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

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