Just a couple more interesting things to point out before we move along…

In the last letter, you should have gotten the idea that God was pretty pleased
with the work he did in the six days recorded in Genesis. But did you notice
there was one exception?

God saw the light was good.

When the water receded and dry ground appeared, God saw that it was good.
The land producing vegetation, and the heavens being restored to order…God
saw that it was good.

The water creatures and birds…God saw that it was good. The livestock and
creatures that move along the ground…God saw that it was good. Adam. Even
though God knew he would fall…Adam…God saw that it was VERY good.

But did you notice this:

“And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water
from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse
from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse “sky.” And there
was evening, and there was morning—the second day.” (Gen. 1:6-8)

Wow. God didn’t say a single word about that being a good thing, did he? Could
be maybe, that he forgot…or that he just didn’t think it was that big a deal. Really,
all he did was separate the water under the expanse from the water above it. And,
he called the expanse….”sky”.

His creation wouldn’t live in the sky, but on earth. So the earth was a good thing.
All the things on earth were good things…and all the things above earth were good
things. But there was something about the sky that God didn’t much care for…

“The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or
Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his
angels with him.” (Rev. 12:9)

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to
live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of
the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Eph. 2:12)

Wow. “The ruler of the kingdom of the air”…Maybe that’s why God didn’t call
the sky good? Because it’s being ruled by the fallen Lucifer? The ruler of the
kingdom of the air…the prince of this world (John 16:11). God knew what
Adam was going to have to contend with.

Lucifer didn’t fall after the creation of Adam. He was already there…in the
garden…in the air around Eden…waiting. Waiting for Adam to come along and
be tempted. Lucifer was already fallen even as the earth was being restored by
God. He was already the ruler of the kingdom of the air…the prince of this world.
Waiting to ambush an unsuspecting Adam.

The sky, or the air is Satan’s habitat for the moment. Maybe that’s why God
couldn’t call it good….

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I’d like to pause here for a moment to point out that in the scheme of things, it
really doesn’t matter a lot whether you believe God created the heavens and
earth in six days, or whether he did it “in the beginning”…or whether or not you
find this particular study interesting…whether or not, it’s shedding some light on
how things might have been, or what your thoughts are on dinosaurs, cavemen
and all that.

What’s important is this: IN THE BEGINNING, God created the heavens and
earth. Ultimately, he created everything ON earth, IN earth or AROUND earth,
including Adam. As we shall see, Adam was disobedient, fell from grace and
needed redemption. God provided that redemption through Jesus. THAT is what’s
important! 

With that said, let’s go back a few verses and look at something that’s very,
very interesting!

“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light
was good…” (Gen. 1:3,4)

“And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry
ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered
waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.” (Vs. 9,10)

“The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees
bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”
(Vs. 12)

Concerning the lights in the expanse of the sky…

“God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day
and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.”
(Vs. 17)

“So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with
which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to
its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Vs. 21)

“God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their
kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And
God saw that it was good.” (Vs. 25)

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” (Vs. 31)

One interesting thing is this: Of all the work God performed in those six days, he
saw that it was all good. After the creation of Adam, even though God knew his
creation would fall, he called his work, not “good”, but “very good”. Adam, even
in his soon-to-be-fallen state, caused God to upgrade his own opinion of his own
work from “good” to “very good”. Wow, how God must have loved his Adam!
Wow, how he still does…you Adam, you!

There are a couple of other interesting things to point out in these verses…but we’ll
do that next time. For now, just sit back…relax and enjoy being God’s Adam.
The creation that catapulted God’s work from being “good” to “very good”. You are
why he created anything at all…you are the culmination of his work. You, Adam….
you….

Who’d have ever thunk it?

Many blessings!

Andy
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To pick up where we left off…

“And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day
from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,
and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.”
And it was so.” (Gen. 1:14)

Again, no creating…God was simply restoring the topsy-turvy heavens to where
they were supposed to be.

“God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light
to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky
to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from
darkness.” (Gen. 1:16-18)

God didn’t “create” two great lights on this day. He made two great lights (that were
already in existance from “the beginning”) governers of the expanse of the sky. He
made, or caused, the greater light to govern the day and the lesser to govern the
night. He didn’t create the stars…they were already here…from “the beginning”.
He simply returned them to where they were supposed to be before the heavens
were so shaken. In other words, he restored the heavens…

“And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the
earth across the expanse of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea
and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds,
and every winged bird according to its kind.” (Gen. 1:20,21)

This is the first act of creation mentioned in the Bible since “the beginning”. God created
(new) the creatures of the water and the birds of the air. Why? Because these were
not going to be the same creatures that lived in the pre-historic world. These were to
be different. No sea serpents or pterosaurs…this time, he wanted to populate his waters
with fish, minnows, whales, and countless other critters. Instead of winged dinosaurs, he
chose to have feathery birds with musical voices…so he created them from scratch!

“And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock,
creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And
it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to
their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.”
(Gen. 1:24,25)

Did God “create” animals here? Or did he “let the land produce living creatures” that may
have existed before…in the pre-historic world? There’s no way to really know for sure,
and in reality, it doesn’t matter…because either way, God caused them to exist. It can
be said, though, that in every other instance that God “created”, the word “created” was
used. In any case, God “made” or caused them to be…whether new creations or
reproductions.

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over
the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over
all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ” (Gen. 1:26, 27)

Here, God created Adam. Not the Neanderthal of old…but Adam. It’s here that God
first gives Adam dominion over the earth…and it’s here that the first prophecy of the
Bible is written. “Let THEM rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air…”

God is clearly saying that Adam is only the beginning. He’s letting everyone know that
man will, not just survive, but thrive on this newly restored earth. THEY will rule over
the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over all the earth…

If you would like to help us financially without spending any extra money, please consider making your Amazon purchases from this site! Thanks and many blessings!

Images of Jesus

As humans, when we think about images of Jesus, we tend to need or want to put a face on him for some reason. There are pictures of a solemn Jesus, a white or black Jesus, a Jesus in pain, a weeping Jesus and even a laughing Jesus…among countless others.

What we fail to realize, is that it doesn’t matter what he looked like. He just looked like any other average person. Like you, maybe. Or like me. He didn’t look white or black. He looked Jewish. The length of his hair doesn’t matter. Whether or not he had a beard…

The images of Jesus that really are important, had nothing to do with his physical features. That’s why I decided to do this short series…to give us some images of Jesus that have a little meaning. Something we can take into the new year with us, and maybe share with others….

In the last post, we briefly looked at the image of the power and glory of God, wrapped in human flesh. Today, I would like to look at another image that’s rarely discussed. Perhaps it can be explained better, simply by jumping right into it:

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)

Did you happen to catch it? Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and favor…with God…(and here’s the part you might have missed)…and with man. Jesus grew in favor with man. People LIKED him!



He wasn’t the ol’ stick in the mud that’s often portrayed in many pictures…the guy that never smiles and is always so serious about life that if he cracked a grin the picture frame would shatter into a gazillion pieces. People LIKED him. He was fun to be around!

Now, we all know God has a sense of humor…just look at us! Some folks are hilarious to be around…and we’re made in his image! God never asked any of us to be fuddy-duddies, but look around the church pews some Sunday morning at some of the faces you see…

How about this one? What was the first miracle Jesus performed? Turning water into wine at a wedding! Now a “religious” man wouldn’t be caught dead turning water (or anything else) into wine…wedding or not. If anything, he’d be trying to turn the wine into water!

Secondly, how did Jesus wind up at the wedding? Take a look at John 2:2, won’t you? What does it say? Jesus and the disciples were INVITED to the wedding. Why were they INVITED? Because they were a bunch of fun-loving guys! They were fun to be around. Nobody invites people to a party unless they enjoy being around them…right?
You don’t enjoy their company, you don’t invite ‘em…right?

I’m not trying to change the images of Jesus that you may have in your mind…but I am trying to expand some of the boxes those images may be kept in. Yes, Jesus was a serious guy when he needed to be serious…but he also enjoyed having a good time. He enjoyed laughing and joking and carrying on with the people around him. In other words, he enjoyed life!

Look around you. Don’t we all know people that other people seem to be attracted to, for some reason? What’s the reason? People enjoy being around them. Why do you choose the friends you choose? You enjoy their company, right? Why do people hang around YOU? Because they enjoy being around you…

People LIKED Jesus. Not because he was the Son of God, or the Savior of the world…
but because he was Jesus…the guy that was cool to hang with. In fact, when the Bible states that “he grew in favor with God and man”, Jesus hadn’t yet been revealed to be anything other than a carpenter’s son. Just plain ‘ol Jesus. The fun guy (with uncanny wisdom) that lived down the street…

And once his true identity was revealed…how refreshing it must have been to hear him condemn the religious people of the day…their arrogance and “holiness”…in order to reveal God’s true intent for humankind…faith (as opposed to works) and love.

So, of all the images of Jesus we can take into the new year with us, please, please, please, allow one of them to be this one: a man who grew in favor with God AND man. An image of a Savior…the Son of God…who wasn’t afraid to laugh, smile and have a good time. An image of a Jesus that was fun to hang with…and keep in mind, while you have that image in place, that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:).

Images of Jesus

Images of Jesus

As humans, when we think about images of Jesus, we tend to need or want to put a face on him for some reason. There are pictures of a solemn Jesus, a white or black Jesus, a Jesus in pain, a weeping Jesus and even a laughing Jesus…among countless others.

What we fail to realize, is that it doesn’t matter what he looked like. He just looked like any other average person. Like you, maybe. Or like me. He didn’t look white or black. He looked Jewish. The length of his hair doesn’t matter. Whether or not he had a beard…

The images of Jesus that really are important, had nothing to do with his physical features. That’s why I decided to do this short series…to give us some images of Jesus that have a little meaning. Something we can take into the new year with us, and maybe share with others….

In the last post, we briefly looked at the image of the power and glory of God, wrapped in human flesh. Today, I would like to look at another image that’s rarely discussed. Perhaps it can be explained better, simply by jumping right into it:

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)

Did you happen to catch it? Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and favor…with God…(and here’s the part you might have missed)…and with man. Jesus grew in favor with man. People LIKED him!

He wasn’t the ol’ stick in the mud that’s often portrayed in many pictures…the guy that never smiles and is always so serious about life that if he cracked a grin the picture frame would shatter into a gazillion pieces. People LIKED him. He was fun to be around!



Now, we all know God has a sense of humor…just look at us! Some folks are hilarious to be around…and we’re made in his image! God never asked any of us to be fuddy-duddies, but look around the church pews some Sunday morning at some of the faces you see…

How about this one? What was the first miracle Jesus performed? Turning water into wine at a wedding! Now a “religious” man wouldn’t be caught dead turning water (or anything else) into wine…wedding or not. If anything, he’d be trying to turn the wine into water!

Secondly, how did Jesus wind up at the wedding? Take a look at John 2:2, won’t you? What does it say? Jesus and the disciples were INVITED to the wedding. Why were they INVITED? Because they were a bunch of fun-loving guys! They were fun to be around. Nobody invites people to a party unless they enjoy being around them…right?
You don’t enjoy their company, you don’t invite ‘em…right?

I’m not trying to change the images of Jesus that you may have in your mind…but I am trying to expand some of the boxes those images may be kept in. Yes, Jesus was a serious guy when he needed to be serious…but he also enjoyed having a good time. He enjoyed laughing and joking and carrying on with the people around him. In other words, he enjoyed life!

Look around you. Don’t we all know people that other people seem to be attracted to, for some reason? What’s the reason? People enjoy being around them. Why do you choose the friends you choose? You enjoy their company, right? Why do people hang around YOU? Because they enjoy being around you…

People LIKED Jesus. Not because he was the Son of God, or the Savior of the world…
but because he was Jesus…the guy that was cool to hang with. In fact, when the Bible states that “he grew in favor with God and man”, Jesus hadn’t yet been revealed to be anything other than a carpenter’s son. Just plain ‘ol Jesus. The fun guy (with uncanny wisdom) that lived down the street…

And once his true identity was revealed…how refreshing it must have been to hear him condemn the religious people of the day…their arrogance and “holiness”…in order to reveal God’s true intent for humankind…faith (as opposed to works) and love.

So, of all the images of Jesus we can take into the new year with us, please, please, please, allow one of them to be this one: a man who grew in favor with God AND man. An image of a Savior…the Son of God…who wasn’t afraid to laugh, smile and have a good time. An image of a Jesus that was fun to hang with…and keep in mind, while you have that image in place, that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:).

Images of Jesus