome, He didn't pat Himself and tell Himself what a wonderful creator He was; He just looked down and saw that it was good. He doesn't exaggerate; He tells it like it is. To Him, it was good. And He chose to separate the light from the darkness. This is another thing to keep in mind for later. When it was light, there was no darkness. God gave them separate names. He called the light "Day," and He called the darkness "Night." There was evening, and there was morning. That was the first day.
I love how He ends His day in joy, in light. I think we may have it backwards. We say that the day begins with the sunrise, or with our alarm going off in the morning, and that it ends with the sunset, in darkness, in weariness, in going to bed. But it all begins in our weakness, in our weariness, in our understanding that we need His light in our lives, that something is missing. Then He shows up, commands light to appear, and we are refreshed, strengthened, walking joyfully in the perfect path He has chosen for us.
The end of the first day was the dawn of a new era, for it was the beginning of God's Holy revelation to us. He separates light from darkness. Where there is light, there can be no darkness. Shadows only come because something is standing in the way of something and blocking the light from hitting it. But if you remove the obstacle, all things are revealed.
We are called to live in the light, not in the shadows. In the Bible, God says that "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." (Proverbs 4:18) First there was darkness, and then God created the light to shine. As we will discover over the next couple of weeks, we are born into darkness, into sin. But God has such a grand plan for us to be able to come into His light and to receive cleansing from that sin so that only His light will shine in us. He always makes a way and His way is perfect.
The Bible is divided into two major sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each of these Testaments are divided into books. There are 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the new. Each book is then divided into chapters, much like books today, and then once again divided into verses. Right now, we will focus on the Old Testament. We will begin with the books of Moses, also known as the Pentateuch, or the Torah. The very first book in the Bible is aptly entitled Genesis, which means "beginning." Quite appropriately, that is where we will begin our Bible study. These first couple blogs or so, we will focus on creation itself.
Genesis 1:1 states that, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Before anything else, God was. The earth was not, the heavens were not, just God. And He is very creative and wanted to do something with that creativity. He decided to create the earth and all that surrounds it.
Verse 2 states that "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." God created this earth, but there was not yet any true form to it. It was empty. No light was shed upon it. It was completely dark and barren, but He was just getting started. In fact, the verse goes on to say that "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Looking into the Hebrew, transliterated as raw-khaf (emphasis on the second syllable), the word "moved" means to hover, to brood over, to flutter, to shake. God took an active part in his creation, in forming it just the way He wanted it to be.
One of my favorite verses is also one of the most widely known verses in the Bible, taught in children's church around the world, and even common knowledge to those outside of Christianity. It is verse 3. "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." God said it, and there it was, just like that. It wasn't even a snap of His fingers. He just spoke it into being. In a couple days, we'll be coming back to this verse, because it holds more importance than what we already see here, and it's exciting to realize that God repeats Himself and His plan throughout the Word in such a fantastic way!
God saw that the light was good. He didn't say it was awesome, He didn't pat Himself and tell Himself what a wonderful creator He was; He just looked down and saw that it was good. He doesn't exaggerate; He tells it like it is. To Him, it was good. And He chose to separate the light from the darkness. This is another thing to keep in mind for later. When it was light, there was no darkness. God gave them separate names. He called the light "Day," and He called the darkness "Night." There was evening, and there was morning. That was the first day.
I love how He ends His day in joy, in light. I think we may have it backwards. We say that the day begins with the sunrise, or with our alarm going off in the morning, and that it ends with the sunset, in darkness, in weariness, in going to bed. But it all begins in our weakness, in our weariness, in our understanding that we need His light in our lives, that something is missing. Then He shows up, commands light to appear, and we are refreshed, strengthened, walking joyfully in the perfect path He has chosen for us.
The end of the first day was the dawn of a new era, for it was the beginning of God's Holy revelation to us. He separates light from darkness. Where there is light, there can be no darkness. Shadows only come because something is standing in the way of something and blocking the light from hitting it. But if you remove the obstacle, all things are revealed.
We are called to live in the light, not in the shadows. In the Bible, God says that "the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." (Proverbs 4:18) First there was darkness, and then God created the light to shine. As we will discover over the next couple of weeks, we are born into darkness, into sin. But God has such a grand plan for us to be able to come into His light and to receive cleansing from that sin so that only His light will shine in us. He always makes a way and His way is perfect.
Monday, August 1, 2011
In The Beginning
All things must have a beginning. Children are born, eggs are hatched, flowers grow from a seed. This blog is a new beginning for me, flowing from my heart to yours. I don't know how many will read this or keep up with it, but I do know that it stems from a desire to know God more every day, to see His beauty and understand His character through His Word, the Bible, through creation, and through everyday circumstances where He reveals a little more to us.
To begin, I will let you know that I am a strong believer in, and I am convinced, that the Holy Bible is the true inspired Word of God. Throughout history, He used around 40 authors to pen this Scripture to us. Though there are several different translations, they all stem from the heart of the true understanding that God's Word is infallible, unchanging, absolute truth. There is no question in my mind that what He says in His word stands firm. When I study the Word of God, I like to take a look at the translations of the original words in Greek and Hebrew that are used in order to get a deeper understanding of what He conveys to us.
I understand that some of you may not fully believe this or understand it, but it is my desire to help us all comprehend this mysterious book and the almighty Creator who brought it to life. If you wish to continue this journey with me, then please, join in, have a seat, and by all means, examine the scriptures for yourself to see if what is said here bears witness to the truth. We'll start in the book of Genesis, where it all begins, and work our way through. It may not be a straight barrage through; we may skip around a bit and focus on different topics, but we will research the Word of God and see what He has to teach us through His Word. That is the meaning of the blog's title. Let's enter into His territory and discover Who He is so that we can serve Him, so that we can learn to love others as He loves us, so that we can discover and behold what manner of love the Father has given to us that we should be called sons (and daughters) of God.
To begin, I will let you know that I am a strong believer in, and I am convinced, that the Holy Bible is the true inspired Word of God. Throughout history, He used around 40 authors to pen this Scripture to us. Though there are several different translations, they all stem from the heart of the true understanding that God's Word is infallible, unchanging, absolute truth. There is no question in my mind that what He says in His word stands firm. When I study the Word of God, I like to take a look at the translations of the original words in Greek and Hebrew that are used in order to get a deeper understanding of what He conveys to us.
I understand that some of you may not fully believe this or understand it, but it is my desire to help us all comprehend this mysterious book and the almighty Creator who brought it to life. If you wish to continue this journey with me, then please, join in, have a seat, and by all means, examine the scriptures for yourself to see if what is said here bears witness to the truth. We'll start in the book of Genesis, where it all begins, and work our way through. It may not be a straight barrage through; we may skip around a bit and focus on different topics, but we will research the Word of God and see what He has to teach us through His Word. That is the meaning of the blog's title. Let's enter into His territory and discover Who He is so that we can serve Him, so that we can learn to love others as He loves us, so that we can discover and behold what manner of love the Father has given to us that we should be called sons (and daughters) of God.
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