Genesis Chapter 2
Verses 8-14 (NLT) – The Garden of Eden
8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches. 11 The first branch, called the Pishon, flowed around the entire land of Havilah, where gold is found. 12 The gold of that land is exceptionally pure; aromatic resin and onyx stone are also found there. 13 The second branch, called the Gihon, flowed around the entire land of Cush. 14 The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.
Thoughts:
We saw that the Lord especially created man and put him in a garden – a “delightful and pleasurable” place to stay. We have parks where we can have rest and recreation, and definitely parks are good places to hang around. We can have a hint that the garden was somewhere in modern day Iraq due to the presence of the two known rivers in the text – Tigris and Euphrates which we know still exist today. History also indicates that the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar built the so-called “hanging gardens” in Babylon (now Iraq) around 600 B.C. which was considered as one of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Therefore, it is possible to have lush tropical areas such as lovely gardens because of the rivers that can provide irrigation through the land.
Now, if you are an explorer and treasure hunter, you may possibly want to find where the land of Havilah is, where the river Pishon runs through because high grade gold and other precious stones are there (vv. 11-12). One of the richest men in America, John D. Rockefeller was believed to have hinted from the Bible where oil in the Middle East was located such as the presence of tar pits (Gen 14:10) – which made him an oil magnate.
Verses 15-20 (NLT) – Adam was commissioned
15 The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. 16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man[c] to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. 20 He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.
Thoughts:
Adam was commissioned by the Lord as the “manager” of His creation. Adam was given the authority and responsibility to rule and name other creatures. There are about 2 million “identified” species on earth according to statistics and as many as 100 million are believed to be unknown. Naming those species alone can be mind boggling, but according to the Bible, Adam named them according on how he wanted to. This is an enormous authority and task to tag something as they would be.
The Lord said in every day of His creation as “good”, and “very good” for the creation of man. But this is the time the Lord said something that “It is not good ….. “, but of course referring to Adam being alone and without partner, for he was not able to find someone from among the creation to be his partner. The Lord made him realize that he needs somebody – as a “helper”, somebody the same as him and fit for him. All other creation seems to have partners – mr. and mrs. elephant, mr. and mrs. chimpanzee, etc. – but he has none!
Verses 15-20 (NLT) – The first garden wedding
21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs[d] and closed up the opening. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
23 “At last!” the man exclaimed.
“This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.
Thoughts:
Many people look for love and partner in many wrong places – internet dating, romance websites, etc, but they end up being scammed. Here, Adam was simply gone to deep sleep, entrusted to the Lord whom he would have as partner, and “Alas!” or as the term said “At last!” – here comes the bride! The first perfect marriage since no past boyfriends to talk about, and no mother in-law to compare how good they cook. And the first perfect garden wedding, initiated by the Lord Himself. As usual, Adam had the authority to name his partner, as he did with all other creature. And he called her – wo-man. From the womb of a man. For out of his side and rib came out the woman, his very bride!
Also, the last Adam - who is Jesus had gone to “deep sleep”, literally died in another garden - the garden of Golgotha. And from His side a spear was stuck, and there came out water and blood – the things that come out during birthing period. And from His side, the Church was born. The Church who is the bride of the last Adam (Jesus) forever!
Another important principle is the “leaving”, “cleaving”, and “uniting” between the husband and wife. Although Adam and Eve were the first couple (with no in-laws), the Lord God established the principle ahead of time for Adam and Eve to implement through their siblings. Many times, the first step of “leaving” is very hard to obey for many young couples, but it is the most important step in married life – to leave all other relationships. The Lord God also requires from us leaving all other gods and relationships, when we want to have relationship and be united with the Lord.
Many Bible teachers believe that the last verse (v.25) implies healthy sexual relations between the first couple, since the relationship is pure and unblemished. That is what supposed to be for married couples – relationships not adulterated by any other.
Thank you for reading and studying with us. We will dash through Genesis Chapter 3 next Saturday, or even Friday if people will come.
Laugh for a joke (courtesy of Pastor Joven):
Question: What is the difference between in-laws and out-laws?
Think ..... Think ..... Think ..... Think ..... Think .....
Answer: Out-laws are "Wanted", while in-laws are "Not wanted"
Living and Active
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Bible Study (July 24) - Genesis 1 and 2
Review on Genesis chapter 1
Some thoughts shared regarding the days of creation:
The Lord separated – the light from darkness, the waters below and above the sky, the seas from the land, and the day from the night.
Also, the Lord filled those whom He separated with creation such as - the seas with fishes, the air with birds, and land with plants and animals, and finally the human being.
Spiritual application: the Lord is in the business of sanctification (separating something for special use) even at the beginning of creation. When we trusted on the Lord for our salvation, God started to set us aside for His special purpose, filled us with His Spirit, and uses us to bring Him back the glory and to tell others of His love and salvation.
Genesis 1:20-23 Fifth Day of Creation
1. God created the living creatures in the water – the sea monsters or beasts like whales, and things that creeps and swarms the waters. So all the creeps were created by God too, just kidding J.
2. God created the living creatures in the air - like birds that fly, particularly. There was no particular mention of flying insects though. But take note that insects like butterflies came from creeping creatures like caterpillars, mosquitoes from water germs, etc.
However creepy some things were, they were good according to the Lord. Everything was created by God for a purpose. God blessed them all to multiply and to fill the seas and the earth.
Genesis 1:24-31 Sixth Day of Creation
1. God created the living creatures in the land – the livestock to wild animals, and small animals that scurry along the ground.
2. God created human beings – in his own image: a triune creature – body, soul, and spirit (1 Thes. 5:13). Everything else has body and soul (thoughts and feelings) like the animals, but they have no spirit.
God gave the authority to man to manage the whole earth and creation. God gave human beings too the ability to pro-create, to multiply, and to subdue the earth.
Some believe that this was to counteract the presence of Satan – whom when thrown out from heaven to earth, turned the “first” earth into chaos (Gen. 1:2) and still rule as the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), until now. Bible numbers somehow designate the number 6 to the number of man, whereby man was created on the sixth day.
Genesis Chapter 2
Genesis 2:1-4 Seventh Day of Creation
God “rested” after creating everything – blessed them as “good”, and “very good” for the creation of man. But on the seventh day, the Lord declared it as “holy”. We have holy-days or holidays, but it would be different from the seventh day because it should be dedicated for the Lord who is holy.
The Lord did not rest because He was worn out or tired, but to exemplify to His creation that there is a period of rest – filled with worshiping and fellowshipping with the Creator. Setting aside a day of rest is worship in itself, because we are obeying what God had instituted and trusting that He can provide for what we need. We may be able to “advance ahead” with our finances, and from our co-workers when we don’t rest for a day, but it wouldn’t take long and we must deal with “pay back time”. We can get worn out and sick and pay more with hospital bills, we can have worn out car, we can have broken relationships, we can get cold in our spiritual life. We can be caught up with money matters and become greedy, become discontented and wanting for more, and we can end up rationalizing not attending fellowships and church. Worse is to end up not trusting in the Lord, and the Lord crystallizing our disbelief and finally we turn away from the faith – which is a heavy warning on the last days (Matt 24:10, 2 Tim 3:1-9).
Genesis 2:5-9 Details of Creation
Genesis chapter 1 somehow gave us a “wide angle view” of the creation process. And now in chapter 2, it slowly “zooms in” to the details of creation. Here we read that the Lord created the “largest sprinkler system in the world” to water all the land and the plants.
We also read how God created the man – whom we will know as Adam. Adam means man. Root meaning of man is earth – from dust, where man was made.
Psalm 103:13-14: As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
Take note that it did not become a human being, not until the Lord breathed the “breath of life” into the man’s nostrils. So, we know that a man without the Spirit of God is basically dead - spiritually. We became alive in Christ, when the Holy Spirit took dwelling in our life.
The Lord planted the Garden of Eden and put the man there. Also the Lord placed in the middle of the garden, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree to test the obedience of Adam to the Lord. If he will obey and not eat, then that is “good” because he will enjoy God’s providence and fellowship forever. If he will disobey and will eat of the fruit, then that is “evil” – because disobedience is the character of the Devil.
Some thoughts shared regarding the days of creation:
The Lord separated – the light from darkness, the waters below and above the sky, the seas from the land, and the day from the night.
Also, the Lord filled those whom He separated with creation such as - the seas with fishes, the air with birds, and land with plants and animals, and finally the human being.
Spiritual application: the Lord is in the business of sanctification (separating something for special use) even at the beginning of creation. When we trusted on the Lord for our salvation, God started to set us aside for His special purpose, filled us with His Spirit, and uses us to bring Him back the glory and to tell others of His love and salvation.
Genesis 1:20-23 Fifth Day of Creation
1. God created the living creatures in the water – the sea monsters or beasts like whales, and things that creeps and swarms the waters. So all the creeps were created by God too, just kidding J.
2. God created the living creatures in the air - like birds that fly, particularly. There was no particular mention of flying insects though. But take note that insects like butterflies came from creeping creatures like caterpillars, mosquitoes from water germs, etc.
However creepy some things were, they were good according to the Lord. Everything was created by God for a purpose. God blessed them all to multiply and to fill the seas and the earth.
Genesis 1:24-31 Sixth Day of Creation
1. God created the living creatures in the land – the livestock to wild animals, and small animals that scurry along the ground.
2. God created human beings – in his own image: a triune creature – body, soul, and spirit (1 Thes. 5:13). Everything else has body and soul (thoughts and feelings) like the animals, but they have no spirit.
God gave the authority to man to manage the whole earth and creation. God gave human beings too the ability to pro-create, to multiply, and to subdue the earth.
Some believe that this was to counteract the presence of Satan – whom when thrown out from heaven to earth, turned the “first” earth into chaos (Gen. 1:2) and still rule as the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), until now. Bible numbers somehow designate the number 6 to the number of man, whereby man was created on the sixth day.
Genesis Chapter 2
Genesis 2:1-4 Seventh Day of Creation
God “rested” after creating everything – blessed them as “good”, and “very good” for the creation of man. But on the seventh day, the Lord declared it as “holy”. We have holy-days or holidays, but it would be different from the seventh day because it should be dedicated for the Lord who is holy.
The Lord did not rest because He was worn out or tired, but to exemplify to His creation that there is a period of rest – filled with worshiping and fellowshipping with the Creator. Setting aside a day of rest is worship in itself, because we are obeying what God had instituted and trusting that He can provide for what we need. We may be able to “advance ahead” with our finances, and from our co-workers when we don’t rest for a day, but it wouldn’t take long and we must deal with “pay back time”. We can get worn out and sick and pay more with hospital bills, we can have worn out car, we can have broken relationships, we can get cold in our spiritual life. We can be caught up with money matters and become greedy, become discontented and wanting for more, and we can end up rationalizing not attending fellowships and church. Worse is to end up not trusting in the Lord, and the Lord crystallizing our disbelief and finally we turn away from the faith – which is a heavy warning on the last days (Matt 24:10, 2 Tim 3:1-9).
Genesis 2:5-9 Details of Creation
Genesis chapter 1 somehow gave us a “wide angle view” of the creation process. And now in chapter 2, it slowly “zooms in” to the details of creation. Here we read that the Lord created the “largest sprinkler system in the world” to water all the land and the plants.
We also read how God created the man – whom we will know as Adam. Adam means man. Root meaning of man is earth – from dust, where man was made.
Psalm 103:13-14: As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
Take note that it did not become a human being, not until the Lord breathed the “breath of life” into the man’s nostrils. So, we know that a man without the Spirit of God is basically dead - spiritually. We became alive in Christ, when the Holy Spirit took dwelling in our life.
The Lord planted the Garden of Eden and put the man there. Also the Lord placed in the middle of the garden, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree to test the obedience of Adam to the Lord. If he will obey and not eat, then that is “good” because he will enjoy God’s providence and fellowship forever. If he will disobey and will eat of the fruit, then that is “evil” – because disobedience is the character of the Devil.
Bible Study (July 16) - Genesis 1
Genesis 1:9-13 Third Day of Creation
verses 9-10 Land and seas were separated. And God saw that it was good.
verses 11-13 Trees and vegetations were created - seeds reproduce according to their kind.
Is it not interesting to know that God authored the cycle of reproduction? And take note, it is according to its own kind. Also, take note that seeds bring new life. The plant grows, it gives out fruits, and from the fruits come out seeds. The plant dies then the seed will be planted and come out as new plant again.
There is another Seed mentioned in the Bible. In Galatians 3:16 it said, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ”. Also in Galatians 3:29 it said, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Christ is the Seed who died, and on the third day, rose again to give life to many people like you and me. God promised Abraham to be father of many nations (Genesis 17:4). We now that we too belong to Abraham, being believers in Christ. Romans 4:17 said, “As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed — the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”
Is it not interesting to know that on the third day of creation, God started to create life (at least plant life), and life that reproduce? Christ resurrected on the third day to give new life to all who will trust and believe in His atoning work for mankind. Unfortunately, people started to mess up with what God had originally designed. We now produce crops that are seedless (i.e. grapes, tomatoes, melons, etc). Who want to eat seeds anyway, right? Wrong, those seeds need to reproduce their own kind. Christians too need to reproduce and we need to sow the original Seed - who is Christ, in the hearts of people.
Genesis 1:14-19 Fourth Day of Creation
verses 14-15: Creation of sun, moon, and stars is described in general terms.
verse 16: The term lights mean "luminaries". The word can designate the sun, which emits light, or the moon, which reflects light. And the stars, "also" which emit lights.
God set the sun, moon, and stars for the "signs and seasons" that determine our days, months, and years; and it also became the earliest form of navigation in the old days. Depending on the phases of the moon, and the position of the stars, a skilled sailor can navigate through the oceans. We had the likes of Columbus, Magellan, and other sailor-discoverers who traversed and braved the seas and oceans using the sun, moon, and stars for navigation. Now, they popularized the GPS system we are using J, only this time using man-made “stars” such as satellites – we have Magellan GPS for example. But then, when everything else fails and our moral compass are broken, God is still there guiding us – with His Spirit, even with His sun, moon, and stars reminding us of His greatness and holiness.
Now in the ancient days, people worshiped, deified, and mystified the stars. Other religions either worship the sun, moon, the stars, or all of them. Pagan Arabs worshiped them all, and many believed that Islam religion extracted one of the moon gods called "Hubal" and eventually worshiping that god as Allah or Al-ilah. And therefore, the Islam religion has a crescent moon as a symbology in many landscapes and also the flags of Muslim countries. In 1950's, a statue of the moon god was excavated in the Middle East, with the crescent moon embossed on its chest.
But not to single out the Islam religion, other eastern religions as far as China, India, and other African countries have moon gods too but different names. Yet, we know that even in Muslim countries, and Buddhist countries, God is working and many people are turning to Christ for salvation - many of them claimed they were disoriented by their religions, and don't fill in that God-shaped vacuum in the hearts of people. Many of the persecuted Muslim-Christians who seek asylum to the U.S. are now preaching Christ back to their countries.
verses 9-10 Land and seas were separated. And God saw that it was good.
verses 11-13 Trees and vegetations were created - seeds reproduce according to their kind.
Is it not interesting to know that God authored the cycle of reproduction? And take note, it is according to its own kind. Also, take note that seeds bring new life. The plant grows, it gives out fruits, and from the fruits come out seeds. The plant dies then the seed will be planted and come out as new plant again.
There is another Seed mentioned in the Bible. In Galatians 3:16 it said, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ”. Also in Galatians 3:29 it said, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Christ is the Seed who died, and on the third day, rose again to give life to many people like you and me. God promised Abraham to be father of many nations (Genesis 17:4). We now that we too belong to Abraham, being believers in Christ. Romans 4:17 said, “As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed — the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.”
Is it not interesting to know that on the third day of creation, God started to create life (at least plant life), and life that reproduce? Christ resurrected on the third day to give new life to all who will trust and believe in His atoning work for mankind. Unfortunately, people started to mess up with what God had originally designed. We now produce crops that are seedless (i.e. grapes, tomatoes, melons, etc). Who want to eat seeds anyway, right? Wrong, those seeds need to reproduce their own kind. Christians too need to reproduce and we need to sow the original Seed - who is Christ, in the hearts of people.
Genesis 1:14-19 Fourth Day of Creation
verses 14-15: Creation of sun, moon, and stars is described in general terms.
verse 16: The term lights mean "luminaries". The word can designate the sun, which emits light, or the moon, which reflects light. And the stars, "also" which emit lights.
God set the sun, moon, and stars for the "signs and seasons" that determine our days, months, and years; and it also became the earliest form of navigation in the old days. Depending on the phases of the moon, and the position of the stars, a skilled sailor can navigate through the oceans. We had the likes of Columbus, Magellan, and other sailor-discoverers who traversed and braved the seas and oceans using the sun, moon, and stars for navigation. Now, they popularized the GPS system we are using J, only this time using man-made “stars” such as satellites – we have Magellan GPS for example. But then, when everything else fails and our moral compass are broken, God is still there guiding us – with His Spirit, even with His sun, moon, and stars reminding us of His greatness and holiness.
Now in the ancient days, people worshiped, deified, and mystified the stars. Other religions either worship the sun, moon, the stars, or all of them. Pagan Arabs worshiped them all, and many believed that Islam religion extracted one of the moon gods called "Hubal" and eventually worshiping that god as Allah or Al-ilah. And therefore, the Islam religion has a crescent moon as a symbology in many landscapes and also the flags of Muslim countries. In 1950's, a statue of the moon god was excavated in the Middle East, with the crescent moon embossed on its chest.
But not to single out the Islam religion, other eastern religions as far as China, India, and other African countries have moon gods too but different names. Yet, we know that even in Muslim countries, and Buddhist countries, God is working and many people are turning to Christ for salvation - many of them claimed they were disoriented by their religions, and don't fill in that God-shaped vacuum in the hearts of people. Many of the persecuted Muslim-Christians who seek asylum to the U.S. are now preaching Christ back to their countries.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Bible Study (July 9) - Genesis 1
Here are the highlights on Genesis 1:1-8 (NKJV):
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Comments:
We need to acknowledge that GOD exists, even before we were created. He is from eternity to eternity, and He is timeless. Next, GOD is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and all the things we see and feel. Nothing happened by accident, but designed by an Intelligent Designer - GOD Himself. Huge explosion do not create, but it destroys. GOD in this text is a compound unity (Elohim - plural form) - it expresses the grandeur of GOD. With reference to John 1, it may imply the Trinitarian nature of GOD - One GOD in three distinct Persons. The mystery of the Trinity cannot be explained by our limited knowledge of GOD. And we dare not compare and explain with simple things such as egg, water (forms of gas, liquid, and solid), office positions, and others.
Important thought:
If Christians fail to defend the fact that GOD exists, and GOD created all things, then we are giving the atheists and evolutionist the upper hand to disprove the Christian faith. And everything about the rest of the Bible is simply not true, and our faith are just in vain.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Comments: Verses 1 and 2 have time lapsed in a sense. God cannot create something and it is still void and without form. Verse 1 seems to be the summary of all succeeding verses describing the process of creation.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Comments:
A day in Hebrew "yom" - is a sequence of darkness and light, or day and night. And we prefer a 24-hour period as verses 3-5 exactly refers to, day and night. Evolutionists imply that "yom" is longer from several days to even billion years, simply adjustable so that it can support the forming of one thing to another (i.e. monkey to human), while they're buying time - and we know it will never happen.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
Comments:
Many teachers believe that God created a canopy of water above the sky, and water down below which we know as the seas and oceans. The waters above served as filter and temperature control to provide human beings a good or even perfect environment to live on earth (somewhat same function as the ozone layer). Making it possible for human to live hundreds of years - like Methuselah who lived 969 years. During the great flood - God opened up the heavens and released the floodgates of heaven (Gen 7:11). Many teachers believe that the layer of protection was removed, thus fulfilling what God said that life span will only last 120 years (Gen 6:3).
Spiritual Application (verses 2-5):
We all know that we were once in the darkness, under the dominion and control of Satan. We were "wild and wasted" or without form and void. But at some point in time, the Lord created us into a wonderful creation. When God's Spirit was hovering over the emptiness of mankind, the Lord found us and made us into new beings - people that reflect His beauty and majesty. We became new creation in Jesus Christ, when we responded to His love and grace (2 Cor 5:17). Do you want to be renewed and find new meaning in life? Ask God to make you new a new being, a new creation by inviting Him into your heart - and to make you a new person. As He promised, He will.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Comments:
We need to acknowledge that GOD exists, even before we were created. He is from eternity to eternity, and He is timeless. Next, GOD is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and all the things we see and feel. Nothing happened by accident, but designed by an Intelligent Designer - GOD Himself. Huge explosion do not create, but it destroys. GOD in this text is a compound unity (Elohim - plural form) - it expresses the grandeur of GOD. With reference to John 1, it may imply the Trinitarian nature of GOD - One GOD in three distinct Persons. The mystery of the Trinity cannot be explained by our limited knowledge of GOD. And we dare not compare and explain with simple things such as egg, water (forms of gas, liquid, and solid), office positions, and others.
Important thought:
If Christians fail to defend the fact that GOD exists, and GOD created all things, then we are giving the atheists and evolutionist the upper hand to disprove the Christian faith. And everything about the rest of the Bible is simply not true, and our faith are just in vain.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Comments: Verses 1 and 2 have time lapsed in a sense. God cannot create something and it is still void and without form. Verse 1 seems to be the summary of all succeeding verses describing the process of creation.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
Comments:
A day in Hebrew "yom" - is a sequence of darkness and light, or day and night. And we prefer a 24-hour period as verses 3-5 exactly refers to, day and night. Evolutionists imply that "yom" is longer from several days to even billion years, simply adjustable so that it can support the forming of one thing to another (i.e. monkey to human), while they're buying time - and we know it will never happen.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
Comments:
Many teachers believe that God created a canopy of water above the sky, and water down below which we know as the seas and oceans. The waters above served as filter and temperature control to provide human beings a good or even perfect environment to live on earth (somewhat same function as the ozone layer). Making it possible for human to live hundreds of years - like Methuselah who lived 969 years. During the great flood - God opened up the heavens and released the floodgates of heaven (Gen 7:11). Many teachers believe that the layer of protection was removed, thus fulfilling what God said that life span will only last 120 years (Gen 6:3).
Spiritual Application (verses 2-5):
We all know that we were once in the darkness, under the dominion and control of Satan. We were "wild and wasted" or without form and void. But at some point in time, the Lord created us into a wonderful creation. When God's Spirit was hovering over the emptiness of mankind, the Lord found us and made us into new beings - people that reflect His beauty and majesty. We became new creation in Jesus Christ, when we responded to His love and grace (2 Cor 5:17). Do you want to be renewed and find new meaning in life? Ask God to make you new a new being, a new creation by inviting Him into your heart - and to make you a new person. As He promised, He will.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
God Is Good
And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house. And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen.
Genesis 43:17–18
After selling him into slavery, no wonder Joseph’s brothers were afraid when he called for them. “Oh, no!” they said. “He’s calling us to his table because he wants to send us away as prisoners.”
People still have this view of the greater than Joseph, Jesus Christ. People still say, “I’ve blown it so badly; I’ve erred so greatly; I know the Lord will yell at me and imprison me if I even come near His house.”
Not true! Even though these guys had sinned greatly, they will discover incredible grace and unbelievable mercy because Joseph is a picture of Jesus. And where sin abounds, His grace abounds much more (Romans 5:20). When you are aware of your failings, your weaknesses, your inconsistencies, your stubbornness, rebellion, and sin, there’s a tendency to say, “I can’t go to church because I know Jesus is mad at me. If I go, I’ll be bound with rules and regulations; I’ll be sent away to the prison of condemnation.”
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8–9
Through Isaiah, God says, “When someone offends you, is mean or nasty to you, I know that your ways and your thoughts center on one thing: revenge. But I don’t think like you do. Therefore, I don’t work like you do.”
We need to realize how much different the Lord is from how we are in our fallen condition, in our depraved nature. “God is good,” declares the psalmist (Psalm 73:1). He’s just flat out, plain old good. He looks for ways not to blast, but to bless.
(Borrowed from Pastor Jon Courson)
Genesis 43:17–18
After selling him into slavery, no wonder Joseph’s brothers were afraid when he called for them. “Oh, no!” they said. “He’s calling us to his table because he wants to send us away as prisoners.”
People still have this view of the greater than Joseph, Jesus Christ. People still say, “I’ve blown it so badly; I’ve erred so greatly; I know the Lord will yell at me and imprison me if I even come near His house.”
Not true! Even though these guys had sinned greatly, they will discover incredible grace and unbelievable mercy because Joseph is a picture of Jesus. And where sin abounds, His grace abounds much more (Romans 5:20). When you are aware of your failings, your weaknesses, your inconsistencies, your stubbornness, rebellion, and sin, there’s a tendency to say, “I can’t go to church because I know Jesus is mad at me. If I go, I’ll be bound with rules and regulations; I’ll be sent away to the prison of condemnation.”
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8–9
Through Isaiah, God says, “When someone offends you, is mean or nasty to you, I know that your ways and your thoughts center on one thing: revenge. But I don’t think like you do. Therefore, I don’t work like you do.”
We need to realize how much different the Lord is from how we are in our fallen condition, in our depraved nature. “God is good,” declares the psalmist (Psalm 73:1). He’s just flat out, plain old good. He looks for ways not to blast, but to bless.
(Borrowed from Pastor Jon Courson)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Adam and Eve
Just found this joke, and I think it's worth laughing for :) .... Enjoy!
Adam was walking around the Garden of Eden feeling very lonely, and he heard a loud voice ask him, "What is wrong with you?" Adam said he didn't have anyone to talk to. Then the loud voice said he was going to give him a companion and it would be a woman.
He said "this person will cook for you and wash your clothes, she will always agree with every decision you make. She will bear your children and never ask you to get up in the middle of the night to take care of them. She will not nag you, and will always be the first to admit she was wrong when you've had a disagreement. She will never have a headache, and will freely give you love and compassion whenever needed."
Adam asked "What would a woman like this cost me??"
The answer was "an arm and a leg."
Adam then asked "What can I get for just a rib???"
The rest is history.
Adam was walking around the Garden of Eden feeling very lonely, and he heard a loud voice ask him, "What is wrong with you?" Adam said he didn't have anyone to talk to. Then the loud voice said he was going to give him a companion and it would be a woman.
He said "this person will cook for you and wash your clothes, she will always agree with every decision you make. She will bear your children and never ask you to get up in the middle of the night to take care of them. She will not nag you, and will always be the first to admit she was wrong when you've had a disagreement. She will never have a headache, and will freely give you love and compassion whenever needed."
Adam asked "What would a woman like this cost me??"
The answer was "an arm and a leg."
Adam then asked "What can I get for just a rib???"
The rest is history.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Be Sanctified
1 Thessalonians 4:8
Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
From time to time, it is good to be reminded that there are warnings from the Word of God regarding things that we need to avoid as Christians. We notice in the passage that the problems the Thessalonian Christians had were not uncommon, but had been going on until now with even greater intensity. And so, the Apostle Paul stressed out that we should be holy - even as God is holy. It just doesn’t work that God is holy and we are not – otherwise, we are in fact practicing what the Devil is doing.
The Devil never changed tactics in snaring people to sin since he tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Satan offers you something anytime anywhere with these three categories. Something you desire and want to covet, something you want to experience and feed your appetite, and something that will boast your ego and make you feel great! In our text today, the warnings involved are in second category. Whatever age bracket, whatever status of life you are in, whatever maturity level of Christianity you have, these tactics of the Devil work just as fine … whatever (as many people say today).
But take note, there is much emphasis on this warning about sexual immorality for it is a sin with a different sting – we even sin against our own body! (1 Cor 6:18), and our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Many people hate corrections and are not willing to submit to a sound advice – Christians included! The Lord works in different ways and uses different avenues just to put warning signs along our path. Yet, if we neglect God’s loving hand, then we are approaching God’s hand of justice. Verse 6 says that the "Lord will avenge for such sins", more so if we keep doing them. Have you ever thought of such incurable diseases brought about by this sin? Just thinking.
We as believers are going through the sanctification process (or I may say cleansing process). Jesus Christ freed us from the "penalty of sin", He is currently protecting us from the "power of sin", and He will take us out from the "presence of sin". If we don’t tap on God’s protection and make ourselves vulnerable from the power of sin, then we have to take the consequences. We are not disobeying those whom God had sent to talk and warn us, rather we are disobeying God. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” says Hebrews 10:31. The best thing yet is for us to ponder on verse 7: “God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.”
Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
From time to time, it is good to be reminded that there are warnings from the Word of God regarding things that we need to avoid as Christians. We notice in the passage that the problems the Thessalonian Christians had were not uncommon, but had been going on until now with even greater intensity. And so, the Apostle Paul stressed out that we should be holy - even as God is holy. It just doesn’t work that God is holy and we are not – otherwise, we are in fact practicing what the Devil is doing.
The Devil never changed tactics in snaring people to sin since he tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Satan offers you something anytime anywhere with these three categories. Something you desire and want to covet, something you want to experience and feed your appetite, and something that will boast your ego and make you feel great! In our text today, the warnings involved are in second category. Whatever age bracket, whatever status of life you are in, whatever maturity level of Christianity you have, these tactics of the Devil work just as fine … whatever (as many people say today).
But take note, there is much emphasis on this warning about sexual immorality for it is a sin with a different sting – we even sin against our own body! (1 Cor 6:18), and our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Many people hate corrections and are not willing to submit to a sound advice – Christians included! The Lord works in different ways and uses different avenues just to put warning signs along our path. Yet, if we neglect God’s loving hand, then we are approaching God’s hand of justice. Verse 6 says that the "Lord will avenge for such sins", more so if we keep doing them. Have you ever thought of such incurable diseases brought about by this sin? Just thinking.
We as believers are going through the sanctification process (or I may say cleansing process). Jesus Christ freed us from the "penalty of sin", He is currently protecting us from the "power of sin", and He will take us out from the "presence of sin". If we don’t tap on God’s protection and make ourselves vulnerable from the power of sin, then we have to take the consequences. We are not disobeying those whom God had sent to talk and warn us, rather we are disobeying God. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” says Hebrews 10:31. The best thing yet is for us to ponder on verse 7: “God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.”
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