Tag: Creation

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, She, Volume 2

Eve

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Adapted from, She, Volume 2, p 17-18

Read: Genesis 2 and 3

Eve, “The woman who was instrumental in sin entering the world and from whom we can learn “what not to do”. She was the first woman created by God from Adam’s rib, placed in the Garden of Eden as a helpmate to her husband. Given the privilege of God’s company, of knowing His goodness, and the beauty of His creation prior to sin entering the world. She could be the poster child for Peter’s warning to be self-controlled and alert, because our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion (or in Eve’s case, like a serpent) looking for someone to devour.1

The study guide for our journey focuses first on the creation of Eve:

  • She was taken out of the man (Gen. 2:22).
  • She was created in the image of God, (Gen. 1:27).
  • She was created with purpose, (Gen. 2:18).

In these truths, we see Eve as “the first woman“, who “serves as an example that God creates each woman with purpose and has a unique plan for her life.“

Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

23 And Adam said:

“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Genesis 2:15-20

And then our attention is turned to her conversation with the serpent and her subsequent fall.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

2 (And the woman said to the serpent), “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

Genesis 3:1-3
  • Eve not only entered into conversation with the serpent, she also embellished what God said, using the words, “nor shall you touch it.” These words were not part of the original command, and they are confirmed nowhere else in the Bible (Genesis 2:16-17).
    • ‘Oh, be careful, little mouth, what you say.’

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.” Genesis 2:16-17

  • She desired what the tree had to offer (Genesis 3:6).
    • So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, (Genesis 3:6a)
      • ‘Oh, be careful little eyes what you see.‘

The verse reveals Eve’s three motivations for crossing that line: The tree’s fruit could satisfy her body’s appetite for food, the tree was visually attractive, and the tree could make her wise. Those motivations line up closely with the Apostle John’s description of the things which still drive the world as we know it today: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).

Bibleref.com
  • She was deceived.
    • ‘Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear; and be careful, little mind, what you think.’
      • She knew what God had told Adam, and yet she added to His words and justified her desire
  • She had a choice to make...
    • she took of its fruit and ate… (Genesis 3:6b)
      • She gave it to her husband, and he ate it too… (Genesis 3:6c)
        • ‘Oh, be careful little hands what you do.‘

Friend, if you’re wondering what good can come from focusing on Eve’s fall, I encourage you to consider these truths- one is an important warning and the other is life-changing encouragement:

  • Sin will take you farther than you want to go, and cost you more than you want to pay.
  • He can use us despite our sin and fulfill His will through us if we will simply yield to Him.

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study

Image Bearers

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based on the Love God Greatly Study, From the Beginning to Forever/w1d2

Read: Genesis 2:4-17; SOAP: Genesis 1:26-27 – KJV

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

27 So God created human beings in his own image.
    In the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27 NLT
Made in God’s Image

This verse is breathtaking in its implications and puzzling in the questions it raises.

bibleref.com

Among other questions that it raises, it begs us to explore what it means to be made in the likeness or image of God. As bibleref.com points out: “This statement does not mean that God created humans to resemble Him physically.” John 4:24 makes it clear that God is a Spirit, or as bibleref.com goes on to clarify: “He is not simply a more complex physical being, or a limited creature … restricted to seeing, hearing, or being in a single location, like the false gods of most religions.” In other words, we do not physically look like God, but “we do possess God’s capacity to experience and understand love, truth, and beauty.” Because we share this capacity, He has called us to be His representatives here on earth. We are to share His truth with ‘the world’ (Matthew 28:19-20) and we are to love others just as Jesus (our role model) has loved us (John 13:34). Actually, as Paul taught the Colossians, “whatever we do and say, we are to do as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. In other words, we are not just to be His representative, we are to represent Him so well that others will see Jesus in us and be drawn to the Father.

As human beings, this side of sin, when we contemplate our “image,” we may not feel as carefree and natural as our ancestors, Adam and Eve. Instead, we may balk at the idea that it is made after the “likeness of God, because unlike Adam and Eve, we were born with sinful natures, inherited from Adam after the fall (Rom. 5:12; Prov 22:15; Ps 51:5 and 58:3). Sin marred the innocence that Adam and Eve knew “in the beginning.” Before the fall, Adam and Eve had no insecurities or shame and did not know any evil. As Bibleref.com explains, “Their lack of shame was not due to ignorance: it was due to innocence.” The commentary explains, “As chapter 3 will make clear, the shame we feel over being naked is tied to an awareness of one’s own sinfulness and rebellion.” Now, only when we are made new in Christ1 (born again) is the old sinful nature (that came to us through Adam) traded for the new nature of Christ’s Spirit, who lives in us and was given to us by God.2 So that we no longer have to live under the power of sin.3 You see, God made a way where there was no way! Though we were once slaves to sin, we are now, through faith in Christ, sons and daughters of the living God. He has legally adopted us through Christ and has given us the Spirit of adoption, allowing us to live in a relationship with Him – free from the chains of the old nature.

Wonder and Awe

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 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.’”

Genesis 2;18-23

From the first ‘sighting’ of the Trinity (1:26) to the first ‘surgery’ by the Great Physician (Genesis 2:18-23), this passage is filled with God’s wonder and leaves me standing in awe of His power and creativity, and praising Him for creating me in His image. Friends, may we never forget that we are made in the image of God so that we might have a relationship with Him and reflect His character to those around us – that He might be made known through us and receive glory, honor, and praise. Oh, that He might continue to work within us through the power of His Holy Spirit so that we do not live by the old nature but faithfully by our new nature through Christ and His Spirit in us.

The More We Know

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study

God Rested

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Based on the LGG STUDY, From the Beginning to Forever/w1d1

READ: Genesis 1:1 – 2:3; SOAP: GENESIS 2:1-3

So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

GENESIS 2:1-3 NET or KJV
God Rested From All His Work

I used to be one of those go, go, go people. Whether playing, shopping, or working, “Don’t stop till you drop” was my motto. However, for the past several years, I have been learning to appreciate the gift of resting from our work. Perhaps it is the aging process and a little less spring in my step/knees, but I also believe/know it has stemmed from the need and growing desire to cease striving. Striving to keep up with others…with expectations of the world, friends, family…with standards…work…home life…neighbors…you name it – keeping up is part of the game in today’s world. Keeping up can be mentally and physically draining.

My online group Journey Through the Word, has just finished a study called, The Meaning and the Method of True Rest, by Michele Morin@Living Out Our Days. In her study, Michele focuses not on the physical rest (though we do need this) but on “soul rest,” as she puts it. She suggests that “If we want to experience true, biblical rest, we have to be intentional about it. We have to make space for it.” (YIKES! – Right?) Thankfully, she warns her readers right up front that the best method of achieving this goal is to trust God “for grace to slaughter our idols of productivity and effectiveness, all the while asking Him for wisdom to know and then to do what’s most important with the energy and ability He provides.”

As God would have it, I was knee deep in “The Meaning and Method of True Rest” when I received my book for this current study, From the Beginning to Forever. You don’t have to know me very well to imagine the smile on my face when I opened day 1 to find the focus passage was about God resting from His work. (His timing and day-to-day involvement never cease to amaze me.) Of course, I was very familiar with the statement of Genesis 2:2 & 3, but as I stated earlier, I was finishing up a study on finding soul rest for myself, so being reminded of God resting from His work made me wonder what it means for God to rest.

Bibleref.com explains it like this: “What does it mean to ‘rest’ from working, for one with the power to create worlds out of nothing with just His command? It is hard to know, but the passage is clear that it was significant to God. Whether for practical, symbolic, or other purposes, we are meant to see this as a meaningful choice on the part of the Creator. This day of rest will become known as the Sabbath, a central point of God’s Law and essential to Israel’s worship of Him. But even now, before sin enters the world, before the Law exists, this day of rest is already meaningful to the Creator.” While we still may not fully understand what it means that “God rested”, verse three goes on to explain that “God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.” He not only rested on the seventh day, but He sets it apart as Holy; or as Bibleref.com goes on to explain, “different from the other six days. Even before sin entered the world, God intended from the very beginning for the seventh day to be a special day dedicated to rest. It is the pattern he set for the world beginning in this verse.”

The More We Know

Order Out of Chaos

While I love the reminder that “God rested from His Work,” I also found myself stopping to soak in and contemplate the refreshing words of Genesis 1:1 -2 …

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 Now the earth was without shape and empty, (or without form, and void) and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

The Hebrew words used here are tōhu and bōhu, translated as “formless” and “void.”According to this text, the earth was empty and literally in chaos.bibleref.com

Genesis 1:1-3

Then God spoke ~ and by His words He spoke boundaries into places where there were none and light into darkness. God spoke and gave shape to formlessness, separated day from night, sky from water, order among life, and life, rule, and purpose where none had existed.

We have likely all been in chaotic situations, where it seems everything or everyone is out of control. I work in a church office, and even there, some days bring unending phone calls and/or a steady flow of people, noise, and myriad distractions, while the daily jobs still have to get done. While a part of me thrives in this atmosphere, I will admit I am ready for or in need of rest when the day is finished and the work is completed. Friends, whether working in an office, in a classroom, at a shopping venue, or at home with the kiddos, the reality is that almost any scenario of places or events can offer up times of chaos. Let’s face it: We live in a world filled with chaos. Thankfully, as we see in today’s word, from the beginning of creation, we know the One who can (and will) bring order from chaos. So take heart, my friends, “With God, disorder and chaos will give way to order and peace,” of this we can be sure.

Our God is a God of order, who does all things well. “God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). With God, disorder and chaos give way to order and peace.

Gotquestions.org

For more insight on today’s journey, visit:

Do you know the God who spoke order into chaos? Do you know Jesus, His Son, who died that you might live? I would love to share them with you. Please click on ‘Know These Truths” and let me introduce you to them so that we can share in this hope together. 🦋

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Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Living In Community, Not Made to Be Alone, Quiet Time

Not Made to Be Alone

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An Love God Greatly Study / Week 2 – Day 1

Today’s Reading: Genesis 2:18-24 / Soap: Genesis 2:18

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”

Genesis 2:18

Today’s passage,“It is not good for the man to be alone“, is clearly the basis or the “poster verse” of our study. Day after day God pronounced what He had done as good but here He says: “It is not good for the man to be alone.” God wasn’t simply speaking things into creation and moving along, He was clearly paying attention to the day-to-day details of what He was creating. His creation was important to Him and He made right what was wrong.

While verse 18 is our focus/soap verse – it is good to read the entire passage to understand the detailed attention God gave to the situation. He tailor-made Eve for Adam, so that she would correspond specifically to him. Don’t miss the last words of the passage, “and they became a family.” This adds the second dimension to our community – first God, then family.

A Perfect Fit

Whether God saw that man was lonely or needed help or simply someone to talk to, God noticed something wasn’t right – and He made it right. Clearly, according to how God remedied the situation – man needed someone more like himself, someone who corresponded with him.

God Provides What His Children Need

I love knowing that as a believer I can trust God to see/know when something isn’t right and to take care of it in the way that is best for me. I can trust that :

  • He cares for me …
    • 1 Peter 5:7 / Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you.
  • He wants what is best for me …
    • Jeremiah 29:11 /  For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.
  • He can and will do what it takes to make things right – as clearly seen in the Scriptures:
    • John 3:16 /  For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
    • Genesis 2:18 / The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”
    • John 17: 3-4 /  Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.
    • John 19:30 / When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
    • Luke 24:1-12 / But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.” 9 After he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 As they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly two men in white clothing stood near them 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”
    • Romans 8:34 /... Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us.
    • John 14:1-4 / “Do not let your hearts be distressed. You believe in God; believe also in me. There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you. And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too. And you know the way where I am going.”

Response to God’s Word

Father-God You are so good! As You did with Adam in the beginning You do with us now – You see and know when something isn’t right and You – in love, power, grace and mercy – make it right. There is no greater evidence of this than You sending Jesus to save us from our sins. From Adam’s flesh you created Eve because it was not good for man to be alone; and from a virgin You brought forth Your only begotten Son – a Savior -because sin had separated us from You, and You knew this was not good. So in unfathomable love and great power and amazing grace You made a companion who corresponds with us and one who now resides with us who have believed. Through Jesus we have been made right with You and now we are never alone. All praise and glory to You, in His name I pray and trust – Amen and amen!

Don’t forget the Monday, Wednesday, Friday blog posts from the LGG Team. They offer awesome insight and will enrich your time in the Word – just follow this link … https://lovegodgreatly.com/lgg-blog/

Posted in Advent, Bible study, From the Insideout, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The God Who Restores

The Coming Glory

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A Love God Greatly Advent Study, The God Who Restores – W2D5
Today’s Reading: Romans 8:18-25
Today’s SOAP: Romans 8:24-25

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance.

Romans 8:24-25
Observations: The Present Suffering

Sin brought a curse upon the world and man that is still present today. So that we (believers) eagerly await God’s “coming glory”, when all will be restored and completely made right. Somehow, creation itself understands the effects of the curse and, like us, is eagerly awaiting for our redemption to be complete.

Hope and The Life of Anticipation

While our focus verses show us the importance of hope in the believer’s life, don’t miss that God Himself, acted in hope of—or “looking forward to”—the reversal of His curses He [God] had subjected creation to. A good explanation of this is found at Bibleref.com, which says:

God subjected creation to frustration in response to Adam’s sin in the garden of Eden. God did not design creation to suffer. That hardship came after all was meaningful and “very good.” This warped, struggling existence came about when God cursed all of creation in response to human sin (Genesis 3:14, 17–19).He never intended for His creation to experience this futility and death and corruption forever.

Bibleref.com goes on to say, “The day is coming when God will reveal His children in the glory He has for us, and then creation will be set free from its bondage. Paul says that creation itself will obtain the same freedom that those in Christ will receive when they are glorified. All suffering will end. All will be made right (Revelation 21:1–4).”

I read somewhere that – “The life of a Christian is the life of anticipation“. From the time we place our faith in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, we “hope in what we cannot see”… the promise of eternity, the guarantee of new bodies, of righteousness, forgiveness, and the God to whom we pray. This hope causes us to wait like expectant children at Christmas time with and eagerness to receive what we have asked for and believed in!

Application: How Does This Apply to Me?

A time stretches out and it becomes easier to lose hope -instead we should:

  • take heart that God’s promises are yes and amen in Christ
  • stay in the WORD, who is Christ and from which our HOPE comes
  • Wait with eager expectation

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.

2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT
Prayer: Response to God’s Word

Father, thank You for Your promises that are yes and amen in Jesus Christ! Thank You for the HOPE in which I have been saved, and in which I now eagerly wait for Christ’s return! Thank You for leading me to put my faith in Jesus – And – Thank You that Your perfect timing in all things – perhaps, especially so in Your “coming glory”, when all will be restored and completely made right. – In and through the name of Jesus! – Amen

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

In Jesus You Are… A New Creation

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Welcome to the first day of our NEW study, In Christ You Are …! For the next four weeks, in our journey through the Word, our goal will be understanding who we are in Christ. To find out what it’s all about check out the introduction here: Your Identity in Christ

READ: 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 AND COLOSSIANS 3:9-10; SOAP: 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Here’s today’s devotional, including this week’s challenge and memory/focus verse 🙂

Devotional Link

Colossians 3:9-10 Nlt

Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

Don’t forget: On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday you will find a blog to go with this study at

Love God Greatly

Posted in Bible study, LGG Study

Draw Near: Week 2 – Monday What’s the Genre?

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Today’s Scripture – Psalm 19:4-6; Colossians 2:1-10 (SOAP: Psalm 19:4-6)

Psalm 19:4-6

Their message has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a groom coming from the bridal chamber;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles to their other end;
nothing is hidden from its heat.

Colossians 2:1-10

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person. 2 I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery—Christ.[a] 3 All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him.

Christ versus the Colossian Heresy

4 I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with persuasive arguments. 5 For I may be absent in body, but I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how well ordered you are and the strength of your faith in Christ.

6 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude.

8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. 9 For the entire fullness of God’s nature[b] dwells bodily[c] in Christ, 10 and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Lgg Blog/Lesson
LGG Devotional

*note – The Blog is a vital piece of this particular study and will be included on M-W-F posts.

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