Month: October 2015

Saturday 10/10/15 Biblical Evidence for a literal 7 Day Creation

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There are Christians on both sides of the fence. Many believe in a literal 7 day creation and some believe the 7 Days were 7 periods. The one thing they are in agreement about is that God is THE CREATOR- THE CAUSE “and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Indeed God as Creator is the Most Important truth.

If God truly is God He does NOT need millions of years to create man or anything else. Also, if God did NOT create man in an instant in His image as the Bible says than man would have to evolve and at some point be GIVEN a Spiritual dimension that God know God. There is NO where in scripture that teaches this.

I believe that if you believe the Bible first and foremost and then look at science through the eyes of what God says IS True; that you can’t avoid a literal 7 day creation. If you make physical science the foundation for truth and interpret the Bible through mans limited understanding of science you Could come up with a period other than a literal 7 days.

The best way to interpret scripture though is not through science, but through other scripture. Different passages shed light on other passages. And to be brutally honest; either the Bible IS 100% true or there is no way to know what parts are true and it becomes a rather worthless book with some nice stories and teachings, but not the Word of God.

Genesis 1:1-4
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

EACH day of creation God speaks of what He created during the day and then says- “there was evening and there was morning.” God goes out of His way to delineate each day from the next as He tells the story of creation.

Exodus 20:8-11
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 31:17
It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

Hebrews 4:4
For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;

EACH of these passages make it VERY clear that the Bible is speaking of a Literal 7 days of Creation. We can trust Him who was there before creation and at the beginning of creation.

We have value not because we have evolved to be the highest on the food chain because of time and chance, but because we were created in the image of God to be filled with the Love and Life of God- His Glory- Jesus Christ.

Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Why does EVERY man, woman and child have infinitely more value than every other created thing?

Are you treating people based on their God given value or on whether they add value to your life?

Friday 10/9/15 Let your light shine before men

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John 1:4 & 9
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men
9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

As we saw yesterday, Christ is the Light of the world and He enlightens every man- He provides spiritual insight so that every man can see the truth of Him as Creator, Savior and Lord. Man was created to receive the Life and Light of God by faith in Christ Jesus so that He might shine in and through us.

However, as we will see in Genesis 3; when Adam sinned he plunged the whole world into spiritual darkness. Christ came to rescue us from the domain of darkness and to restore us to the kingdom of Light through His beloved Son- The King of Light. We become His luminaries as we receive Him and allow Him to live in and through us EVERY moment of EVERY day. Like the moon, we are not THE Light, but as we stay in His presence we reflect His Light to the world of darkness all around us. Like the moon, we cannot produce light apart from Christ.

How do you stay in the presence of Christ in the midst of a hassled and hurried world?

Who in your life is experiencing the Light of Christ through you?

John 3:19-21 19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Acts 26:18  to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

According to these passages how do we know whether we or someone else is truly walking in The Light?

Matthew 5:14 & 16      14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Ephesians 5:8    for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light

Acts 26:17b-18    …I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

Are you “letting your light shine”, “walking as a child of the light” and “opening the eyes of the blind?”

 

The people around us are lost and groping around in the dark. Will we help rescue and restore them to the Light of the world?

 

Colossians 1:12-14    12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. 13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Thursday 10/8/15 I am the Light of the world

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Genesis 1:2-5
2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

What is the light in Genesis 1:3-5; since the Sun, Moon and Stars are not created until the Fourth Day?

Man has a tendency to explain away the spiritual by only seeing the physical, not realizing that ultimately it is the spiritual- God Himself through Jesus Christ who explains and makes sense of the physical. The Creator of the world alone can make sense of what we see with our physical eyes and what we don’t see with our physical eyes. If we try to remove The Creator from the creation we remove the SUPER-natural from the natural and life does NOT make sense. Remember God is Spirit and the physical was created by Him to reveal the spiritual- Himself to us.

So what is the light of Genesis 1:3? I propose it is Spiritual Light piercing into the physical world for the first time-
I John 1:5-7
5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Again we look to the Gospel of John to see the creation story through the eyes of the apostle John-
John 1:4-9
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

Who is the TRUE LIGHT and what was His purpose in coming to earth?

Just as light broke through the darkness in Genesis, so the Light of Christ came to break through Spiritual darkness and to reveal the Glory of God to man that they may be restored with the life of God-
John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 17:4-5 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”
Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

II Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

The Light of the World- The Glory of God revealed IS Jesus Christ. Do you know Him? Has He pierced through the Darkness of your life?

Jesus came as Light to make God known and to defeat the darkness of Sin, Despair and Death. Look at what God’s ultimate restoration looks like in Heaven at the end of all time-
Revelation 22:3-5
3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun,
because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

In heaven all things are made right. We now have God Himself as our only light. Things are restored to Day 1 of creation and even better, because darkness itself NO longer exists because Satan, Sin and Death are defeated.

Have you trusted Christ to be THE Light of YOUR world?

Wednesday 10/7/15 All things came into being through The Word

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Genesis 1:3
Then God said, … God spoke to create- He SPOKE and what He spoke was The Word of God- Jesus Christ and through the Living Word ALL things came into being including YOU.

II Peter 3:5a
For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago…

The New Testament Gospel of John reads like the beginning of Genesis. It begins to pull back the curtain to reveal the mystery, wonder and power of Jesus- the Living, Creating Word of God. This Jesus who was “in the beginning with God” entered into time in the flesh to further reveal His Father to the world that He created.

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

The whole Bible is merely a written revelation of the Living Word of God- Who is Christ; who is spoken of from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.

Revelation 19:13
He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

The Living Word of God- Jesus Christ shed His own blood that you might know, fellowship and love Him who created you out of love for His love. You are not an accident. You are His creation and He created you NOT out of a need for love, but out of the fullness of love that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit shared from all eternity and HE wants to share that love with YOU.

Hebrews 1:2
in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

Colossians 1:15-17
15 He(Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Why were you created by The Word of God?

 

God created us for Himself. Life becomes frustrating and confusing as we try to live for purposes other than for Him. God didn’t create us to make our lives miserable. God created us for Himself, because He truly is the BEST THING He can give us.

Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

How do we continuously Understand/See/Experience the Reality of the Person who is THE Word of God?

 

I pray that today you will see with eyes of faith The Word’s presence in your every circumstance and interaction with others. The Word who spoke is speaking and He wants you to experience Him who created life, AS LIFE today.

Tuesday 10/6/15 Created by God for relationship with God- He is the best thing He can give us

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Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In Genesis 1 we see the same phrases repeated each day of creation- “Then God said” and “God Made.”
God as a directly involved creator is a dominate theme throughout ALL of the Bible and stands in complete opposition to the idea of Evolution- Life accidently and randomly coming from NON-life. The Bible makes it extremely clear that the LIVING and LIFE giving God is the CREATOR of ALL THINGS.

Please take some time to know God’s heart as YOUR CREATOR and FATHER as you read just a few of the many Biblical passages that speak of God as creator of all-

Psalm 121:2
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Isaiah 45:12
It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it.
I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host.

Jeremiah 32:17
‘Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,

Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

What is one of the outcomes of realizing God’s power as Creator?

Acts 17:24-28
“The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’

Why did God create man?

What is the benefit of being God’s child?

I Corinthians 8:6
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

Revelation 4:11
“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

What happens to the meaning and purpose of life if God did NOT Create us for Himself and if instead we are random accidents of time and chance? 

What would change in your life if you fully lived your life for God’s purpose? Would it be better or worse? Why?

Monday 10/5/15 Multiplying your “dash”

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Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In the beginning- In the beginning, God created time. Before God created; God existed outside of time. Time is a creation of God. Time exists within God. God exists outside of time.

CS Lewis, a British novelist and Christian apologist gave a simple illustration that helps us in a limited sense understand time a little better-
Draw a short line in the middle of a piece of paper
The Paper is God the line is all of time

We exist within time while we are on the earth and are thus constrained by time. However and more importantly we exist within God. God is not limited or constrained by time. Time was created for the physical world to exist within, but is never a limiter of the power and authority of God. Time is a tool in the hand of God.

Psalm 90:2 & 4
2 Before the mountains were born Or You gave birth to the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.

II Peter 3:8
But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

Why is it a benefit to us that God exists outside of time?

When we give our lives to Christ then we are in a position to give each moment to Christ. It is interesting that we first start with giving Him our eternity and then as we learn to trust Him with each moment we grow in sanctification (Holiness, being set apart to God, purity). We fail to give Him each moment only when we fail to see Him in the moment. And we fail to see Him in the moment only because our eyes (both physical and spiritual) are fixed on something other than Him.

Thus, when by faith we learn to look to the God who stands outside of time we too, can in a way; live outside the constraints of time. The laws of the Spirit are not limited by the laws of the physical and by time itself UNLESS we submit the spiritual to the servitude of the physical and time.

Ephesians 5:15-17
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

According to this passage how can we make the most of the time (the dash) God gives us?

How are you consuming/spending “the dash” of your life in the temporal things of life?

How are you investing the dash of your life in the eternal things of God?

Our life is but a limited “dash” of time. Give your “dash” to God today and see how He will multiply it.
The Dash Poem (Read by Author) Linda’s web site: www.Linda-Ellis.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVLqkExH5ww

Saturday 10/3/15 DO Love

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Luke 10:25-37
And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
And He(Jesus) said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”
And he(The Lawyer) answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
And He(Jesus) said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”

It is actually quite easy to learn about love intellectually; to know how to define it. The Lawyer knew the law and defined it perfectly by quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5. Jesus even credited the man with the correct answer, but added the all-important words of “DO This.”

Knowing, often does not lead to doing. And to DO without Knowing the Love of God in Christ is to do without love.

So how do we both KNOW God’s love and Share God’s love- DO Love?

Jesus, as He often did; TOTALLY de-constructs the Lawyer’s simplistic and easy idea of obeying the Law of Love and multiplies the cost of truly loving.

The following are some of the ideas that Jesus points out in this short parable-
1. The man was lying half dead in a very rough part of town- Picture driving alone through a rough part of town where you are scared to even be there and you come across a man who has just been beaten and robbed. No one would think you were wrong to drive right on because it would be Unsafe to stop and help.

Love is willing to put one’s own life at risk for God in the Love of others. Love is costly.

2. Jesus expands the definition of the word Neighbor from the nice people you know to- Anyone you meet in the path of life- even your worst enemy.

Love is willing to not only love those you like and who have earned your love, but those who you detest and who have wronged you.

3. Being a Holy person by position or title does not make you a holy person. A Holy and loving person is the one who shows God’s love to the least of these.

4. Love costs time, inconvenience, money, risk, etc.

5. True love moves beyond knowledge to action when it is fueled by COMPASSION. True love feels others pain as if it was their own pain. True love empathizes with the pain and circumstances of others and DOES SOMETHING to bring Christs love to that person in a VERY PRACTICAL WAY.

When was the last time it cost you something to love someone?

Are you willing to risk your time, your money, your energy, your very life for The One who gave His life for you?

Do you KNOW about Love or do you DO love?

Friday 10/2/15 The practical and sacrificial nature of Love

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I want to finish up our look at love with a parable that Jesus taught about taking the theoretical and making it practical.

Take time to slowly read and meditate on the following familiar passage usually referred to as the story of “The Good Samaritan.”

Luke 10:25-37
And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?”
And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; DO THIS AND YOU WILL LIVE.”
But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.
“And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
“Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
“But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,
and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
“On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’
“Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”
And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Now reread the passage and record the thoughts, questions and insights that come to mind as the Lord speaks to you through His word and by His Spirit.

I was talking with my son’s Fenn Philip, Josiah and Jacob yesterday and we were having an honest discussion about our desire to see God’s supernatural work and to know His presence in a more powerful and real way. As I thought about this later in the day I sensed the weight and reality of yesterday’s passage of “For now we see in a mirror dimly” and “now I know in part.” Perhaps, I don’t “see” and “know” His work, power and presence because I see everything through fleshly eyes and not spiritual eyes. I am looking for an immediate return on my investment. I want to see results instead of seeing the God of results.

Did the man who was attacked experience God’s presence and power? If so, how?

Did the Good Samaritan experience God’s presence and power? If so, how?

Jesus doesn’t even speak to the impact of the Good Samaritans actions on the man he helped or on the Good Samaritan Himself. Perhaps Love is doing the most practical and humble things in life to the people present in our lives with no need to get anything back in return, knowing we can trust God to do an amazing and powerful work with one little seed of love.

Thursday 10/1/15 The Greatest of these is Love- Is Christ

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I Corinthians 13:11-13
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child;
when I became a man, I did away with childish things.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face;
now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I did away with childish things- I laid childish things away, I exchanged childish things for the things of God. I set aside that which was not perfect in exchange for Him who is perfect. I laid down my need for all of life to revolve around me, because I now know it doesn’t revolve around me and it never did. I now know if I lay down what is not true in exchange for what is true, that I will live in accordance with what is true and not against it. Instead of throwing little temper tantrums when I don’t get my way, I will know that my way is not the best way. I will know that God’s way is ALWAYS the best way and that the only way I can experience it- receive it, is by doing away with my childish and self-centered thinking.

Have you done away with childish things? What reactions this week point to you still clinging to childish things?

How does God’s love in Christ help us do away with childish things?

For now we see in a mirror dimly- The reality is that I do NOT see things clearly. At best I see things dimly. Remember a mirror in Paul’s time was made out of polished metal, and at best gave a cloudy and distorted image of what was in the mirror. If we live knowing we do NOT know it all it will lead to several things- Humility toward others because we know we are NOT all knowing. Faith in God, because we know HE is ALL Knowing. Our security is not in what we know, but in Him who we know.

Do you know Him well enough that you can trust Him with what you do not understand, even when it seems to be contrary to who He is?

now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known- We will know fully JUST AS we have been fully known. God knows us perfectly. God knows what’s in our heart. God knows our fears, our desires and our motives. God knows who we are as His children. When we are united with Christ we then will fully know all that is in His heart. There will be no doubt that He is always for us and that He loves us with a perfect love that only desires the best for us. We will know love fully, because we have come to fully know Christ face to face.

How can we see God, ourselves, others and life as a whole more clearly now?

the greatest of these is love- Love is the greatest because we will go on for all eternity experiencing the Love of God- receiving it from Him and giving it to Him and sharing it with each other forever. Love shared mutually with man was the motive of God’s heart from the beginning of all creation and His love is the completeness we have always longed for and will enjoy for all eternity.

Faith and Hope will both pass away when we are united in perfect love with Christ. We will no longer need faith to know God because we will be in His presence continuously. We will no longer need hope, because there will be nothing more to hope for- to want, to desire, to need; because God will have made all things right and perfect and will have satisfied every earthly hope in the Love of Christ.

For now though, the only way to fully know His love is by Faith in who He says He is and by Hope in the knowledge that His desire is always the best for us.

What beliefs prevent you from fully experiencing and giving the Love of Christ?