These verses have always struck me. Look how selfless Abram was. He and his nephew Lot just grew too big in numbers to continue living on the same land. It was time for them to part. So they are standing outside, looking out at the land around them, and Abram gives Lot first choice on where he would like to go.
Now, if you have children, you know who gets first choice. It is the child with the most interest in whatever you are giving. Just last night, we were making cupcakes. My main chef wanted to choose ALL of the cupcakes she wanted to decorate first. Nice for her, not so much for the others. (We ended up passing them around the table so each child could choose one to decorate.)
Yet here is Abram, and he seems genuinely like it doesn't matter to him. Even though he has worked so hard to earn what he has, Abram lets Lot choose first.
Lot, being like most of us, looked around and saw a land of plenty. And immediately, he snatched it up. He just left Abram with whatever he could find on that land. And Abram didn't grumble and complain. Or at least the verses I read didn't indicate that he did. He just smiles, went on his merry way, and lived his life.
To me that is an act of faith. The human part of me would have been more like Lot, I am afraid. I would have been looking at this land that looks very conducive to plant growth then looking at my more barren land saying, "Now what am I going to do? How can I do anything with this? Why did my nephew Lot leave me with this after all I have done for him?"
What impressed me even more was that a little while later, dear nephew Lot got into a little trouble. Or rather was kidnapped while living in a very evil land. Abram could have easily held up his hand ("Talk to the hand" kind of stance) and say, "You know, you left me with the barren land. Forget you."
But no.
Abram is a better man than me.
Instead he risks his life to save his selfish nephew. He chases after these kidnappers and gets his nephew back. He fights the men who are responsible for taking Lot. And he wins.
Wow.
What I have to wonder is how Lot felt. Did he feel ashamed? Relieved? Did he just expect that his dear uncle would do this? Or did he look at Abram as his rescuer?
I don't know the answers. Just wondering aloud.
Tomorrow's reading:
Genesis 15-17
Oh goodness. Three chapters!
More later,
Reba
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Week 2 Day 1: Abram's on the Go
Genesis 12
It is going to be really hard to not say Abraham, but he isn't yet...
I don't think I mentioned in yesterday's post that the end of Chapter 11 involved the lineage of Abram. So that was my starting point in chapter 12.
Very beginning of the chapter, God tells Abram to leave the home he has been in for years and years to go to a new land. I have to admit, that would be a hard thing to swallow. I like comfort. I like my comfort zone. Just to be told to "go" without much direction or a clear cut destination. That would be tough. Now maybe, just maybe, it would be different if God was audibly talking to me. He did that with Abram. He told him to go but also told him how he would be right there protecting him and blessing him. But then again, should I really have to hear God in that loud Godly voice? Ouch.
The other story that somewhat amuses me is the second part of Chapter 12. Here Abram and his wife Sarai are hanging out in Egypt. And Abram gets nervous that something will happen to them, so he asks his sweet wife to pretend to be his sister. Somehow that would bring favor on them. Except poor Pharaoh guy. Suddenly bad things start happening to him and his people. I always thought that was kind of odd since he wasn't the one who purposely was being deceptive, but then I am not God. I just have to trust He knew what He was doing. Anyway, Abram had to come clean and leave Egypt.
The part that strikes me as a bit funny is that here God talked to Abram. In an audible voice. He told Abram that He would protect him. And then a little while later, here is Abram, lying to the Pharaoh about his wife as he tries to protect himself.
I guess that just shows me that the struggle with faith and truly believing God will do what He says He will do has been around from the very beginning. It is not a new thing. I am not saying that it is any more right to struggle with that now. I am just saying that even the very people who could talk to God fought the battle of disbelief. It is apparently a human struggle. One I still deal with in my life daily.
How about you?
Reba
Tomorrow's reading: Genesis 13 and 14
It is going to be really hard to not say Abraham, but he isn't yet...
I don't think I mentioned in yesterday's post that the end of Chapter 11 involved the lineage of Abram. So that was my starting point in chapter 12.
Very beginning of the chapter, God tells Abram to leave the home he has been in for years and years to go to a new land. I have to admit, that would be a hard thing to swallow. I like comfort. I like my comfort zone. Just to be told to "go" without much direction or a clear cut destination. That would be tough. Now maybe, just maybe, it would be different if God was audibly talking to me. He did that with Abram. He told him to go but also told him how he would be right there protecting him and blessing him. But then again, should I really have to hear God in that loud Godly voice? Ouch.
The other story that somewhat amuses me is the second part of Chapter 12. Here Abram and his wife Sarai are hanging out in Egypt. And Abram gets nervous that something will happen to them, so he asks his sweet wife to pretend to be his sister. Somehow that would bring favor on them. Except poor Pharaoh guy. Suddenly bad things start happening to him and his people. I always thought that was kind of odd since he wasn't the one who purposely was being deceptive, but then I am not God. I just have to trust He knew what He was doing. Anyway, Abram had to come clean and leave Egypt.
The part that strikes me as a bit funny is that here God talked to Abram. In an audible voice. He told Abram that He would protect him. And then a little while later, here is Abram, lying to the Pharaoh about his wife as he tries to protect himself.
I guess that just shows me that the struggle with faith and truly believing God will do what He says He will do has been around from the very beginning. It is not a new thing. I am not saying that it is any more right to struggle with that now. I am just saying that even the very people who could talk to God fought the battle of disbelief. It is apparently a human struggle. One I still deal with in my life daily.
How about you?
Reba
Tomorrow's reading: Genesis 13 and 14
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Week 1 Day 7: Babbling Away
Genesis 11
I had to laugh tonight when my husband asked me to go check out the trashcan in the kids' bathroom. I should have taken a picture (and would if it were not all the way across the house). The trash can runneth over. Joshua has a cold and he is going through tissues about as quickly as his nose runs. The whole point to this is my husband likened it to a "Tower of Babel" which was ironic considering Genesis 11 is about...
The Tower of Babel.
Here are these people. They all speak the same language. Can you imagine what that would be like? What if we all spoke the same language? Would there be fewer disagreements or would our words escalate the arguments even more? Totally rhetorical. I don't know the answer to that.
Anyway, one day these people get a big idea. Not a great idea. Just a big one. They decided they would just build a tower all the way up to heaven. After all, there would be power in that, right? That is what the people thought. However, nobody asked God.
So God looks at His people. I wonder if he did what I often do in similar situations. You know, the shaking of the head in frustration. The loud sighs. The roll of the eyes.
I love that this passage doesn't say He laid on a guilt trip trying to reason with these humans. It doesn't say that he exploded in anger. It just said that God announced that they would be scattering those people and multiplying their languages. And that is what he did.
Problem solved.
End of story.
I don't know exactly how He did it. I just know He did. No more one language. Now, just lots of babbling going on.
And because of that, we still have moments of frustration when we are trying to to talk to someone and our message gets lost in translation.
Or we call a company on the phone and we cannot understand a word they say due to thick accents.
Or we call customer service and hear, "Please press 1 for English..."
Or we open up a set of instructions and see the directions in six different languages.
All of that because of some people who wanted to be as big (if not bigger) than God.
Lord, help me to remember to be humble. Anything and everything I do should glorify you.
Amen.
Tomorrow's reading: Genesis 12
I had to laugh tonight when my husband asked me to go check out the trashcan in the kids' bathroom. I should have taken a picture (and would if it were not all the way across the house). The trash can runneth over. Joshua has a cold and he is going through tissues about as quickly as his nose runs. The whole point to this is my husband likened it to a "Tower of Babel" which was ironic considering Genesis 11 is about...
The Tower of Babel.
Here are these people. They all speak the same language. Can you imagine what that would be like? What if we all spoke the same language? Would there be fewer disagreements or would our words escalate the arguments even more? Totally rhetorical. I don't know the answer to that.
Anyway, one day these people get a big idea. Not a great idea. Just a big one. They decided they would just build a tower all the way up to heaven. After all, there would be power in that, right? That is what the people thought. However, nobody asked God.
So God looks at His people. I wonder if he did what I often do in similar situations. You know, the shaking of the head in frustration. The loud sighs. The roll of the eyes.
I love that this passage doesn't say He laid on a guilt trip trying to reason with these humans. It doesn't say that he exploded in anger. It just said that God announced that they would be scattering those people and multiplying their languages. And that is what he did.
Problem solved.
End of story.
I don't know exactly how He did it. I just know He did. No more one language. Now, just lots of babbling going on.
And because of that, we still have moments of frustration when we are trying to to talk to someone and our message gets lost in translation.
Or we call a company on the phone and we cannot understand a word they say due to thick accents.
Or we call customer service and hear, "Please press 1 for English..."
Or we open up a set of instructions and see the directions in six different languages.
All of that because of some people who wanted to be as big (if not bigger) than God.
Lord, help me to remember to be humble. Anything and everything I do should glorify you.
Amen.
Tomorrow's reading: Genesis 12
Friday, February 25, 2011
Week 1 Day 6: A Promise
Genesis 9 and 10
A Promise
Ahhh, my favorite part.
So here is Noah and his family. They are off the boat now. The water is gone. Basically he and his family have the whole earth to themselves. Wow.
And what does God start this passage with?
He tells them that he is giving everything to them for food...No, that isn't my favorite part, but it is a close second. I am not going to lie. I really like food. So here is God saying that He is giving everything for food. For whatever reason, that caught my attention. :)
But the biggie. The rainbow. I love that God gave a tangible picture of His promise to NEVER destroy the earth by flood again. And such a beautiful picture too.
Even now, I see that rainbow, and I see His promise.
I remember one point during Maria's adoption, I was feeling down and out. I don't remember every detail, but I am pretty sure we were leaving Shakes which is a local frozen custard place. Love their malts. Anyway, we were leaving there and I looked over at the sky and saw a beautiful rainbow. And immediately felt peace.
Oh, I know. The promise was to not destroy the earth again by flood.
Doesn't say a word about bringing home our daughter from Guatemala.
But still, seeing that rainbow reminded me that God is faithful. He keeps His promises. He loves His children.
And for that, I am thankful.
Tomorrow's reading: Genesis 11
Reba
PS I apologize for the large yellow date across the picture...
Day 5
Genesis 6-8
Okay, I am a day late. But JUST for the record, I did read my passage last night. I was just too tired to think of typing up any kind of post for all two of the readers out there. :) I actually didn't even turn on my laptop last night, and I am such a slow typer on my phone, so my thoughts stayed to myself.
Back to the task at hand.
The Flood.
I think about the flood every time it rains heavily. Or when I see a rainbow.
So here is this guy Noah. He made good choices. Apparently he was the only one.
One part of this passage that really struck me was that the Lord looked upon the people on earth and saw that they were wicked and that everything they thought about was evil. According to Genesis 6:6, "He was sorry he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain."
Oh, how I could identify. Not so much with the making human beings. All I did was birth a couple (and then adopt a couple). But the heart filled with pain.
There is so much wrong in the world. And one of the greatest pains I know as a mother is when my children are not making the choices they should make. I can talk to them until I am blue in the face. I can give them all of the positive tools they need to succeed. I can recite verses all day long. But ultimately, they are in charge of the choices they make. And it does hurt when they make choices I know are wrong, just as it hurts God when we make choices that are against His word.
You feel like your heart will break into a million pieces.
So what does God do? Start over. He clears off the earth with a flood. Washes all of the troubles away. All but Noah. And the animals.
The other thing that struck me about this passage was the length of time. I always forget how long this lasted. The forty days and nights of rain stick in my mind. For some reason I forget about the part that the water was on the earth for 150 days. 150. That is like five months. Almost half a year. And that is just when the water started going down. (if I am reading correctly)
I imagine how it must have been for Noah.
Two or three days of rain, I feel depressed.
I need sunshine.
How would I handle five/six months stuck inside a big boat (not even counting sea sickness) with all of those animals...no sun.
What rejoicing Noah must have done when he was able to open the doors and see dry ground.
I love how it is worded. "God remembered Noah and all the wild and tame animals."
Surely He didn't really forget Noah. Just that in His timing, He decided it was time to wrap up this project.
Thankful for a God that remembers me.
More later,
Reba
Okay, I am a day late. But JUST for the record, I did read my passage last night. I was just too tired to think of typing up any kind of post for all two of the readers out there. :) I actually didn't even turn on my laptop last night, and I am such a slow typer on my phone, so my thoughts stayed to myself.
Back to the task at hand.
The Flood.
I think about the flood every time it rains heavily. Or when I see a rainbow.
So here is this guy Noah. He made good choices. Apparently he was the only one.
One part of this passage that really struck me was that the Lord looked upon the people on earth and saw that they were wicked and that everything they thought about was evil. According to Genesis 6:6, "He was sorry he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain."
Oh, how I could identify. Not so much with the making human beings. All I did was birth a couple (and then adopt a couple). But the heart filled with pain.
There is so much wrong in the world. And one of the greatest pains I know as a mother is when my children are not making the choices they should make. I can talk to them until I am blue in the face. I can give them all of the positive tools they need to succeed. I can recite verses all day long. But ultimately, they are in charge of the choices they make. And it does hurt when they make choices I know are wrong, just as it hurts God when we make choices that are against His word.
You feel like your heart will break into a million pieces.
So what does God do? Start over. He clears off the earth with a flood. Washes all of the troubles away. All but Noah. And the animals.
The other thing that struck me about this passage was the length of time. I always forget how long this lasted. The forty days and nights of rain stick in my mind. For some reason I forget about the part that the water was on the earth for 150 days. 150. That is like five months. Almost half a year. And that is just when the water started going down. (if I am reading correctly)
I imagine how it must have been for Noah.
Two or three days of rain, I feel depressed.
I need sunshine.
How would I handle five/six months stuck inside a big boat (not even counting sea sickness) with all of those animals...no sun.
What rejoicing Noah must have done when he was able to open the doors and see dry ground.
I love how it is worded. "God remembered Noah and all the wild and tame animals."
Surely He didn't really forget Noah. Just that in His timing, He decided it was time to wrap up this project.
Thankful for a God that remembers me.
More later,
Reba
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Day 4: The First Struggles of Parenthood
Genesis 4 and 5
Oh, parenting. So many joys, so many heartaches.
And where did it start? Here. Chapter 4.
Adam and Eve have just been kicked out of paradise. They are facing the consequences of their sin. Adam is working long hours out in the fields. And Eve? She experiences the pain of motherhood. I have always wondered, does that refer to the labor and delivery? Or is it just what one feels as a mom her whole life through? (That's rhetorical...I don't have a clue what the answer is...)
So here they are with these two sons. And both sons bring forth gifts before God. For whatever reason, God rejects Cain and his gift. I have heard different theories about why but just reading it at face value, I still am not positive why God rejected Cain's gift. This may be where knowing Greek comes in handy. Well, if you have a Greek Bible. Knowing Greek with my very English Bible probably wouldn't help a lot.
Anyway, what does Cain do? He gets angry. He feels rejected. That is so true in human life. When something of ours is rejected, for whatever reason, we feel rejected. Someone doesn't e-mail me or text me back? I take it as a rejection of me. I don't get chosen as Teacher of the Year (not even Mother of the Year), I feel rejected and hurt. Well, kind of. But you get the idea.
What happens next? The first murder. Cain. I always remember who killed..."Raising Cain".
He killed his own brother.
Now I have to be a Mommy for a minute. The Bible doesn't elaborate about what Eve said or did. I just imagine what pain she must have experienced. She lost a son. But she didn't just lose one son, she lost two. One to death, one to wandering the earth in punishment. How her heart must have hurt to not have protected one son. And how torn she must have felt. Because murder or not, Cain was her son too. And we love our kids. No matter what they do. We don't always like what they do, but we love them as people anyway. They are our kids. That is our job.
Chapter 5 gives some genealogy information. What struck me in this chapter was the age of the men when they had their children (and how long they lived). I mean, Seth was 105 years old when he had his son Enosh. How on earth? I am hitting a "big birthday" that is nowhere near that age, and I don't know some days if I have the strength nor the energy to do this motherhood gig. How did a 105 year old man handle a newborn baby?
To me, one of God's mysteries.
I haven't read ahead yet but judging at the names mentioned at the end of Chapter 5, I am thinking Noah will be making an appearance at any point...
Tomorrow's Reading: Genesis 6-8
More later,
Reba
Oh, parenting. So many joys, so many heartaches.
And where did it start? Here. Chapter 4.
Adam and Eve have just been kicked out of paradise. They are facing the consequences of their sin. Adam is working long hours out in the fields. And Eve? She experiences the pain of motherhood. I have always wondered, does that refer to the labor and delivery? Or is it just what one feels as a mom her whole life through? (That's rhetorical...I don't have a clue what the answer is...)
So here they are with these two sons. And both sons bring forth gifts before God. For whatever reason, God rejects Cain and his gift. I have heard different theories about why but just reading it at face value, I still am not positive why God rejected Cain's gift. This may be where knowing Greek comes in handy. Well, if you have a Greek Bible. Knowing Greek with my very English Bible probably wouldn't help a lot.
Anyway, what does Cain do? He gets angry. He feels rejected. That is so true in human life. When something of ours is rejected, for whatever reason, we feel rejected. Someone doesn't e-mail me or text me back? I take it as a rejection of me. I don't get chosen as Teacher of the Year (not even Mother of the Year), I feel rejected and hurt. Well, kind of. But you get the idea.
What happens next? The first murder. Cain. I always remember who killed..."Raising Cain".
He killed his own brother.
Now I have to be a Mommy for a minute. The Bible doesn't elaborate about what Eve said or did. I just imagine what pain she must have experienced. She lost a son. But she didn't just lose one son, she lost two. One to death, one to wandering the earth in punishment. How her heart must have hurt to not have protected one son. And how torn she must have felt. Because murder or not, Cain was her son too. And we love our kids. No matter what they do. We don't always like what they do, but we love them as people anyway. They are our kids. That is our job.
Chapter 5 gives some genealogy information. What struck me in this chapter was the age of the men when they had their children (and how long they lived). I mean, Seth was 105 years old when he had his son Enosh. How on earth? I am hitting a "big birthday" that is nowhere near that age, and I don't know some days if I have the strength nor the energy to do this motherhood gig. How did a 105 year old man handle a newborn baby?
To me, one of God's mysteries.
I haven't read ahead yet but judging at the names mentioned at the end of Chapter 5, I am thinking Noah will be making an appearance at any point...
Tomorrow's Reading: Genesis 6-8
More later,
Reba
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Day 3: The Fall
Genesis 2:4-3:24
Now that I am a parent, I completely understand (well, partially...I obviously cannot think like God) what God must have thought.
He was THE perfect parent. Literally perfect. He gave this amazing garden to his people. They had everything they needed right there.
And yet it wasn't enough.
So what happened? A sly serpent came along, lured Eve to try a fruit from the Tree of of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, who then persuaded her main man to try a bite. And then life wasn't the same.
I remember when Hunter was a baby. He was near perfect in our eyes, other than not being a very good sleeper. I still remember around the time he was 7 months. He discovered our fireplace. He discovered the tiny rocks in the fireplace. And he thought they were fun. We, being parents and all, told him firmly "No" as we pulled him away from it. We knew that it wasn't something he needed to play with.
Guess what that little guy did? Looked at us with a set jaw then went right back to the fireplace and played with the rocks again.
Even now, Joshua LOVES to push boundaries (he is almost four). I will tell him not to touch something and he will get his finger as close as he can without "technically" touching it. At least until his hand slips.
Meanwhile, we as parent shake our heads in wonder...why don't they just listen to us?
I am pretty sure God has shaken His head a time or two.
Like when He was walking in the garden. (What might that have been like?)
And He called to His children...only to find out they had tried to cover up their bodies after having their eyes opened (powerful fruit). Of course, He knew that already. (As a parent, I can say I often know before anyone steps forward with the truth.)
I am sure by His reaction, He was unhappy. He doled out the consequences. He really chastised his people.
Then...and this is my favorite part...He made clothes for the man and the woman from animal skins. And He dressed them.
Wait? I thought he was angry with them. They had disobeyed Him. He just punished them in various ways. Yet He still made clothes and dressed them.
Unconditional love.
That is what it is.
That is the God I want to serve!
Tomorrow's reading (as in Wednesday): Genesis 4:1-5:32.
More later,
Reba
Now that I am a parent, I completely understand (well, partially...I obviously cannot think like God) what God must have thought.
He was THE perfect parent. Literally perfect. He gave this amazing garden to his people. They had everything they needed right there.
And yet it wasn't enough.
So what happened? A sly serpent came along, lured Eve to try a fruit from the Tree of of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, who then persuaded her main man to try a bite. And then life wasn't the same.
I remember when Hunter was a baby. He was near perfect in our eyes, other than not being a very good sleeper. I still remember around the time he was 7 months. He discovered our fireplace. He discovered the tiny rocks in the fireplace. And he thought they were fun. We, being parents and all, told him firmly "No" as we pulled him away from it. We knew that it wasn't something he needed to play with.
Guess what that little guy did? Looked at us with a set jaw then went right back to the fireplace and played with the rocks again.
Even now, Joshua LOVES to push boundaries (he is almost four). I will tell him not to touch something and he will get his finger as close as he can without "technically" touching it. At least until his hand slips.
Meanwhile, we as parent shake our heads in wonder...why don't they just listen to us?
I am pretty sure God has shaken His head a time or two.
Like when He was walking in the garden. (What might that have been like?)
And He called to His children...only to find out they had tried to cover up their bodies after having their eyes opened (powerful fruit). Of course, He knew that already. (As a parent, I can say I often know before anyone steps forward with the truth.)
I am sure by His reaction, He was unhappy. He doled out the consequences. He really chastised his people.
Then...and this is my favorite part...He made clothes for the man and the woman from animal skins. And He dressed them.
Wait? I thought he was angry with them. They had disobeyed Him. He just punished them in various ways. Yet He still made clothes and dressed them.
Unconditional love.
That is what it is.
That is the God I want to serve!
Tomorrow's reading (as in Wednesday): Genesis 4:1-5:32.
More later,
Reba
Days One and Two: Created
Every other Sunday night, my hubby and I host a Life Group from our church in our house. Life Group is a fancy way to say "Bible Study". :) And the word host simply means we unlock the door, turn on the lights, and maybe clean up a little bit beforehand.
Anywho, we have been reading and discussing the book Radical by David Platt. It is about truly living out Christianity in not only words but ACTIONS. I will say it is not easy to read because it is one of those books where you feel like the finger is being pointed at you. Or at me.
This past Sunday, we read and discussed part of the last chapter. This chapter is a challenge. Mr. Platt asks us to take the Radical Challenge/Experiment in several different ways. The first way was to pray for our world...for every country. And that is something we hope to do with our kids (not every country every night...more of a focus on one country a day) soon. I am working on the resources for that. The next challenge: Read through the Bible.
Hmmm. Read through the Bible. I have tried that a time or two. Or ten. And I have failed every time. I usually get tripped up in Numbers.
But I am always up for a good challenge. So I am accepting this one. (The jury is out on the next few challenges...they would stretch me in a painful way :)
So I decided to use my Max Lucado Devotional Bible and follow the plan. It is a 2 year plan, so the reading is much more manageable than when I have attempted shorter time periods. In fact, I get to do a lot of it at breakfast...with kids interrupting on occasion of course.
This morning as I read, I thought, "I need to remember what spoke to me each day. I also need accountability." The one thing I didn't think was "I really need another blog to keep up with..." But this came to mind, so here I am. At least today.
I want to note right off the back, I am not a Biblical scholar. I don't know Hebrew or Greek or Latin...can't even really do Pig Latin. I often miss the deeper meaning unless someone tells me what they are. So please, the very few of you reading this, don't expect a lot of deep theological discussion. If anyone wants to join in reading, feel free to share any revelations in the comments section.
So here goes. I actually started Day 1 yesterday. It was the Genesis Introduction (stuff like who wrote it, when it was written, that sort of thing) and the Key Verse. I also read Day 2 which was Genesis 1:1-2:3.
This is one of the stories I am most familiar with. The Creation Story. I know there are a lot of theories out there about bangs and monkeys and such. But I do believe in the creation theory. I believe God created earth and the sun and the moon and the stars and the animals and the plants and people. In fact, I often look at the complexity of life and think there is no other explanation. I don't see how something exploding or making a big bang would create such order. Nor do I see how monkeys developed into me...wouldn't they still be doing that? :) I take this story at face value. He said it, and it was.
A few things to remember:
God was here already. In the beginning before there was anything else, there was God. He always has been and always will be.
God started with light. And all He did was say, "Let there be light". And there was. He didn't have to create anything or mold a sun with His very own hands. He just spoke the word and it was. Now that is power!
I love the detail. Like the plants. He didn't just say, "Let there be plants." Instead, He wanted some to make grain for seeds, others to make fruits with seeds in them. Animals? He created tame, small crawling animals, and wild animals.
Then finally man. In His image. Hard to believe sometimes as I look in the mirror, a complete failure. I am created in His image.
And finally, He rested. One of my favorites, and a total justification for my naptime on Sundays. He rested.
Now, so must I. :)
Reba
Anywho, we have been reading and discussing the book Radical by David Platt. It is about truly living out Christianity in not only words but ACTIONS. I will say it is not easy to read because it is one of those books where you feel like the finger is being pointed at you. Or at me.
This past Sunday, we read and discussed part of the last chapter. This chapter is a challenge. Mr. Platt asks us to take the Radical Challenge/Experiment in several different ways. The first way was to pray for our world...for every country. And that is something we hope to do with our kids (not every country every night...more of a focus on one country a day) soon. I am working on the resources for that. The next challenge: Read through the Bible.
Hmmm. Read through the Bible. I have tried that a time or two. Or ten. And I have failed every time. I usually get tripped up in Numbers.
But I am always up for a good challenge. So I am accepting this one. (The jury is out on the next few challenges...they would stretch me in a painful way :)
So I decided to use my Max Lucado Devotional Bible and follow the plan. It is a 2 year plan, so the reading is much more manageable than when I have attempted shorter time periods. In fact, I get to do a lot of it at breakfast...with kids interrupting on occasion of course.
This morning as I read, I thought, "I need to remember what spoke to me each day. I also need accountability." The one thing I didn't think was "I really need another blog to keep up with..." But this came to mind, so here I am. At least today.
I want to note right off the back, I am not a Biblical scholar. I don't know Hebrew or Greek or Latin...can't even really do Pig Latin. I often miss the deeper meaning unless someone tells me what they are. So please, the very few of you reading this, don't expect a lot of deep theological discussion. If anyone wants to join in reading, feel free to share any revelations in the comments section.
So here goes. I actually started Day 1 yesterday. It was the Genesis Introduction (stuff like who wrote it, when it was written, that sort of thing) and the Key Verse. I also read Day 2 which was Genesis 1:1-2:3.
This is one of the stories I am most familiar with. The Creation Story. I know there are a lot of theories out there about bangs and monkeys and such. But I do believe in the creation theory. I believe God created earth and the sun and the moon and the stars and the animals and the plants and people. In fact, I often look at the complexity of life and think there is no other explanation. I don't see how something exploding or making a big bang would create such order. Nor do I see how monkeys developed into me...wouldn't they still be doing that? :) I take this story at face value. He said it, and it was.
A few things to remember:
God was here already. In the beginning before there was anything else, there was God. He always has been and always will be.
God started with light. And all He did was say, "Let there be light". And there was. He didn't have to create anything or mold a sun with His very own hands. He just spoke the word and it was. Now that is power!
I love the detail. Like the plants. He didn't just say, "Let there be plants." Instead, He wanted some to make grain for seeds, others to make fruits with seeds in them. Animals? He created tame, small crawling animals, and wild animals.
Then finally man. In His image. Hard to believe sometimes as I look in the mirror, a complete failure. I am created in His image.
And finally, He rested. One of my favorites, and a total justification for my naptime on Sundays. He rested.
Now, so must I. :)
Reba
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