Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16,17
What a simple command. This wasn't an entire tablet of laws. It was but one requirement that God laid upon man at the beginning. It wasn't too complicated to understand nor was it too difficult to accomplish. One thing alone was necessary. Make no mistake, it was necessary and it was a definite command. There was no "wiggle room" here. There was no exception to the rule. Nor were there circumstances that could be imagined where a "greater good" would be served by disobeying the command.
However, this was also far more than a command given directly by God the Creator. It was also a test of wills. The question being tested here was this; Would man obey His Creator God simply on the basis of God's say so? Would, man accept God's Word as the authority, or would man instead evaluate the command as to whether or not it would benefit him, or restrict him too much, or whether or not he believed God had a good enough reason to command this? Would man accept God's Word as authority over his own will?
God was generous in this command. He did not restrict man in any other area of life. Freedom was virtually unlimited. The man was given permission to dine from any other tree in the entire garden or "orchard." Every fruit in unheard of abundance was available.
In addition, however, a warning was given. Should man choose to defy God, there would be consequences to pay. So we have both a positive aspect to the command (all else than this was open) and a negative aspect (severe punishment would follow disobedience). The decision is left with man.
Is that not how it is even today? We are given abundance of choices of good, and usually presented with alternate bad choices as well. The decision is left with us whether or not we will do what we know is right, submit to God, or follow our own will. From the moment we awake in the morning to when we lay down to sleep, this is our challenge of life.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Monday, December 17, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The "Curse" of Work?
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Genesis 2:15
Many people question the idea that heaven would be a "good" place because they believe it would be "boring" to sit around on clouds playing harps for eternity. First of all, heaven is never described that way in the Bible. It is one of many cultural myths about Christianity which exist among the biblically illiterate. In this verse, I hope we can dispense with another such myth, the myth that work was part of God's punishment for sin.
This verse is clear. Work was God's idea for the better health of His prize creation, man. Man was given specific duties to work the garden. The word used meant work in a general sense, but here it meant to "dress" the garden or even to "serve" the needs of the garden. God planted the garden. It was man's duty to both work it, and to "keep" it. The word translated to "keep" meant generally to "protect" or "attend to" the garden itself. He was to be a tender of those plants for both the sake of their existence and for his continued existence. The first man was to be the grand gardener in the most spectacular of gardens. Flowers, trees, fruits and vegetables of untold beauty and productiveness. It was the man's work to "keep" what God had begun by the creation of the Garden of Eden. Man was to be the "caretaker" of the piece of God's creation where he lived. That is how it was to be then. That is still how it is today.
Your joyfully loquacious believer
LEE
Many people question the idea that heaven would be a "good" place because they believe it would be "boring" to sit around on clouds playing harps for eternity. First of all, heaven is never described that way in the Bible. It is one of many cultural myths about Christianity which exist among the biblically illiterate. In this verse, I hope we can dispense with another such myth, the myth that work was part of God's punishment for sin.
This verse is clear. Work was God's idea for the better health of His prize creation, man. Man was given specific duties to work the garden. The word used meant work in a general sense, but here it meant to "dress" the garden or even to "serve" the needs of the garden. God planted the garden. It was man's duty to both work it, and to "keep" it. The word translated to "keep" meant generally to "protect" or "attend to" the garden itself. He was to be a tender of those plants for both the sake of their existence and for his continued existence. The first man was to be the grand gardener in the most spectacular of gardens. Flowers, trees, fruits and vegetables of untold beauty and productiveness. It was the man's work to "keep" what God had begun by the creation of the Garden of Eden. Man was to be the "caretaker" of the piece of God's creation where he lived. That is how it was to be then. That is still how it is today.
Your joyfully loquacious believer
LEE
Friday, November 30, 2007
God Will Provide
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. Genesis 2:8-10
God is now providing everything necessary for His creation to be able to survive and thrive as a living being. The garden of Eden was a real, physical place at this time. It was literally a paradise on earth. In fact, the word for this garden in the Greek version of the Old Testament is paradeison, the word we get our English word paradise from. God made sure that all the senses of man were going to be engaged in wonderful sensing in this place. Notice how the trees were not only "good for food," but also were made, "pleasant to the sight." And not just one or two or three trees were provided, but "every tree" that could bear incredibly edible fruit! He also saw to it that the man would never have to worry about devising and maintaining irrigation. God created the irrigation of one large water source which divided into four rivers to provide abundant water for this special garden.
The love of God is shown to His finest and highest creation with this perfect provision for the physical part of man. He will provide later for the emotional and spiritual parts of man as well, but that is for another piece. Know here that God is beginning a work that He has never stopped. He is making sure that man has the best provisions available to himself.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
God is now providing everything necessary for His creation to be able to survive and thrive as a living being. The garden of Eden was a real, physical place at this time. It was literally a paradise on earth. In fact, the word for this garden in the Greek version of the Old Testament is paradeison, the word we get our English word paradise from. God made sure that all the senses of man were going to be engaged in wonderful sensing in this place. Notice how the trees were not only "good for food," but also were made, "pleasant to the sight." And not just one or two or three trees were provided, but "every tree" that could bear incredibly edible fruit! He also saw to it that the man would never have to worry about devising and maintaining irrigation. God created the irrigation of one large water source which divided into four rivers to provide abundant water for this special garden.
The love of God is shown to His finest and highest creation with this perfect provision for the physical part of man. He will provide later for the emotional and spiritual parts of man as well, but that is for another piece. Know here that God is beginning a work that He has never stopped. He is making sure that man has the best provisions available to himself.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Great Potter forms His Clay
Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed unto his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Gen. 2:7
In this passage we will find it useful to look at the original language so that we can get a more accurate picture of what is being given to us by God here. The word that is translated ,"dust" is a Hebrew word which does mean dust, but it also can mean "clay, earth, or mud." This gives us a better picture of what the word "formed" means, because it is strongly suggested that God is acting as a potter shaping His clay into the form He desires. Thus, man is not created as solidified sand, as a hardened form that is unchangeable. He is molded as clay that God, and God alone, can remold into a person of new life, as the New Testament speaks of. God is sovereign over the form of every person, physically as well as mentally and spiritually. In fact, the spiritual "molding" of the Great Potter is far more significant in our lives than anything else. That is what God does when we are re-created by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
It says here also that God "breathed" into man "the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." God's breath is the breath of the Spirit. In the NT, when we come to Jesus by faith that He died to pay the penalty for our sin, rose again from the dead and is coming again, we become a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). God makes us into a new "living creature," which will live forever in soul, and eventually will have a newly formed and perfected body after Christ's return (1 Corinthians 15:35 ff.).
At this point, the man is first created just as God wants, and the man is in a sinless state. He is directly from God's hand, and there is no blot in him. Now we must understand that the man is not perfect and complete, as we shall see later. It simply means that the man is clean and pure of body and heart and soul. We need to understand this, because this is also what happens to the new believer in Christ. He or she is not made perfect, but that one is made pure and clean of heart and soul. And just like the first man, the ability to choose to sin is intact in the new believer as well. God understands this and provides, just as we will see He provided for the first human beings as well. For now, we see that the Potter has formed man from His clay, and molded him and made him alive. Each of us has our starting point with God's "molding" and making us alive with His "breath".
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
In this passage we will find it useful to look at the original language so that we can get a more accurate picture of what is being given to us by God here. The word that is translated ,"dust" is a Hebrew word which does mean dust, but it also can mean "clay, earth, or mud." This gives us a better picture of what the word "formed" means, because it is strongly suggested that God is acting as a potter shaping His clay into the form He desires. Thus, man is not created as solidified sand, as a hardened form that is unchangeable. He is molded as clay that God, and God alone, can remold into a person of new life, as the New Testament speaks of. God is sovereign over the form of every person, physically as well as mentally and spiritually. In fact, the spiritual "molding" of the Great Potter is far more significant in our lives than anything else. That is what God does when we are re-created by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
It says here also that God "breathed" into man "the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." God's breath is the breath of the Spirit. In the NT, when we come to Jesus by faith that He died to pay the penalty for our sin, rose again from the dead and is coming again, we become a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). God makes us into a new "living creature," which will live forever in soul, and eventually will have a newly formed and perfected body after Christ's return (1 Corinthians 15:35 ff.).
At this point, the man is first created just as God wants, and the man is in a sinless state. He is directly from God's hand, and there is no blot in him. Now we must understand that the man is not perfect and complete, as we shall see later. It simply means that the man is clean and pure of body and heart and soul. We need to understand this, because this is also what happens to the new believer in Christ. He or she is not made perfect, but that one is made pure and clean of heart and soul. And just like the first man, the ability to choose to sin is intact in the new believer as well. God understands this and provides, just as we will see He provided for the first human beings as well. For now, we see that the Potter has formed man from His clay, and molded him and made him alive. Each of us has our starting point with God's "molding" and making us alive with His "breath".
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Monday, November 12, 2007
Preparing a Place for Us
Genesis 2:4-6 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up -- for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground
Here we have the beginning of what some have called a "second" account of creation. However, though there are sharp differences from Genesis 1:1-2:3, these verses from 2:4 and through the beginning of chapter 3, nowhere contradict the "first" account. The idea that these are two mutually exclusive accounts of creation is the fruit of a liberal view that denies the Word of God came from God at all. It is the rejection of a truly Christian, faith-based, biblical worldview, and instead the acceptance of a humanist, critical, liberal worldview which believes the first duty of a biblical interpreter is to question the text rather than to search for meaning. What is happening here is no more complicated than God giving a more detailed account of creation that centers on the creation of human beings.
One of the things that we see here is the preparation of a place that God would prepare especially for His creation. When, in verses 5 and 6, it is described that there was "no bush of the field yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up..." the entire earth was not being described. It was instead, as the context will show, that God was describing the place He would establish as the ultimate paradise on earth for human beings to live in.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Here we have the beginning of what some have called a "second" account of creation. However, though there are sharp differences from Genesis 1:1-2:3, these verses from 2:4 and through the beginning of chapter 3, nowhere contradict the "first" account. The idea that these are two mutually exclusive accounts of creation is the fruit of a liberal view that denies the Word of God came from God at all. It is the rejection of a truly Christian, faith-based, biblical worldview, and instead the acceptance of a humanist, critical, liberal worldview which believes the first duty of a biblical interpreter is to question the text rather than to search for meaning. What is happening here is no more complicated than God giving a more detailed account of creation that centers on the creation of human beings.
One of the things that we see here is the preparation of a place that God would prepare especially for His creation. When, in verses 5 and 6, it is described that there was "no bush of the field yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up..." the entire earth was not being described. It was instead, as the context will show, that God was describing the place He would establish as the ultimate paradise on earth for human beings to live in.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Day Seven - The First "Holiday"
Gen, 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work He that He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all His work that He had done in creation.
This day of rest can easily be misunderstood. It certainly isn't the case that God needed to rest because He was weary. He does not tire nor is His power ever exhausted. If we simply take the text on its face, we see no mention of God being tired or needing the restful seventh day to recuperate. So, if the reason was not that God needed rest, what was the reason?
God doesn't leave us wondering. The passage tells us that God "blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work that He had done in creation." The reason for the seventh day rest period was so that a day could be set aside as "blessed" by God Himself, and as we see later (i.e. Exodus 20:8) set aside for men to reflect on and worship God the Creator of all. It was a day that God defined from the very start as a "holy" day. Those two words together form a combination that we now speak as one word, the word "holiday." It should give us pause to understand that what we often think of as days made for us to engage in often questionable recreational pursuits were designed instead to be days of remembrance, reflection, and reverence of the very One who gives us all that we have to enjoy in the first place. I hope that the next time a "holiday" comes around, you will try at least in some way to make it a "holy" day as well.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
This day of rest can easily be misunderstood. It certainly isn't the case that God needed to rest because He was weary. He does not tire nor is His power ever exhausted. If we simply take the text on its face, we see no mention of God being tired or needing the restful seventh day to recuperate. So, if the reason was not that God needed rest, what was the reason?
God doesn't leave us wondering. The passage tells us that God "blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work that He had done in creation." The reason for the seventh day rest period was so that a day could be set aside as "blessed" by God Himself, and as we see later (i.e. Exodus 20:8) set aside for men to reflect on and worship God the Creator of all. It was a day that God defined from the very start as a "holy" day. Those two words together form a combination that we now speak as one word, the word "holiday." It should give us pause to understand that what we often think of as days made for us to engage in often questionable recreational pursuits were designed instead to be days of remembrance, reflection, and reverence of the very One who gives us all that we have to enjoy in the first place. I hope that the next time a "holiday" comes around, you will try at least in some way to make it a "holy" day as well.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Monday, November 5, 2007
Day Six - "It was very good."
Gen 1:31 And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
The third unique aspect of day six is that God pronounces it "very good." Upon the completion of every other day, God has labeled it as "good." Here, it is more than that. Why? The truth is, we don't fully know, we can only guess. It could be that the day itself was special because it was the day when all the work was done, and thus "very good" was an expression of completion. It could be that the phrase "everything that He had made" refers to everything made on that day, and not necessarily to everything made on all the other days as well. If that is the case, then the addition of human beings to the mix as God's crowning achievement might be what causes this to be "very good." It could be that God saw His beautiful creation perfectly expressing His loving heart and, for the moment at least, pure and holy and innocent and that was worthy of being deemed "very good." Whatever the case may be, this is the first and only time that expression is used with God as the source in the entire Bible. If we turn to the original language we find that the expression means that this was "exceptionally" or "especially, or "exceedingly" good. It was good to the greatest degree, and "in the widest sense," according to Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. The universe had never seen this kind of goodness, nor would it be seen again. Nothing was corrupted, nothing was incomplete, no provision from God was missing. It was uniquely perfect at the end of day six. It was indeed "very good."
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
The third unique aspect of day six is that God pronounces it "very good." Upon the completion of every other day, God has labeled it as "good." Here, it is more than that. Why? The truth is, we don't fully know, we can only guess. It could be that the day itself was special because it was the day when all the work was done, and thus "very good" was an expression of completion. It could be that the phrase "everything that He had made" refers to everything made on that day, and not necessarily to everything made on all the other days as well. If that is the case, then the addition of human beings to the mix as God's crowning achievement might be what causes this to be "very good." It could be that God saw His beautiful creation perfectly expressing His loving heart and, for the moment at least, pure and holy and innocent and that was worthy of being deemed "very good." Whatever the case may be, this is the first and only time that expression is used with God as the source in the entire Bible. If we turn to the original language we find that the expression means that this was "exceptionally" or "especially, or "exceedingly" good. It was good to the greatest degree, and "in the widest sense," according to Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. The universe had never seen this kind of goodness, nor would it be seen again. Nothing was corrupted, nothing was incomplete, no provision from God was missing. It was uniquely perfect at the end of day six. It was indeed "very good."
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Saturday, November 3, 2007
The Dominance Factor
Day six is so remarkable and unique that it warrants a second look. In fact, we will spend one more post on day six next time. I want to look at another unique aspect of the creation of human beings on day six, what I call the "dominance factor."
God said to His newly created male and female human in Genesis 1:28, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
God the Creator specifically gave our ancestors dominance over all else that He created. That doesn't mean that we, as inheritors of this dominance factor, own what God created. Our dominance is not inherent, that is, we are not dominant over the rest of creation simply because we are human beings. The "dominance factor" is a gift granted to us by the Creator! What authority we exercise we possess only because God has granted it to us. It is a secondary authority, a bit like the authority that a property manager has over the property of his employer. We are stewards, managers, and caretakers of God's estate. Therefore we are responsible to care for the creation as best we can for the good of ourselves and the good of the rest of creation.
In today's world, there seem to be two opposite errors that are made concerning care for the creation. One is to elevate the creation itself to "godlike" status and engage in the popular liberal pastime of hyper-environmentalism. This position not only dishonors God, it ends up destructive of the very thing that it seeks to elevate. The second error is to believe that our authority over creation is a license to abuse God's creatures and created environment.
We should view our dominance as a privilege that we take seriously enough to truly care for God's created order. We should manage for the good of the environment and all that reside on this earth, which includes human beings as well. Yes, we have dominance gifted to us. We have the authority to use the resources of the natural world. We do not have the right to worship it, or to abuse the privilege God has graciously given to us from the very beginning.
God said to His newly created male and female human in Genesis 1:28, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
God the Creator specifically gave our ancestors dominance over all else that He created. That doesn't mean that we, as inheritors of this dominance factor, own what God created. Our dominance is not inherent, that is, we are not dominant over the rest of creation simply because we are human beings. The "dominance factor" is a gift granted to us by the Creator! What authority we exercise we possess only because God has granted it to us. It is a secondary authority, a bit like the authority that a property manager has over the property of his employer. We are stewards, managers, and caretakers of God's estate. Therefore we are responsible to care for the creation as best we can for the good of ourselves and the good of the rest of creation.
In today's world, there seem to be two opposite errors that are made concerning care for the creation. One is to elevate the creation itself to "godlike" status and engage in the popular liberal pastime of hyper-environmentalism. This position not only dishonors God, it ends up destructive of the very thing that it seeks to elevate. The second error is to believe that our authority over creation is a license to abuse God's creatures and created environment.
We should view our dominance as a privilege that we take seriously enough to truly care for God's created order. We should manage for the good of the environment and all that reside on this earth, which includes human beings as well. Yes, we have dominance gifted to us. We have the authority to use the resources of the natural world. We do not have the right to worship it, or to abuse the privilege God has graciously given to us from the very beginning.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Day Six - Kinds and Images
Hi! I'm back after a long hiatus and I hope to be posting far more frequently from now on. Now, to the Scripture.
Gen 1:24-31 (ESV) And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds--livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Here we have the most unique of all the creation days, for here God creates all types of land animal life but doesn't stop there. Instead, the Creator God embarks on the creation of the pinnacle of His creatures, man himself. It just goes to show that God's power was not limited to one type of miracle in a day! Not only that, but God also shows that He creates the land animals and human beings in a different manner as well. Note that these animals were created "according to their kinds." However, man is made "in our image, after our likeness." Two things stand out here. First, man is not created in the same way that all other life was created; man is fashioned in the image and likeness of his Creator! Second, the word our is being applied to God. What are we to make of that? God is clearly a single entity. The entire focus of the Old and New Testament teaches that God is ONE and not many. Yet the singular God is referred to in plural terms here. This is one of the ways we can see that the nature of God is the nature of a being, a being that exists as three-in-one.
What an incredible privilege it is to understand that the human race was originally designed to exist in the image and likeness of the Holy Creator of the Universe! Contemplate that the next time you feel downgraded and depressed by circumstances or because of the judgments of others. The very image of God exists within each person, and it can become fully realized when you become one with Christ. As we will see, our original parents failed to grasp the grace of God and made the choice of sin. Jesus came to reverse that curse upon mankind through His sacrifice on the cross. If we take hold of the offer of grace made possible by the cross, we can begin to truly understand the original design and purpose of God who created us in His image and likeness. I pray that you know that in your heart today.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Gen 1:24-31 (ESV) And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds--livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Here we have the most unique of all the creation days, for here God creates all types of land animal life but doesn't stop there. Instead, the Creator God embarks on the creation of the pinnacle of His creatures, man himself. It just goes to show that God's power was not limited to one type of miracle in a day! Not only that, but God also shows that He creates the land animals and human beings in a different manner as well. Note that these animals were created "according to their kinds." However, man is made "in our image, after our likeness." Two things stand out here. First, man is not created in the same way that all other life was created; man is fashioned in the image and likeness of his Creator! Second, the word our is being applied to God. What are we to make of that? God is clearly a single entity. The entire focus of the Old and New Testament teaches that God is ONE and not many. Yet the singular God is referred to in plural terms here. This is one of the ways we can see that the nature of God is the nature of a being, a being that exists as three-in-one.
What an incredible privilege it is to understand that the human race was originally designed to exist in the image and likeness of the Holy Creator of the Universe! Contemplate that the next time you feel downgraded and depressed by circumstances or because of the judgments of others. The very image of God exists within each person, and it can become fully realized when you become one with Christ. As we will see, our original parents failed to grasp the grace of God and made the choice of sin. Jesus came to reverse that curse upon mankind through His sacrifice on the cross. If we take hold of the offer of grace made possible by the cross, we can begin to truly understand the original design and purpose of God who created us in His image and likeness. I pray that you know that in your heart today.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Day Five - The Blessing of Multiplication
Gen 1:20 -23 (ESV) And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens."
So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
Here is a picture of the true abundance of life that God intended. He doesn't just make a few creatures to populate the seas, He declares that the waters must "swarm with swarms of living creatures." Furthermore, God blesses both the sea life and the birds of the air with the command to "be fruitful and multiply." This is the first time we hear of that blessing and command, but it won't be the last. The earth was created to be filled with all sorts of living creatures. Life is considered to be a blessing that must be spread throughout the earth. From the very beginning, God intended life to be abundant all around us.
It might be said today that we as human beings have spoiled God's intention for abundance. Perhaps that is true in some ways. However, for those who really look beyond their own cares and worries, there is still a great deal of wondrous and abundant life and beauty in the world. If you haven't seen some of it lately, get out and take a good look at the trees and mountains and the oceans and the life that fills them. Let us remember that God is still in the business of blessing fruitfulness and multiplication. If we will care for what He has blessed each of us with, and seek to "be fruitful and multiply" His love to those around us, we will know His blessings first hand.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
Here is a picture of the true abundance of life that God intended. He doesn't just make a few creatures to populate the seas, He declares that the waters must "swarm with swarms of living creatures." Furthermore, God blesses both the sea life and the birds of the air with the command to "be fruitful and multiply." This is the first time we hear of that blessing and command, but it won't be the last. The earth was created to be filled with all sorts of living creatures. Life is considered to be a blessing that must be spread throughout the earth. From the very beginning, God intended life to be abundant all around us.
It might be said today that we as human beings have spoiled God's intention for abundance. Perhaps that is true in some ways. However, for those who really look beyond their own cares and worries, there is still a great deal of wondrous and abundant life and beauty in the world. If you haven't seen some of it lately, get out and take a good look at the trees and mountains and the oceans and the life that fills them. Let us remember that God is still in the business of blessing fruitfulness and multiplication. If we will care for what He has blessed each of us with, and seek to "be fruitful and multiply" His love to those around us, we will know His blessings first hand.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Monday, July 2, 2007
Day Four and Faith
Genesis 1:14-19 (ESV)
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, [15] and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. [16] And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. [17] And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, [18] to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. [19] And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Day four gives us a very interesting phenomenon, one that current scientific explanations concerning life would never give credence to. What we are given through revelation is the creation of the sun and moon and stars after He has created plant life. In other words, we have plants created and growing on the third day without the benefit of sunlight! This is an amazing thing, one which biologists would scoff at. If you have a basic knowledge of life science, you should know that, at least with green plants, sunlight is necessary for them to grow, flower and produce seed and fruit. As far as we know, it has always been that way.
However, what we need to understand is the meaning of that little phrase, "as far as we know." It means that we only know anything at all up to a certain point. Scientific knowledge is always limited knowledge, and one of the hallmarks of science is that what we know is always open to revision. Time and time again we have seen this to be true in any number of ways, and any truly honest scientist will admit this as a fact. In the case of the origins of the universe, we reach our limit of scientific knowledge far quicker than most scientists in this area would admit. That doesn't mean that there are not a lot of theories running around, some masquerading as facts, the most prominent among them being Darwinism. It is in these areas where science actually begins to engage in something that religion is more famous for, as exercise in faith.
The truth is this: we all have to engage in exercising faith no matter what we believe to be true. That is true of the most rigorous scientific experimentation, as well as interpreting the Bible. We have to have a basic level of faith that certain things are true. We have to believe that what we are seeing and observing in an experiment is true. We have to trust that the instruments we use are accurate and that what they are recording is actually happening. We have to have faith that past experiments have not been tainted by human error.
This is not to say that our knowledge of how plants grow and live is incorrect. It is to say that this really tells us nothing about how plants came into being in the first place! Just the same is true about origins in general. Most scientific interpretations of how the universe originated rely on present-day observations to interpret what happened in the very remote past. We need to understand this is a faith statement, because no human being was there to observe and record the events of the origin of the universe.
In the same way, we must accept by faith that what God reveals is true. After all, He was there! He was the One creating and sustaining in the order he tells us in the Scripture. The obvious question one might have is, "How do we know that this writing in the Bible, or even just the book of Genesis, is really from God?" I won't go into that in detail yet. For now, I will ask that you have faith [;). We can be far more sure than most people know that God did reveal this to us, and thus we can trust the truth of these words.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, [15] and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. [16] And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. [17] And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, [18] to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. [19] And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Day four gives us a very interesting phenomenon, one that current scientific explanations concerning life would never give credence to. What we are given through revelation is the creation of the sun and moon and stars after He has created plant life. In other words, we have plants created and growing on the third day without the benefit of sunlight! This is an amazing thing, one which biologists would scoff at. If you have a basic knowledge of life science, you should know that, at least with green plants, sunlight is necessary for them to grow, flower and produce seed and fruit. As far as we know, it has always been that way.
However, what we need to understand is the meaning of that little phrase, "as far as we know." It means that we only know anything at all up to a certain point. Scientific knowledge is always limited knowledge, and one of the hallmarks of science is that what we know is always open to revision. Time and time again we have seen this to be true in any number of ways, and any truly honest scientist will admit this as a fact. In the case of the origins of the universe, we reach our limit of scientific knowledge far quicker than most scientists in this area would admit. That doesn't mean that there are not a lot of theories running around, some masquerading as facts, the most prominent among them being Darwinism. It is in these areas where science actually begins to engage in something that religion is more famous for, as exercise in faith.
The truth is this: we all have to engage in exercising faith no matter what we believe to be true. That is true of the most rigorous scientific experimentation, as well as interpreting the Bible. We have to have a basic level of faith that certain things are true. We have to believe that what we are seeing and observing in an experiment is true. We have to trust that the instruments we use are accurate and that what they are recording is actually happening. We have to have faith that past experiments have not been tainted by human error.
This is not to say that our knowledge of how plants grow and live is incorrect. It is to say that this really tells us nothing about how plants came into being in the first place! Just the same is true about origins in general. Most scientific interpretations of how the universe originated rely on present-day observations to interpret what happened in the very remote past. We need to understand this is a faith statement, because no human being was there to observe and record the events of the origin of the universe.
In the same way, we must accept by faith that what God reveals is true. After all, He was there! He was the One creating and sustaining in the order he tells us in the Scripture. The obvious question one might have is, "How do we know that this writing in the Bible, or even just the book of Genesis, is really from God?" I won't go into that in detail yet. For now, I will ask that you have faith [;). We can be far more sure than most people know that God did reveal this to us, and thus we can trust the truth of these words.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Monday, June 4, 2007
Life on Day Three and a Trustworthy God
Gen 1:9 And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.
Gen 1:10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:11 And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so.
Gen 1:12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
Day three of the six days of creation sees the creation of the first living things, the plants. After God moves the land upwards so that what we call continents become a reality, He then creates plant life with some specifics. It seems that general vegetation is first made, then "plants yielding seed," and then "fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed." It would appear that the general vegetation did not reproduce by seed, which is the case with the simpler forms of plant life today. The more complex forms follow the pattern that God lays out here. That is, seed-bearing plants, i.e grasses, flowers and so on, are more complex than non-seed bearers. And, plants that produce fruit "in which is their seed," are very complex forms of plant life. In other words, the general facts of science here agree with the Word of God in the descriptions or classification of plant life.
It is useful to point out here that this is one small example of a larger principle. When we deal in truth and actual facts, not the ever-changing world of theory and hypothesis, God's Word and science agree. God can be trusted, even with your very soul. Won't you seek Him out today?
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Gen 1:10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:11 And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so.
Gen 1:12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
Day three of the six days of creation sees the creation of the first living things, the plants. After God moves the land upwards so that what we call continents become a reality, He then creates plant life with some specifics. It seems that general vegetation is first made, then "plants yielding seed," and then "fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed." It would appear that the general vegetation did not reproduce by seed, which is the case with the simpler forms of plant life today. The more complex forms follow the pattern that God lays out here. That is, seed-bearing plants, i.e grasses, flowers and so on, are more complex than non-seed bearers. And, plants that produce fruit "in which is their seed," are very complex forms of plant life. In other words, the general facts of science here agree with the Word of God in the descriptions or classification of plant life.
It is useful to point out here that this is one small example of a larger principle. When we deal in truth and actual facts, not the ever-changing world of theory and hypothesis, God's Word and science agree. God can be trusted, even with your very soul. Won't you seek Him out today?
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The 'Expanse' of Heaven
Gen 1:7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.
Gen 1:8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
God is working with the matter of the earth in the form of the waters that cover it. What is described here is the creation of a watery curtain above and surrounding the earth, as if the earth were constantly under a heavy cloud cover, yet not of the kind we would be familiar with. We can only speculate what this might have been like. Why wouldn't it be the kind of cloud cover we are familiar with? Because these 'clouds' of water were not rain clouds, at least not yet, as we will see in chapter 2.
Perhaps even more interesting than this is the creation of the "expanse" that God calls "Heaven." If this is the same heaven which is written of throughout the Scriptures, then it would appear that 'Heaven' is an actual created place with a physical nature of sorts. Much has been written and discussed about a place called 'Heaven' outside of the Bible as well. Most of that kind of discussion has been skeptical of its existence.
Of course, it could also mean simply the concept of the heavens as the sky itself. Heaven could by only a physical place where we look to see the moon and stars. There are many verses in the Bible that describe heaven, or the heavens in that way.
It seems to me that the Word of God throughout describes heaven in both physical and spiritual ways indicating that heaven is a place that exists as both physical and spiritual. It is both the home of physical objects, i.e. the stars and the moon, and the home of spiritual beings, God and angels.
The good news here is that heaven is not simply the sky, and it is not just a dream. It is a real place that will one day be recreated along with the earth to provide an eternal home for those who faithfully know and trust in Christ as Lord and Savior. Is that your good news today?
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Gen 1:8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
God is working with the matter of the earth in the form of the waters that cover it. What is described here is the creation of a watery curtain above and surrounding the earth, as if the earth were constantly under a heavy cloud cover, yet not of the kind we would be familiar with. We can only speculate what this might have been like. Why wouldn't it be the kind of cloud cover we are familiar with? Because these 'clouds' of water were not rain clouds, at least not yet, as we will see in chapter 2.
Perhaps even more interesting than this is the creation of the "expanse" that God calls "Heaven." If this is the same heaven which is written of throughout the Scriptures, then it would appear that 'Heaven' is an actual created place with a physical nature of sorts. Much has been written and discussed about a place called 'Heaven' outside of the Bible as well. Most of that kind of discussion has been skeptical of its existence.
Of course, it could also mean simply the concept of the heavens as the sky itself. Heaven could by only a physical place where we look to see the moon and stars. There are many verses in the Bible that describe heaven, or the heavens in that way.
It seems to me that the Word of God throughout describes heaven in both physical and spiritual ways indicating that heaven is a place that exists as both physical and spiritual. It is both the home of physical objects, i.e. the stars and the moon, and the home of spiritual beings, God and angels.
The good news here is that heaven is not simply the sky, and it is not just a dream. It is a real place that will one day be recreated along with the earth to provide an eternal home for those who faithfully know and trust in Christ as Lord and Savior. Is that your good news today?
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Monday, April 9, 2007
A Day Like Today?
Genesis 1:5 (ESV)
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
In this verse we have the completion of the first "day" of creation. There is a controversy among interpreters of the Bible about whether or not these "days" are what they appear to be at first glance, which is of course, literal 24 hour days.
The idea that many modern interpreters are in favor of is that the "day" mentioned here and the rest of chapter one is not really a literal day, but an unspecified long period of time. Some of those same people will use some other references in the Bible which talk about a "day" in such a way. Perhaps the most famous of these is found in the New testament book of 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 8.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The reason this kind of interpretation is attempted for Genesis is because of the supposed "scientific" evidence which "proves" that the earth could not have been created in only six days. I won't go into all the reasons why this is not true. If you want to investigate, I strongly suggest you go to either the website for the Institute for Creation Research or to Answers in Genesis (which I have a link to below).
I know that there are many well-meaning people who believe this way. However, the fact is their method of interpretation begins outside of the Scriptures and imposes a system from the world onto the Bible. I am choosing not to do that, but rather to let the Bible speak for itself. Therefore, I begin from the Bible and note first of all that the accounts in Genesis are historical in nature. God is telling us, through the human writer, just what He did when He created the "heavens and the earth," and after all, He was actually around at the time, and we humans weren't.
When I start with the Bible I find two points from the Bible that tell me these days are indeed literal, 24 hour time periods. First is the fact that each time the word "day" is used in this list of creation, it is used with a number value, i.e. "first day", "second day" and so on. The evidence from the Old Testament is that every time a number value is used with the Hebrew word for "day", it always means a literal, 24 hour day. There are hundreds and hundreds of these references in the Old Testament, and there is no biblical reason to treat the ones in Genesis 1 any different.
Second is the fact that in each case where the reference is made to a numbered day in chapter one, we also have the phrase, "There was evening and there was morning." An unspecified long period of time would not be described as an "evening" and a "morning."
It is clear to me, and I hope I have made it clear to you, that if we believe that God gave us a true account, the best interpretation is the simple one. We can take comfort in knowing that God is trustworthy here, and in everything He teaches us in His Word.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
In this verse we have the completion of the first "day" of creation. There is a controversy among interpreters of the Bible about whether or not these "days" are what they appear to be at first glance, which is of course, literal 24 hour days.
The idea that many modern interpreters are in favor of is that the "day" mentioned here and the rest of chapter one is not really a literal day, but an unspecified long period of time. Some of those same people will use some other references in the Bible which talk about a "day" in such a way. Perhaps the most famous of these is found in the New testament book of 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 8.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The reason this kind of interpretation is attempted for Genesis is because of the supposed "scientific" evidence which "proves" that the earth could not have been created in only six days. I won't go into all the reasons why this is not true. If you want to investigate, I strongly suggest you go to either the website for the Institute for Creation Research or to Answers in Genesis (which I have a link to below).
I know that there are many well-meaning people who believe this way. However, the fact is their method of interpretation begins outside of the Scriptures and imposes a system from the world onto the Bible. I am choosing not to do that, but rather to let the Bible speak for itself. Therefore, I begin from the Bible and note first of all that the accounts in Genesis are historical in nature. God is telling us, through the human writer, just what He did when He created the "heavens and the earth," and after all, He was actually around at the time, and we humans weren't.
When I start with the Bible I find two points from the Bible that tell me these days are indeed literal, 24 hour time periods. First is the fact that each time the word "day" is used in this list of creation, it is used with a number value, i.e. "first day", "second day" and so on. The evidence from the Old Testament is that every time a number value is used with the Hebrew word for "day", it always means a literal, 24 hour day. There are hundreds and hundreds of these references in the Old Testament, and there is no biblical reason to treat the ones in Genesis 1 any different.
Second is the fact that in each case where the reference is made to a numbered day in chapter one, we also have the phrase, "There was evening and there was morning." An unspecified long period of time would not be described as an "evening" and a "morning."
It is clear to me, and I hope I have made it clear to you, that if we believe that God gave us a true account, the best interpretation is the simple one. We can take comfort in knowing that God is trustworthy here, and in everything He teaches us in His Word.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Monday, March 26, 2007
Light! It's a good thing!
Gen 1:4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
Here is the first time anything is called good in the Bible. I think that most all human beings would agree with God that light is good. At least, we believe that light is better than the alternative, darkness. Physical light lets us recognize what is there around us at any moment. So, the light gives us the knowledge we would not have otherwise. The darkness does not give us any knowledge; in fact, darkness represents something frightening because it is unknown. Think about it. You don't see films that are supposed to be frightening have their scary scenes in well-lit rooms.
The light of God's creation is more than just physical light, however. It is also the light of wisdom, the light of knowledge, the light of love, and the light of life. It is most of all the light of His revelation to us. God reveals Himself to us through the light that is good.
God also separates light from darkness here as well. What is good cannot exist at the same time and in the same space as what is not good. It has been that way from this moment when God separated light from darkness. There can be light and darkness in a certain amount of space, but the two do not mix together.
It has been said, and I don't know if this is accurate, that a single lit candle in the darkness can be seen from over a mile away. If you have ever been in a dark place, lost and alone, then you know that time and space lose their meaning. Every second in the dark seems a lot longer than it really is. But if there is a light; if there is a light no matter how small, everything seems more hopeful.
I know that the world can sometimes seem like a very dark and unfriendly place. If you need some real light (and who of us doesn't?) remember that the New Testament book of 1 John, chapter 1 and verse 5 states that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. God is ready and able to push away the darkness of the world with His light, the light of Jesus who died for you. Come to the Light of the Lord. He's waiting for you.
Your joyfully loquacious believer
LEE
Here is the first time anything is called good in the Bible. I think that most all human beings would agree with God that light is good. At least, we believe that light is better than the alternative, darkness. Physical light lets us recognize what is there around us at any moment. So, the light gives us the knowledge we would not have otherwise. The darkness does not give us any knowledge; in fact, darkness represents something frightening because it is unknown. Think about it. You don't see films that are supposed to be frightening have their scary scenes in well-lit rooms.
The light of God's creation is more than just physical light, however. It is also the light of wisdom, the light of knowledge, the light of love, and the light of life. It is most of all the light of His revelation to us. God reveals Himself to us through the light that is good.
God also separates light from darkness here as well. What is good cannot exist at the same time and in the same space as what is not good. It has been that way from this moment when God separated light from darkness. There can be light and darkness in a certain amount of space, but the two do not mix together.
It has been said, and I don't know if this is accurate, that a single lit candle in the darkness can be seen from over a mile away. If you have ever been in a dark place, lost and alone, then you know that time and space lose their meaning. Every second in the dark seems a lot longer than it really is. But if there is a light; if there is a light no matter how small, everything seems more hopeful.
I know that the world can sometimes seem like a very dark and unfriendly place. If you need some real light (and who of us doesn't?) remember that the New Testament book of 1 John, chapter 1 and verse 5 states that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. God is ready and able to push away the darkness of the world with His light, the light of Jesus who died for you. Come to the Light of the Lord. He's waiting for you.
Your joyfully loquacious believer
LEE
Monday, March 19, 2007
Light in the Darkness
Genesis 1:3 - Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
We now venture into the part of the text that describes how God went about creating. The pattern which begins with this verse is a simple one. God spoke and it happened. More details of the process will be told to us in later verses, but each part of creation from here on begins with the Word of God speaking it into existence.
We should notice that light is also the first element of creation that comes in an order or a sequence. The word then tells us that light was created after the heavens and the earth were made. In verse one we are told that God made the heavens and the earth, but we are not told which was made first. We might assume the heavens were made first, but that is not what is written. In fact, time, as well as space and matter, all came into existence in verse one. It may very well have been that the heavens and the earth (space and matter) and time all came at once. The fact is, we don't know and God doesn't tell us.
However, with light we do know at least that it was made after the heavens and the earth, and this means that time must have been in place as well, otherwise the word then would have no meaning! Again, from here on out, there is an order of events that we need to pay attention to for reasons that we will see more clearly later on.
What is most interesting to me is that light is created here without any physical source. The light comes directly from God. He is the source of the first light! It is by the will of God that light came into being in the middle of the darkness and chaos of the creation. The reality of it all is that God has never stopped being the true source of light, whether that light is physical or the light that can shine in the darkness of our lives. God can bring the light we need into our darkest situations, if we will turn to Him through Jesus Christ. Jesus is called "the Light of the world," and the "light of life" in the New testament book of John, chapter 8, verse 12.
If you see darkness in your life, I urge you to look at the Creator of light for your light. Believe and trust that Jesus came and lived and died to bring you from darkness to light. Talk to God in prayer about this, and find someone who you know is a real follower of Jesus to help if you can. You don't need to know any fancy language, you just need to be honest with God and really give yourself to Him. He wants to speak 'light' into your life right now.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
We now venture into the part of the text that describes how God went about creating. The pattern which begins with this verse is a simple one. God spoke and it happened. More details of the process will be told to us in later verses, but each part of creation from here on begins with the Word of God speaking it into existence.
We should notice that light is also the first element of creation that comes in an order or a sequence. The word then tells us that light was created after the heavens and the earth were made. In verse one we are told that God made the heavens and the earth, but we are not told which was made first. We might assume the heavens were made first, but that is not what is written. In fact, time, as well as space and matter, all came into existence in verse one. It may very well have been that the heavens and the earth (space and matter) and time all came at once. The fact is, we don't know and God doesn't tell us.
However, with light we do know at least that it was made after the heavens and the earth, and this means that time must have been in place as well, otherwise the word then would have no meaning! Again, from here on out, there is an order of events that we need to pay attention to for reasons that we will see more clearly later on.
What is most interesting to me is that light is created here without any physical source. The light comes directly from God. He is the source of the first light! It is by the will of God that light came into being in the middle of the darkness and chaos of the creation. The reality of it all is that God has never stopped being the true source of light, whether that light is physical or the light that can shine in the darkness of our lives. God can bring the light we need into our darkest situations, if we will turn to Him through Jesus Christ. Jesus is called "the Light of the world," and the "light of life" in the New testament book of John, chapter 8, verse 12.
If you see darkness in your life, I urge you to look at the Creator of light for your light. Believe and trust that Jesus came and lived and died to bring you from darkness to light. Talk to God in prayer about this, and find someone who you know is a real follower of Jesus to help if you can. You don't need to know any fancy language, you just need to be honest with God and really give yourself to Him. He wants to speak 'light' into your life right now.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Monday, March 12, 2007
"It was a dark and stormy night..."
Gen 1:2 - The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep water. The Spirit of God was hovering over the water.
The second verse of the Bible is one shrouded in mystery. An earth exists, but it is an earth with which we are completely unfamiliar, and one that we could barely imagine. What we are told here paints a pretty bleak picture of darkness. I can tell you also that the water (which seems to be the only real matter of the earth at this point), can be described by the wording of the original language as a "surging mass of water." It was not a scene of calmness!
It was also an earth completely without life or light. The Spirit of God is described as "hovering" here, but other versions state that the Spirit was "moving" or "moving gently" over these stormy waters. The contrast is clear between a violent, dark, lifeless world and a serene and gently moving God.
If you have ever been in a violent storm, on land or especially at sea, you may recognize that it is very difficult to remain calm. One of the reasons this is true is because of the unpredictability of the power being unleashed. If you are on a boat that seems about to capsize because of a storm, you can't predict whether or not it will stay afloat, or if sinks whether you will survive, or if you do survive at first whether there will be any rescue, and so on.
It is the same when we are facing storms that come in life as well. A financial disaster; a loved one ill or hurt; the loss of a dream; or any number of dark and seemingly hopeless "storms" can come on any of us. It is also very hard to remain calm in those circumstances for mainly the same reasons of unpredictability. During life's storms, we rarely know how we will survive and what the future will bring if we do.
If, however, we know that God is not worried at all, and that, as in this verse, He is hovering around you and "moving gently" through your circumstances, we can face a dark and stormy time with assurance that the light is just ahead. Our God is the Creator King of the universe, and He is definitely in control during the darkest, bleakest, and stormiest parts of existence; the earth's and our own.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
The second verse of the Bible is one shrouded in mystery. An earth exists, but it is an earth with which we are completely unfamiliar, and one that we could barely imagine. What we are told here paints a pretty bleak picture of darkness. I can tell you also that the water (which seems to be the only real matter of the earth at this point), can be described by the wording of the original language as a "surging mass of water." It was not a scene of calmness!
It was also an earth completely without life or light. The Spirit of God is described as "hovering" here, but other versions state that the Spirit was "moving" or "moving gently" over these stormy waters. The contrast is clear between a violent, dark, lifeless world and a serene and gently moving God.
If you have ever been in a violent storm, on land or especially at sea, you may recognize that it is very difficult to remain calm. One of the reasons this is true is because of the unpredictability of the power being unleashed. If you are on a boat that seems about to capsize because of a storm, you can't predict whether or not it will stay afloat, or if sinks whether you will survive, or if you do survive at first whether there will be any rescue, and so on.
It is the same when we are facing storms that come in life as well. A financial disaster; a loved one ill or hurt; the loss of a dream; or any number of dark and seemingly hopeless "storms" can come on any of us. It is also very hard to remain calm in those circumstances for mainly the same reasons of unpredictability. During life's storms, we rarely know how we will survive and what the future will bring if we do.
If, however, we know that God is not worried at all, and that, as in this verse, He is hovering around you and "moving gently" through your circumstances, we can face a dark and stormy time with assurance that the light is just ahead. Our God is the Creator King of the universe, and He is definitely in control during the darkest, bleakest, and stormiest parts of existence; the earth's and our own.
Your joyfully loquacious believer,
LEE
Monday, March 5, 2007
He Did It All!
It's time to look at the last half of the first verse of the Bible. Genesis 1:1 states "In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth." We have already checked out the "In the beginning, God" part (see below). Now we'll look at the claim that God "made the heavens and the earth."
Two separate claims are being made here. FIRST is the claim that God "made the heavens." This literally means that God made all of the universe except the earth. I know that the popular scientific "explanation" for the origin of the universe is the so-called "Big-Bang Theory." The theory could be stated non-scientifically, but accurately, like this - In the beginning was a very compressed ball of matter that exploded with so much force that it sent all kinds of 'stuff' flying outwards from the point of the explosion. Eventually, as the speed of this stuff slowed down enough, the stuff began to become organized into galaxies, solar systems, planets and moons, and the rest is history! Let's say, for the moment, that this claim is accurate. One of my first questions would be this, "Where did this ball of stuff come from?" The answer can really only be one of two things. Either this stuff was always there, or it just appeared out of nothing! If the stuff was always there, it means the universe is eternal, and the explosion just happened, or God caused the explosion to happen. Either way, we are facing the same problem I noted before. The "beginning" is not really the beginning at all. An eternal universe, whether in the current form or not, means that there can never be a real beginning!
If the stuff just appeared out of nothing, we are looking at magic without a magician again! That is, unless you say that there is a magician, God, who started it all by at least creating the ball of stuff. Some people believe this and say that is what the Bible means in Genesis 1:1 and the verses that follow. But, the Bible itself doesn't state that at all. As we will see in the later verses, the Big Bang theory is not what the bible describes here.
The SECOND claim is that God "made the earth." How God did this is explained later. I think it is easy to see if it is true that God made the heavens, it should be easy to believe that God made the earth as well.
What all of verse one means then, is that God did it all; He made all that there is and, as we will see, He did it for His grand purpose as a loving God.
Next time we will move to verse 2, finally ;), and begin to see what God's method of creation was according to the Bible.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Two separate claims are being made here. FIRST is the claim that God "made the heavens." This literally means that God made all of the universe except the earth. I know that the popular scientific "explanation" for the origin of the universe is the so-called "Big-Bang Theory." The theory could be stated non-scientifically, but accurately, like this - In the beginning was a very compressed ball of matter that exploded with so much force that it sent all kinds of 'stuff' flying outwards from the point of the explosion. Eventually, as the speed of this stuff slowed down enough, the stuff began to become organized into galaxies, solar systems, planets and moons, and the rest is history! Let's say, for the moment, that this claim is accurate. One of my first questions would be this, "Where did this ball of stuff come from?" The answer can really only be one of two things. Either this stuff was always there, or it just appeared out of nothing! If the stuff was always there, it means the universe is eternal, and the explosion just happened, or God caused the explosion to happen. Either way, we are facing the same problem I noted before. The "beginning" is not really the beginning at all. An eternal universe, whether in the current form or not, means that there can never be a real beginning!
If the stuff just appeared out of nothing, we are looking at magic without a magician again! That is, unless you say that there is a magician, God, who started it all by at least creating the ball of stuff. Some people believe this and say that is what the Bible means in Genesis 1:1 and the verses that follow. But, the Bible itself doesn't state that at all. As we will see in the later verses, the Big Bang theory is not what the bible describes here.
The SECOND claim is that God "made the earth." How God did this is explained later. I think it is easy to see if it is true that God made the heavens, it should be easy to believe that God made the earth as well.
What all of verse one means then, is that God did it all; He made all that there is and, as we will see, He did it for His grand purpose as a loving God.
Next time we will move to verse 2, finally ;), and begin to see what God's method of creation was according to the Bible.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Monday, February 26, 2007
He's Been There All Along!
We continue to examine the first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1. Last time I mentioned that we needed to understand that at least four things are taught by "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." We're going to look at the first two of these in this edition of B.I.B.L.E., There was a beginning and God was already there.
The claim that there was a beginning is not that controversial today. Most scientists who study cosmology (the science of the origin and structure of the universe) agree that the universe does have a beginning and use the Big Bang theory to explain the beginning of the universe. This means that the universe is not eternal, that is, the universe has not always been here. It has existed for a very long time, but not forever. The question really is this, "What was there before the beginning?" Science doesn't have an answer. The Bible does, and that is where the claim that God was already there comes in.
The claim God was already there at the beginning is controversial. However, that claim is what the Bible teaches. If this claim is true, it means that God must be eternal. It can't mean that God is just a little older than the universe, otherwise the beginning would not really be the beginning! If God is just older than everything else, it would mean that at some time before the beginning God came to exist from nothing! It would literally mean that one moment there was nothing and then the next moment, poof!, there was God! I would say that this sounds a lot more like magic than anything else, but even magic requires somebody to perform it! I don't know about you, but that sounds just plain silly to me.
Next time we will look at the claims from the second part of Genesis 1:1, God made the "heavens" i.e. all of the universe except the earth, and God made the earth.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
The claim that there was a beginning is not that controversial today. Most scientists who study cosmology (the science of the origin and structure of the universe) agree that the universe does have a beginning and use the Big Bang theory to explain the beginning of the universe. This means that the universe is not eternal, that is, the universe has not always been here. It has existed for a very long time, but not forever. The question really is this, "What was there before the beginning?" Science doesn't have an answer. The Bible does, and that is where the claim that God was already there comes in.
The claim God was already there at the beginning is controversial. However, that claim is what the Bible teaches. If this claim is true, it means that God must be eternal. It can't mean that God is just a little older than the universe, otherwise the beginning would not really be the beginning! If God is just older than everything else, it would mean that at some time before the beginning God came to exist from nothing! It would literally mean that one moment there was nothing and then the next moment, poof!, there was God! I would say that this sounds a lot more like magic than anything else, but even magic requires somebody to perform it! I don't know about you, but that sounds just plain silly to me.
Next time we will look at the claims from the second part of Genesis 1:1, God made the "heavens" i.e. all of the universe except the earth, and God made the earth.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Monday, February 19, 2007
Trust is a MUST
We are looking at the very first verse of the Bible for the third blog in a row. Some who read this may begin to wonder why so much ink is being spent here, so I will try to explain it. In "LEE's Keys" to biblical interpretation (see right) I state that one of the keys is to "BELIEVE to RECEIVE." If you are going to really "get" the Bible, you must trust that it is the Word of God to us without error. The basic fact of the matter is this: If you can't trust the very first sentence of the Bible, how can you be expected to trust any other part of it?
Genesis 1:1 is the basis upon which the rest of the Bible is built. It is foundational to understanding the Bible that we understand at least four things that are taught by "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
FIRST: There was a beginning
SECOND: God was already there
THIRD: God made the "heavens" i.e. all of the universe except earth
FOURTH: God made the earth
We will look at these four in closer detail next time.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Genesis 1:1 is the basis upon which the rest of the Bible is built. It is foundational to understanding the Bible that we understand at least four things that are taught by "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
FIRST: There was a beginning
SECOND: God was already there
THIRD: God made the "heavens" i.e. all of the universe except earth
FOURTH: God made the earth
We will look at these four in closer detail next time.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
Monday, February 12, 2007
Positive versus Negative Beginnings
In my last post, I exposed the choice that the beginning of the Bible presents to us. That is, “either God is the Creator of all, or God is not.” Of course, if one does not believe in the truth of the Bible at all, then a myriad of other possibilities present themselves, no matter how ludicrous they might seem. For the moment, however, I am simply endeavoring to interpret the Bible in an accurate manner in order that others might realize the relevance of the Bible for our lives and culture. At some other point in the near future I will take up the question of whether or not the Bible is to be trusted.
At the beginning of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, it is stated, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” That is an extremely positive statement. It means that at the beginning of all things, there existed a Being who moved according to His will to exercise His power and create from nothing the entire content of the universe! A Being of that kind of unimaginable power and intelligence would not embark on such a project without a grand purpose. If all creation was made with a grand purpose, then the various parts of creation also have purpose. This means that human beings have a purpose in life that somehow relates to the purpose of the Creator. If this is true, as I contend, then we as human beings are living a life that is meant to have purpose. A purposeful life can give us a positive life.
The other side of the coin would be to ask the question, “What are the consequences of denying that “God created the heavens and earth”? The first thing we should acknowledge is that what I call “creation,” cannot be labeled as such. It must simply be called “the universe.” If the universe was not created, how did it get here? There are two possibilities. ONE, the universe has always been here, that is, the universe is eternal. TWO, the universe came into being through some naturalistic process on its own. We can dispense with possibility number one, for the simple reason that the only evidence which exists argues against an eternal universe. That leaves possibility number two, which is what the majority of scientists believe today. I will save the refutation of that position for a later time (sorry, I can't post everything in a day!). For now, I want to examine the consequences of believing that the universe came into being through some naturalistic process.
Perhaps the most pertinent consequence is that the universe simply exists without any purpose whatsoever. As a part of the matter in the universe, it also means that human beings simply exist without any purpose. That is an extremely negative statement. Without any purpose, life is absurd at best. Self-preservation can perhaps serve as a purpose of sorts, but what a joyless concept that is. As I mentioned in my footnote to the last post, one could object that one could believe in something or someone other than God as Creator and still live a positive life. That may very well be true, but it would mean that you are living a fairy-tale existence as well. It would be an attitude without any foundation upon which to sustain it. It would be akin to believing that one could walk upon a wisp of fog. So, you could live without purpose and know it, and thus without real hope, or you could live without purpose and not know it, and thus live in delusion. The embracing of a negative beginning without purpose will produce a life with a negative or a falsely positive attitude.
The upshot of all of this is that you must choose which alternative you will embrace and live by. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” is not just a biblical statement, it is a challenge to live with or without a greater purpose for life.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,LEE
At the beginning of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, it is stated, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” That is an extremely positive statement. It means that at the beginning of all things, there existed a Being who moved according to His will to exercise His power and create from nothing the entire content of the universe! A Being of that kind of unimaginable power and intelligence would not embark on such a project without a grand purpose. If all creation was made with a grand purpose, then the various parts of creation also have purpose. This means that human beings have a purpose in life that somehow relates to the purpose of the Creator. If this is true, as I contend, then we as human beings are living a life that is meant to have purpose. A purposeful life can give us a positive life.
The other side of the coin would be to ask the question, “What are the consequences of denying that “God created the heavens and earth”? The first thing we should acknowledge is that what I call “creation,” cannot be labeled as such. It must simply be called “the universe.” If the universe was not created, how did it get here? There are two possibilities. ONE, the universe has always been here, that is, the universe is eternal. TWO, the universe came into being through some naturalistic process on its own. We can dispense with possibility number one, for the simple reason that the only evidence which exists argues against an eternal universe. That leaves possibility number two, which is what the majority of scientists believe today. I will save the refutation of that position for a later time (sorry, I can't post everything in a day!). For now, I want to examine the consequences of believing that the universe came into being through some naturalistic process.
Perhaps the most pertinent consequence is that the universe simply exists without any purpose whatsoever. As a part of the matter in the universe, it also means that human beings simply exist without any purpose. That is an extremely negative statement. Without any purpose, life is absurd at best. Self-preservation can perhaps serve as a purpose of sorts, but what a joyless concept that is. As I mentioned in my footnote to the last post, one could object that one could believe in something or someone other than God as Creator and still live a positive life. That may very well be true, but it would mean that you are living a fairy-tale existence as well. It would be an attitude without any foundation upon which to sustain it. It would be akin to believing that one could walk upon a wisp of fog. So, you could live without purpose and know it, and thus without real hope, or you could live without purpose and not know it, and thus live in delusion. The embracing of a negative beginning without purpose will produce a life with a negative or a falsely positive attitude.
The upshot of all of this is that you must choose which alternative you will embrace and live by. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” is not just a biblical statement, it is a challenge to live with or without a greater purpose for life.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,LEE
Monday, February 5, 2007
Do Beginnings Matter?
This is the beginning.... of this blog that is! Obviously having a beginning matters here because no future is possible without it. The same is true in every endeavor and in every life. Where you and I began is important, though we seem to spend very little time thinking about it.
The beginning in the Bible is also extremely important if for no other reason than the staggering claims that are made about the beginning of all that is. Of course, a lot of people do not see such ancient texts and their claims as important or even relevant to their lives. If that describes you, then I hope to persuade you otherwise. If you are already convinced that beginnings in the Bible matter for life, bear with me (or bear without me somewhere else!) for the next few lines.
The basic claim that the Bible makes at it's beginning is this - all that exists was created by God. The basic question many would ask is "So what?" This is expressed in the form of other questions such as "How does this help me with my everyday problems... my bills, my kids, my parents, my job, my house, my car, etc.?" Day to day living can make everything seem irrelevant beyond the present moment's tensions.
However, as many psychologists will attest, the attitude with which one approaches day to day living and it's difficulties does in fact effect how one deals with life. I submit that one's attitude is shaped by ones faith. What it is that you believe is ultimately true will shape how you live in one way or another. It may not be a conscious factor, but it is a factor nonetheless, and your faith is usually much more of a factor than you know.
"But LEE," you protest, "I don't have any faith. I don't believe in God at all." The fact that you may not believe in God does not mean that you have no faith, it just means that you place your "faith" in something else. It might be faith in human potential, or in scientific knowledge, or your local newspaper, or what your Uncle Al taught you. But rest assured, you have some kind of faith in something, even if it is yourself, and that does affect your attitude toward life and living.
The biblical claims concerning beginnings allows only two choices. Either God is the Creator of all or God is not. The fact is if you embrace that claim as true, you are much more likely to face the day to day challenges of life, as well as the larger concerns and crises, with a positive attitude for the future. If you deny the truth of God as Creator, your attitude is more likely to be negative.* Belief in a universe created by God won't pay your bills, but it will make it more likely that you will have hope for the future even if your bills aren't getting paid, and having hope always matters.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
*There is the objection that one could believe in something or someone other than God as Creator to be positive in life. I will address that in the next post.
The beginning in the Bible is also extremely important if for no other reason than the staggering claims that are made about the beginning of all that is. Of course, a lot of people do not see such ancient texts and their claims as important or even relevant to their lives. If that describes you, then I hope to persuade you otherwise. If you are already convinced that beginnings in the Bible matter for life, bear with me (or bear without me somewhere else!) for the next few lines.
The basic claim that the Bible makes at it's beginning is this - all that exists was created by God. The basic question many would ask is "So what?" This is expressed in the form of other questions such as "How does this help me with my everyday problems... my bills, my kids, my parents, my job, my house, my car, etc.?" Day to day living can make everything seem irrelevant beyond the present moment's tensions.
However, as many psychologists will attest, the attitude with which one approaches day to day living and it's difficulties does in fact effect how one deals with life. I submit that one's attitude is shaped by ones faith. What it is that you believe is ultimately true will shape how you live in one way or another. It may not be a conscious factor, but it is a factor nonetheless, and your faith is usually much more of a factor than you know.
"But LEE," you protest, "I don't have any faith. I don't believe in God at all." The fact that you may not believe in God does not mean that you have no faith, it just means that you place your "faith" in something else. It might be faith in human potential, or in scientific knowledge, or your local newspaper, or what your Uncle Al taught you. But rest assured, you have some kind of faith in something, even if it is yourself, and that does affect your attitude toward life and living.
The biblical claims concerning beginnings allows only two choices. Either God is the Creator of all or God is not. The fact is if you embrace that claim as true, you are much more likely to face the day to day challenges of life, as well as the larger concerns and crises, with a positive attitude for the future. If you deny the truth of God as Creator, your attitude is more likely to be negative.* Belief in a universe created by God won't pay your bills, but it will make it more likely that you will have hope for the future even if your bills aren't getting paid, and having hope always matters.
Your Joyfully Loquacious Believer,
LEE
*There is the objection that one could believe in something or someone other than God as Creator to be positive in life. I will address that in the next post.
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