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