The Word of life had spoken the universe into existence. The world flourished with life because He opened His mouth and it was so. He caused life to spring forth into being using nothing but His imagination.
The precious hand stretched forth and lovingly sculpted a man into whom God breathed His own life. The heartbeat of Heaven started the life flow of Adam. The Light of creation saw that all was good with one exception: man was alone on the earth, while all the other other living, moving creature came in pairs.
Once man saw that something was absent in his life, God was able to go to work. He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and then reached into his side and took a rib. For the final time in the week of beginnings, God used His hand to form a new creation. God created woman.
isn't it interesting that God put Adam to sleep? Not only that, but the Bible says that God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. This guy was out for the count. He was not waking up until God said so. God could have done this with Adam awake and let him see how He was taking care of Adam's dilemma. Or could He?
God made sure Adam could not interfere with His work. He kept Adam from giving input as to what he wanted for a companion. God, in His vast wisdom, already knew what Adam needed, and He didn't need his input.
There was no,"God, can you make her a little rounder? How about some curves here? Wait a second, that is not what I had in mind. She looks different. How about some purple right there?" There was simply the innocent ignorance that God was already at work in the final stages of His creation.
God could have taken any part of Adam's body to form this woman. The DNA was inside every cell, but God chose to reach into Adam's side, take out a rib, and close that baby back up. He knew what He was doing.
God has a reason for each thing He does. Ecclesiastes 3 states that there is a time and a purpose for every thing under the heavens. The rib was no exception. Think about the rib.
The rib is bone, filled with marrow. It is firm, durable, strong. Bone supports us; it carries the burden of our weight. Bone helps keep us in line and in shape. Bone is a line of defense. Bone is filled with blood which contains antibodies to protect our body from harm. It is not invulnerable or solid; there is delicacy inside.
Ribs not only keep us straight so we can walk. The main purpose of our ribs is, specifically, to be a guardian, a fortress. The ribs keep things in place, help hold us together, and provide defense against forces both internal and external.
Our ribs protect organs that we cannot live without. They protect the heart which beats with the blood that supplies oxygen, minerals, nutrients, and as I stated before, tiny little soldiers that fight for our health when our bodies have been invaded. The ribs protect the lungs, which are the only means we have to gather the oxygen we need to survive and to expel gases we do not. The ribs surround these vital organs, wrapping around them like arms in a gentle embrace to shield them from harm. Without them we would be much more susceptible to the dangers of our environment.
God purposed for woman to come from the side of man, from this important bone, to be at his side. When Adam awoke, God brought her to him and said that it was "for this reason" for the woman created for him, "shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife." That is because woman was created to take spiritual qualities like those of a rib in order to protect him, nurture him, support him, and to help carry his burden.
Adam took one look at his new wife and recognized her, somehow, some way. He said, without preamble, "this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh." He called her woman or, as I like to say, "Whoa, man!" He was reunited with a part of him that had been missing and was now complete. And God saw that it was, get this, a first here, not just good. "And God saw that it was very good."
Friday, October 7, 2016
Thursday, September 29, 2016
He Supplies our Needs
God had created the perfect world, the solar system itself, even, perfectly so that it contained every single physical property that this new creature called Man could survive. He even gave this man a name, Adam. God gave Adam the sun and the moon and the stars. He placed the man in the middle of a garden paradise with a pool into which four great rivers ran. He gave Adam fruit trees and plants. He even showed Adam the animals.
Then God did something amazing. He placed His trust in Adam. God told Adam to take dominion over the earth, to care for the earth and it's creatures. God created this entire world and handed it over to this brand new creation to take it and be responsible for it.
Adam was even in charge of giving them their names. As he wondered at their beauty, he began to notice a pattern. There they were, male and female of every creature. He watched them and cared for them, seeing how each animal had another that complemented it. Every living, moving creation had a mate, he saw, every single one, except him.
See, God did not forget about Adam. God had a special purpose, for He always does things in a perfect orderly fashion. Everything else to this point had been to meet Adam's needs, those needs he had no idea were there and would not have known how to recognize them. Yet here, God once again chose His timing for the next creation.
As The Almighty Creator parades Adam's charges in front of him, male and female and has Adam name them, it is here that all of a sudden Adam realizes something might be missing from his life. He is perhaps able to get a glimpse of an understanding of why God created him to begin with, for he feels lonely. His heart begins to understand the desire for fellowship.
Why do I say that? God states clearly that, "it is not good for man to be alone." But why is that? It is the first time that He says something is not good. A piece of the puzzle is still missing. Does not God always give us what we need? Yes. Does He always give it before we need it? No, He does not.
Sometimes, as in the atmosphere and the sun, God grants what we need beforehand because we are not aware of any need and are incapable of expressing what it is that we need. Then again, there are clearly times that God waits until we begin to recognize that need as well. Perhaps it is because we will be more appreciative when He grants it to us.
Sometimes, as in the atmosphere and the sun, God grants what we need beforehand because we are not aware of any need and are incapable of expressing what it is that we need. Then again, there are clearly times that God waits until we begin to recognize that need as well. Perhaps it is because we will be more appreciative when He grants it to us.
It is in that moment that God truly does grant us our hearts' desires. He does this by allowing us to recognize our need and placing that desire inside. Then He takes that desire and fulfills it in His perfect time.
Psalm 37:3-5, my favorite verses, say, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou shalt dwell in the land, and verily( truly) shalt thou be fed. Delight thyself in the LORD with all thine heart and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way to the LORD; trust also in him, and He shall bring it to pass."
Adam was dwelling in a garden paradise. He was eating the savory fruit, enjoying God's creation, and walking in obedience by naming the animals. He had been commanded to care for the earth and he was doing just that when he realized that there was no companion of his kind. Walking in God's way was the catalyst for realizing a need. That, my friend, is where we begin to see that He is not only a God of perfection, but a God of relationship as well.
Psalm 37:3-5, my favorite verses, say, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou shalt dwell in the land, and verily( truly) shalt thou be fed. Delight thyself in the LORD with all thine heart and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way to the LORD; trust also in him, and He shall bring it to pass."
Adam was dwelling in a garden paradise. He was eating the savory fruit, enjoying God's creation, and walking in obedience by naming the animals. He had been commanded to care for the earth and he was doing just that when he realized that there was no companion of his kind. Walking in God's way was the catalyst for realizing a need. That, my friend, is where we begin to see that He is not only a God of perfection, but a God of relationship as well.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
The Father Heart of God
I know that I've been terribly silent here for quite some time. Every time I go to write, something seems off or something happens. For whatever reason, it's stayed where it is, just waiting, it seems, for the moment of reckoning or rebirth. I can't explain it, but I'd rather let the page remain void than to write something senseless that has no depth or truth held within. Though I stray from the Bible study itself, I feel compelled to speak of something. Now I feel like the words are tripping over themselves to be released, and I could not contain my thoughts even if I tried.
As I sit in the silence of the early morning ere the house is awake, I am alert, entranced by the great love of our God, by His Son, by His Holy Spirit that yearns for us and calls to us. I've gone through a year of revelation of the Father. I would say that it feels awkward, though it no longer does, because I have grown up in the church. I have grown up with a love for Jesus. I have felt the Holy Spirit's sweetness when He calls to me. But the Father I had shut out, closed the door of my own prison, locked myself in and therefore, him out of the depths of my heart.
I thought that the love for the Son was enough. I felt that because of His sacrifice that I could go boldly through the Son and let Him go to the Father. After all, that is what He does for us, intercedes for us before the Father. I knew that nothing could separate me from the love of Christ and I held onto that with every fiber of my being. I listened for the Spirit's call and His whispers to me. But I openly admit that I ran from the Father.
How can this be? It's a conundrum at the very least, an oxymoron in fact, and an impossibility in full. True, His grace was sufficient to help me along the way when I was not strong enough to stand a Father's heart. He still held fast to me, but I was missing out on so much because of my insecurities, my fears. God has so much for us if we will just let him in, not in part, but the whole.
I know I spoke earlier of the fact that all three aspects of God were involved in the creation of this world and of man. He longs to communicate to us through each aspect, because we have much to learn from Him. And to reject any facet of His character was to reject His love. Amazing grace and mercy that He has, He did not condemn me for this. Oh, no. Rather, He reminds me that a physician does not come for the healthy, but for the sick and wounded.
That is what we all are, wounded. But His great compassion reaches down and heals us as we let Him. Only this past year have I begun to allow the relationship of Father-Daughter to really develop.
As a child, I understood the whole big brother Jesus thing. My own older brother was a shining example to me once. We were living in some apartments when I was around 6 years old, when a big bully (probably in actuality around 10 years old) stood in front of me on the sidewalk and wouldn't let me pass. My brother happened to be there at the time. Without a word from me, my brother, a whole 19 months older than I was, stood there between the bully and I. I'll never forget the words my brother uttered to that boy, at least a half foot taller than he.
"If you're going to mess with my sister, you'll have to go through me first!" He crossed his arms over his chest and just stood there, a rock. It was only moments before the older boy just looked at Tony and moved out of the way and allowed us to pass. It wasn't even a street. It was just a sidewalk within the courtyard of the apartments, but my brother had dug in his heels and wasn't going to be trifled with.
Any time I've thought of Jesus, I picture that image that has been printed in my memory of a big brother who stands up to the bully and says to move it or else. Jesus fought for us. He literally battled. He was bruised and battered. He was wounded. He was whipped, beaten, and scarred so that the bully who was standing between me and my path would be removed. And he won! What a brother! We can do all things through Him, He fought our battles, giving us the victory, and we are joint heirs with Him.
But the Father was distant, there on the throne, more listening to Jesus than anything else, and didn't want to be bothered with what I wanted. Sure, He reached out to me, but I wasn't to ask for anything. I was supposed to be a good little girl and be quiet to him and direct my questions and prayers to the Holy Spirit, occasionally going to the Father. But I was to refer to Him as, "God," or "LORD" or "Heavenly Father." The last one was especially good because it was the correct form of distant respect. He's up there and I'm down here.
WHAT A BUNCH OF POPPYCOCK! That whole last paragraph....is a LIE that I fell for hook, line, and sinker! Nothing could be further from the truth! The Bible says that God delights in His children. He longs to give us the desires of our hearts. He longs to hear our prayers. God desires that no one should perish. God's Father heart is LOVE...and I was missing out on that all accepting, all encompassing, incomprehensible love that none can bestow like He.
I had this vision of myself locked in a dungeon with high mortar walls around it. But I held the key. Jesus came to me and wanted to unlock the door but I refused to hand over the key because I knew the key would be handed over to the Father and that scared me to pieces! I had rather lived in that dark cell than give the key to the deepest places of my heart to the one who loves me more than life itself, for He IS love!
I realized my view of the Father was skewed, but I didn't know what to do except I finally came to the conclusion that I could trust Jesus...He was the brother who would protect me from the bully. I gave him the key to unlock my cell door. When I escaped, the wall was still there, and there was a door. I knew that behind that door was the Father. I was absolutely terrified of opening the door, but Jesus eventually coaxed me to the door. He opened it for me.
He actually asked me if He could lead me to the Father, to take His hand. I had held Jesus' hand all my life, even sat in His lap, but the Father? At that time, I had no trust in Him...it was all in Jesus, the brother who sacrificed his life for me. When I was ready, Jesus walked me over to the Father, who was sitting at a desk. With trembling body, I allowed myself to be led to Him. I allowed Jesus to place my hand in the Father's.
What happened next exploded beyond all comprehension and reasoning and yet...and yet...As Jesus placed my hand in the Father's, Jesus' hand itself molded into the Father's and he sat in the Father's seat, molding into him as he sat. It was the first time I truly grasped the concept that the Father and the Son are one. Wonderment filled my entire being as I watched in awe of this transfiguration, as it were. All of a sudden, all my fears just fled in surprise.
Here was the One whom my soul loved more than life itself and I had hid myself from Him! I sat in his lap and was hit by waves of peace. In my spirit, it seemed I wept for hours for all the hurt and the pain and the fear and the loss of having been seemingly without Him for so long, the Longing of my heart was the one who I had feared and yet loved with a passion like no other, yet they were One. I felt like I truly breathed for the first time. The pain of the breath of Life Himself was so great and so sweet, so gentle, so pure. How did I ever survive without that pure oxygen?
There are days that I feel the old fears knocking at my door, telling me to watch out. But I see in my mind's eye where the Father and Son became one right before my eyes and the fears flee once again. I never before comprehended that Perfect Love casts out all fears. But they just vanished, like a sigh on the wind, melting away. Holding that image in my mind leaves no room for anything else. I just breathe, sweet inhalation deep and penetrating ever fiber.
I woke up yesterday morning to a song, one I had never before heard nor sung, yet it reverberated in my mind until I had to express this new music bubbling up within me. For it was beautiful in fact that I no longer live under the shadow of fear. The Father loves me! I don't know who this is for, but He loves you oh so very much more than you can ever imagine, beyond life itself, past time and above the horizon. through all the pain and hurt, longing to chase away the shadows and to bring you sweet, sweet hope and peace.
PROOF
Why do you think that I don't care?
Why do you think I'm not involved in what you do each day?
Oh my child
And why do you think that I'm just mad?
Why do you think that I won't come when your skies are grey?
Why are you so afraid
To reach out your hand
I'll carry you from these wretched wasted lands
Just call my name from this sinking sand
I'll fight for you and help you to stand
O don't you know I love you so
Much deeper than you'll ever know, Oh won't you let me in?
Precious One
I long to fill your empty parts
To reach down to your wounded heart and to heal your pain
Don't be afraid
To reach out your hand
I'll carry you from these wretched wasted lands
Just call my name
From this sinking sand
I'l fight for you and help you to stand
I'm waiting here with my open arms
Waiting for your word
I'll lift you up, show you wondrous things
You've never seen or heard
Just take a leap of faith
Reach out your hand
I'll carry you~take you to your promised land
On eagle's wings
You'll soar with me
I'll give you peace..Forever you will stand
As I sit in the silence of the early morning ere the house is awake, I am alert, entranced by the great love of our God, by His Son, by His Holy Spirit that yearns for us and calls to us. I've gone through a year of revelation of the Father. I would say that it feels awkward, though it no longer does, because I have grown up in the church. I have grown up with a love for Jesus. I have felt the Holy Spirit's sweetness when He calls to me. But the Father I had shut out, closed the door of my own prison, locked myself in and therefore, him out of the depths of my heart.
I thought that the love for the Son was enough. I felt that because of His sacrifice that I could go boldly through the Son and let Him go to the Father. After all, that is what He does for us, intercedes for us before the Father. I knew that nothing could separate me from the love of Christ and I held onto that with every fiber of my being. I listened for the Spirit's call and His whispers to me. But I openly admit that I ran from the Father.
How can this be? It's a conundrum at the very least, an oxymoron in fact, and an impossibility in full. True, His grace was sufficient to help me along the way when I was not strong enough to stand a Father's heart. He still held fast to me, but I was missing out on so much because of my insecurities, my fears. God has so much for us if we will just let him in, not in part, but the whole.
I know I spoke earlier of the fact that all three aspects of God were involved in the creation of this world and of man. He longs to communicate to us through each aspect, because we have much to learn from Him. And to reject any facet of His character was to reject His love. Amazing grace and mercy that He has, He did not condemn me for this. Oh, no. Rather, He reminds me that a physician does not come for the healthy, but for the sick and wounded.
That is what we all are, wounded. But His great compassion reaches down and heals us as we let Him. Only this past year have I begun to allow the relationship of Father-Daughter to really develop.
As a child, I understood the whole big brother Jesus thing. My own older brother was a shining example to me once. We were living in some apartments when I was around 6 years old, when a big bully (probably in actuality around 10 years old) stood in front of me on the sidewalk and wouldn't let me pass. My brother happened to be there at the time. Without a word from me, my brother, a whole 19 months older than I was, stood there between the bully and I. I'll never forget the words my brother uttered to that boy, at least a half foot taller than he.
"If you're going to mess with my sister, you'll have to go through me first!" He crossed his arms over his chest and just stood there, a rock. It was only moments before the older boy just looked at Tony and moved out of the way and allowed us to pass. It wasn't even a street. It was just a sidewalk within the courtyard of the apartments, but my brother had dug in his heels and wasn't going to be trifled with.
Any time I've thought of Jesus, I picture that image that has been printed in my memory of a big brother who stands up to the bully and says to move it or else. Jesus fought for us. He literally battled. He was bruised and battered. He was wounded. He was whipped, beaten, and scarred so that the bully who was standing between me and my path would be removed. And he won! What a brother! We can do all things through Him, He fought our battles, giving us the victory, and we are joint heirs with Him.
But the Father was distant, there on the throne, more listening to Jesus than anything else, and didn't want to be bothered with what I wanted. Sure, He reached out to me, but I wasn't to ask for anything. I was supposed to be a good little girl and be quiet to him and direct my questions and prayers to the Holy Spirit, occasionally going to the Father. But I was to refer to Him as, "God," or "LORD" or "Heavenly Father." The last one was especially good because it was the correct form of distant respect. He's up there and I'm down here.
WHAT A BUNCH OF POPPYCOCK! That whole last paragraph....is a LIE that I fell for hook, line, and sinker! Nothing could be further from the truth! The Bible says that God delights in His children. He longs to give us the desires of our hearts. He longs to hear our prayers. God desires that no one should perish. God's Father heart is LOVE...and I was missing out on that all accepting, all encompassing, incomprehensible love that none can bestow like He.
I had this vision of myself locked in a dungeon with high mortar walls around it. But I held the key. Jesus came to me and wanted to unlock the door but I refused to hand over the key because I knew the key would be handed over to the Father and that scared me to pieces! I had rather lived in that dark cell than give the key to the deepest places of my heart to the one who loves me more than life itself, for He IS love!
I realized my view of the Father was skewed, but I didn't know what to do except I finally came to the conclusion that I could trust Jesus...He was the brother who would protect me from the bully. I gave him the key to unlock my cell door. When I escaped, the wall was still there, and there was a door. I knew that behind that door was the Father. I was absolutely terrified of opening the door, but Jesus eventually coaxed me to the door. He opened it for me.
He actually asked me if He could lead me to the Father, to take His hand. I had held Jesus' hand all my life, even sat in His lap, but the Father? At that time, I had no trust in Him...it was all in Jesus, the brother who sacrificed his life for me. When I was ready, Jesus walked me over to the Father, who was sitting at a desk. With trembling body, I allowed myself to be led to Him. I allowed Jesus to place my hand in the Father's.
What happened next exploded beyond all comprehension and reasoning and yet...and yet...As Jesus placed my hand in the Father's, Jesus' hand itself molded into the Father's and he sat in the Father's seat, molding into him as he sat. It was the first time I truly grasped the concept that the Father and the Son are one. Wonderment filled my entire being as I watched in awe of this transfiguration, as it were. All of a sudden, all my fears just fled in surprise.
Here was the One whom my soul loved more than life itself and I had hid myself from Him! I sat in his lap and was hit by waves of peace. In my spirit, it seemed I wept for hours for all the hurt and the pain and the fear and the loss of having been seemingly without Him for so long, the Longing of my heart was the one who I had feared and yet loved with a passion like no other, yet they were One. I felt like I truly breathed for the first time. The pain of the breath of Life Himself was so great and so sweet, so gentle, so pure. How did I ever survive without that pure oxygen?
There are days that I feel the old fears knocking at my door, telling me to watch out. But I see in my mind's eye where the Father and Son became one right before my eyes and the fears flee once again. I never before comprehended that Perfect Love casts out all fears. But they just vanished, like a sigh on the wind, melting away. Holding that image in my mind leaves no room for anything else. I just breathe, sweet inhalation deep and penetrating ever fiber.
I woke up yesterday morning to a song, one I had never before heard nor sung, yet it reverberated in my mind until I had to express this new music bubbling up within me. For it was beautiful in fact that I no longer live under the shadow of fear. The Father loves me! I don't know who this is for, but He loves you oh so very much more than you can ever imagine, beyond life itself, past time and above the horizon. through all the pain and hurt, longing to chase away the shadows and to bring you sweet, sweet hope and peace.
PROOF
Why do you think that I don't care?
Why do you think I'm not involved in what you do each day?
Oh my child
And why do you think that I'm just mad?
Why do you think that I won't come when your skies are grey?
Why are you so afraid
To reach out your hand
I'll carry you from these wretched wasted lands
Just call my name from this sinking sand
I'll fight for you and help you to stand
O don't you know I love you so
Much deeper than you'll ever know, Oh won't you let me in?
Precious One
I long to fill your empty parts
To reach down to your wounded heart and to heal your pain
Don't be afraid
To reach out your hand
I'll carry you from these wretched wasted lands
Just call my name
From this sinking sand
I'l fight for you and help you to stand
I'm waiting here with my open arms
Waiting for your word
I'll lift you up, show you wondrous things
You've never seen or heard
Just take a leap of faith
Reach out your hand
I'll carry you~take you to your promised land
On eagle's wings
You'll soar with me
I'll give you peace..Forever you will stand
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Breath of Heaven
Things don't always happen in the timing we think they should. In fact, we often find ourselves just waiting for that big moment to occur, impatient for whatever will be. We realize that something is coming and we do not know why it is not yet here. Often we are just unaware of the greater picture. We only see our part in it. If we are not personally active, we may feel as if we have failed, that the pieces are not fitting together because of something we have missed. Perhaps it is not that we have failed, but that we have not yet realized that not all the preparations have been made.
God managed to do something in 6 days that the rest of the universe has spent thousands of years trying to do: pure creation from absolutely nothing but pure love. I am amazed that He did spend most of that time just preparing the way so that humanity could thrive. Without any elements previously created, man would not be able to survive. Then, and only then, would He place man on this earth.
Tenderly, carefully, God took the dust of the earth into His hands. Carbon, zinc, calcium, potassium, magnesium, water, and countless other minerals and substances He lovingly caressed into the mold of one who would be the father of a world for generations to come. Forming every intricate detail, God possibly pondered all that would transpire through the ages, knowing even then the joy and heartache the human race would bring. The body was created, the hair, the nails. The shell was ready. Now all that was left was the spirit of life itself.
In previous acts of creation, the Holy Trinity spoke, moved, and formed. But this time, it would be a part of Himself that would go into this being made by His love. Before He stooped over the flesh, God saw the betrayal that was to come. God the Father and God the Son knew that with the next instant's motion, the plan of the Cross would be set in motion. He knew of the sacrifice yet to be done. He knew of the millions that would reject Him and of the ones who would receive Him. He weighed the costs. Then He knelt down over the mouth of the man, opened it to breathe His own life into it, and He blew.
God managed to do something in 6 days that the rest of the universe has spent thousands of years trying to do: pure creation from absolutely nothing but pure love. I am amazed that He did spend most of that time just preparing the way so that humanity could thrive. Without any elements previously created, man would not be able to survive. Then, and only then, would He place man on this earth.
Tenderly, carefully, God took the dust of the earth into His hands. Carbon, zinc, calcium, potassium, magnesium, water, and countless other minerals and substances He lovingly caressed into the mold of one who would be the father of a world for generations to come. Forming every intricate detail, God possibly pondered all that would transpire through the ages, knowing even then the joy and heartache the human race would bring. The body was created, the hair, the nails. The shell was ready. Now all that was left was the spirit of life itself.
In previous acts of creation, the Holy Trinity spoke, moved, and formed. But this time, it would be a part of Himself that would go into this being made by His love. Before He stooped over the flesh, God saw the betrayal that was to come. God the Father and God the Son knew that with the next instant's motion, the plan of the Cross would be set in motion. He knew of the sacrifice yet to be done. He knew of the millions that would reject Him and of the ones who would receive Him. He weighed the costs. Then He knelt down over the mouth of the man, opened it to breathe His own life into it, and He blew.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Bond of Love
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."
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."
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.
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