A Moment to Meditate

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” - Genesis 2:16-17 In Moses' language that he used to write Genesis, God's first command to Adam was to eat of every tree in the Garden. And it was an emphatic command. "Eat! Eat!" He had designed Adam to enjoy life, it was time to get busy! There was only one tree in this vast ocean of fruit trees about which God said, "Don't eat."  I'm sure at first, Adam was very excited about his new lot in life. But he didn't take into account the hideous monster watching from the shadows.  The description of this particular monster is difficult, which is strange because his numerous attacks have been seen by scores of eye-witnesses.   It’s not as if he devours his victims in secret.   He might hunt in secret, but when the attack actually com...

  And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said:  “This is now bone of my bones  and flesh of my flesh; s he shall be called 'Woman,'  because she was taken out of Man.”  Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.  (Genesis 2:21-24) So what do you think? Was Eve created as a lower life form than Adam, perhaps along the lines of a chimpanzee? Or maybe she was created as a superior life form. (After all, I'm convinced "woman's intuition" is a real thing. I don't know if scientists have found it yet, but I know Jen has more wires in her brain than I do!)  In Genesis, we read that God created animals out of the ground. He created Adam from the ground. If He had made Eve the same way,...

  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”  - Genesis 1:27-28  And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.  - Genesis 2:7  Beauty. Intelligence. Strength. Riches. Fame. Skill. Achievement. People have always used qualities such as these to determine their worth and the worth of others around them. What makes life worth living? Most of us are never going to be the subject of someone's biography, have a movie made about us, or have our names on a building. Why does it matter that we're here? Our culture has learned to answer those questions just as incorrectly as all the cultures that hav...

  Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.  - Genesis 1:3-4 (NKJV)     God created Light - before He created the sun, moon, and stars! This wasn't written as a scientific mystery, but as a theological wonder. With these words, God made Himself, not the sun, the source of life, security, warmth, and illumination.   From there, we chase the theme of His Light vs. Darkness without Him throughout the pages of Scripture.  Abraham went into a deep sleep where a horror and great darkness fell upon him. God showed Himself as a bright torch, illuminating the shadows (Genesis 15:12).  When Pharaoh was pursuing the Israelites to slaughter them at the Red Sea, God caused a great darkness to fall upon Pharaoh's armies while simultaneously providing light from His pillar of fire for the Israelites (Exodus 14:19-20). When God had Moses erect a Tabernacle He could i...

  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1 (NKJV) For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and FOR Him. - Colossians 1:16 (NKJV) Notice the Bible doesn't start with John 3:16. Before we can understand that "God so loved the world," He wanted us to understand some proper parameters. He created the heavens and the earth. That's Bible-speak for "He created EVERYTHING!" To know why that's important, put it in personal terms. Have you ever created anything? A piece of art? A sheet of music? A delicious dish? A poem or story? A structure you built? Once you have something in mind, consider the following: When you created that item, who determined its purpose for existing? You or it?  When you created that item, who determined its worth? You or it?  When you created that item, ...