bible reading day 1

I began this morning with Genesis 1, and here are some thoughts...

Order. God created it all. It all belongs to him. We are all accountable to him. A parallel NT passage: John 1, where the new creation (redemption) is begun by God the Son entering our world to save us. "Save us" includes the return of form and fullness to his creation. He blesses us with salvation, and "it is good." We go forth with the gospel to bring order and fullness of blessing to our world.

Joy. God saw that all he did was good. We see the joy of God's creativity, and hence, we have joy in creating and sharing in his creation.

The "image of God" is our created constitution to rule over God's creation with righteousness and goodness. It means having a body and soul, and specifically, the mind, and will, and emotions to share dominion in a God-like (godly) and good way.

"And it was so..." (wayehî Gen. 1:7 et al) This is a common phrase used throughout the Bible to indicate that something happened, and sometimes specifically that what God said "came to pass". You will see it often translated as "and it came about". The important thing to note is that this phrase does not require immediate or instantaneous fulfillment. Even in the context of the six days of creation we see that the creation of the vegetation on day three (Gen. 1:11) had not actually "come to pass" yet by day six (Gen 2:5).

I hold to a position that the days of Genesis are days of decree. God spoke these things in the order of three days of forming and separating; and three days of filling creation with its creatures. We are told of God's speaking his design and his blessing, but we must be careful in how we infer the manner of accomplishment. There were both supernatural and natural forces at work in creation, just as there are in redemption.

"And he blessed them, saying..." (1:22 et al) The blessing (barak) is the good word given by God to his creation which also imparts the power to bring about the blessing.

What's my take away from the first chapter of Genesis on the first day of the new year? Our God is a God of creation, communication, design, order, and fullness of blessing. This is his universe and I am his creation, and now I am his child by redemption. My calling is to submit to God's design and plan for fullness of life and, as I am able, to bring godly order and blessing into my immediate world. My words of blessing in this new year can help others enjoy God's goodness.

I'm using this plan this year. Feel free to follow along!

Image above is a photo from Topsail Island, NC, taken in 2018 with a Nikon Coolpix.

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bible reading nov 1-2

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Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

my burg

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