Happy New Year!!
And welcome to the Bible in a Year - and Beyond challenge! I am so excited about beginning this journey of digging into God's Word together.
We have chosen to read the Chronological Plan. Today's Bible passage is Genesis 1-3.
Click here to read today's scripture online in the NIV. If you prefer a different translation you will notice a drop down box near the top of the page that currently says "New International Version" - simply click on the drop down box and select the version of your choice and click the "Update" button to the right.
Genesis, written by Moses, is a book of beginnings. It describes the beginning of time, the beginning of the universe, the creation of man/woman, the beginning of sin, the beginning of God's redemptive plan, and more.
Today I'm going to use the SOAP format to discuss this passage (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer) - which really means I'm only going to discuss one verse. And it's pretty late, so it's not going to be overly long.
Scripture - Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Observation - God created us. I know there are Old Earth Christians and Youth Earth Christians, but they do agree on one thing - God created us. Not only did He create us, He created us in His own image!
Application - This is were we get our self-worth from. It is not to be found in our family, our friends, our work, our hobbies, our race, our education, our economic status or anything else about us. Our worth comes from God and God alone. He created us in His image. We find out identity, our self-worth, our self-confidence in this. He created me. He created you. It is such a simple concept, and yet so powerful! Not only are we individually created by almighty God, but we are made in His image. In the image of the Creator, who simply spoke and the universe came into existence! You were created for a purpose. The biggest purpose of all is to live every moment to give glory to Him.
Prayer - Lord, I thank you for all the amazing work you did at creation. I thank you for the earth and everything in it, and that you entrusted it into our care. I praise you for your mighty power, for your creativity and for your love for us. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made in Your image. Help me to live every day, every moment with the express purpose of glorifying your Holy name. Amen.
What are you some of your thoughts on today's reading? Feel free to post in the comments.
Tomorrow's reading is Genesis 4 - 5, 1 Chronicles 1:1-4, Genesis 6. You can read the passages online by clicking here.
8 comments:
Good morning!
Late last night, as the rest of our family slept, my 7 y/o and I laid in his bed and listened to the book of John while we real along. This is something new and exciting for us and oh so special to share together. When we got through the part where Jesus was shaking his head at their unbelief and sadly telling the Jews,
"I tell you the truth...before Abraham was born, I am!" (Jn 8:58)
Tanner said to me, "But Mommy, Jesus was not even 50 years old, how DID he see Abraham?"
And right there and then, in the darkened little bedroom, just before midnight, I had the honor and joy to share with my son how Jesus was with God in the beginning. How when God was hovering over the nothingness and spoke everything into existence, Jesus was there with Him, part of Him, His Son always.
Self-worth. YES! A wonderfully simple concept that is only revealed to us when we put ALL of our trust and hope in Him. And even then, I still loose sight of it easily whenever I get out of step.
Thank-you Father God! I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Let all that I do bring glory to You. In Jesus name! Amen
Excuse my ignorance, but I don't know what Old Earth Christians and Youth Earth Christians are.
I love the story of creation. I sometimes wonder if God thoughtfully created each creature, or if he just decided there should be a whole bunch of different kinds and so there they were? If he thoughtfully created each of them, then in my human opinion there are a few he might have thought a little more about. LOL
I am struck by the way human nature has changed not one iota since Adam & Eve were created in the Garden.
Eve, believing that there was something better than what she currently had, was convinced to try the fruit she'd been forbidden to eat, even as we (with the benefit of hindsight) are screaming at her "You're in the freakin' Garden of Eden! It doesn't get any better than that!" Why is it so easy for us to be discontented with the wonderful things God's given us already?
So true Miriam! I am also struck by the petulance of both Adam and Eve when God calls them on it. But You gave me the woman! But the serpent made me do it! Waa waa waa.
You're right, we haven't changed one bit! :)
I agree! We haven't changed at all. The serpent tempted Eve, just as we are tempted everyday. She believed what the serpent had told her instead of obeying God. We are told untruths everyday! And if we don't know what to believe and aren't knowledgeable of His word then we won't know the right choices to make.
One of the things I have always wondered is why that tree was there anyway? I know God designed us to have free will but I believe it is human nature to do the things we are told not to. I remember when my oldest was little and she was helping me in the kitchen and I told her not to touch the stove because it was hot...not two seconds later she was crying because she had touched the hot stove! In the same way, I see Adam and Eve who are told they cannot eat of that tree and they just need to find out for themselves. For an All-Knowing God, it must have pained him to know what would happen when He gave the instructions. It seems odd that in God's perfect plan, we would create something that is sure to tempt them into failure. I also wonder how long it took before they took the fruit...was it instant and the first time God looked away, they snatched it?....or were they living in paradise for years before they succumbed to the desire?
There are so many things to take out of this pasage. One could write a book or two on it.
1)God created this whole entire earth by speaking it into existance...but we don't trust that He can pay our bills.
2)God created woman to be a help meet for man. He made her out of him, and gave her to him. Why can't we learn to fulfill our role that we were created for? Why do we use pride and envy and stubborness to serve ourselves instead of focusing on God and our husbands and being a help meet to them? We would be so blessed if we would.
3)Eve conversed with Satan. Never, never, ever converse with the father of all lies and expect something good to come out of it. Have you ever wanted something, or wanted to do something that you knew was wrong, and instead of just not doing it and not thinking another thing about it; you talked yourself into it? I have a million times. We are conversing with Satan and his demons when we do that. We are talking from our flesh to the spirits who want only bad for us. If you talk long enough, you can be talked into ANYTHING! We need to stay close to God and stay out of the gray areas. Right is right, wrong is wrong, and that's it.
Miriam - the terms Young Earth and Old Earth refer to the differing views on creation. Young Earthers take Genesis literally and believe that God created the earth in 6 days. Old Earthers take Genesis figurately and believe that God created the earth but that He did so over a long period of time.
Y'all are right that we haven't changed a bit. I can't even imagine being able to walk with God in the garden and converse with Him like they did - and they threw it all away! And then the Israelite's, after all the miracles they had seen with their own eyes, grumbling and complaining that they were better off in Egypt. I like to think that I wouldn't have done that - but really, unfortunately it's human nature - and hindsight is always 20/20!
Kristi - 3 excellent points you brought up! Definitely a lot of topics in this portion of scripture that's for sure.
Thank you all for your input, I'm so excited about taking this journey together with each of you!
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