Ramblings from a Young Christian - Genesis 1:6-8

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made[b] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

The first 'place' that God created was heaven.   Some other translations use 'sky' instead of heaven.  So I'm going to read this as God created the sky, because to be completely honest I don't know if heaven was part of God's creation of the earth or something else entirely different.  

I wonder why God created the sky the 2nd day. I know this is going very deeply into your Word Father, but I wonder if this too reflects our recreation.  

You created the surrounding area to better glorify the light.  For what does the sky do but show the radiance of the light?  What is the sky without light? Nothing!  But with the light the sky is suddenly a painted canvas.  We sigh at the beauty of the sky as the sun rises and sets.  And just look at a rainbow.  Water droplets transformed into a spectrum of colour when the light shines through them. 

I guess this is, in some way, what God does with us.  He gives us His light and then he starts to repaint our canvas using his light.  He changes our colours, creating fresh paint strokes in new directions.  He is repainting us.  And all of this would have been impossible without Christ's death.  For without Christ God would have seen my void and crushed it - and rightfully so.  An eternity of punishment is what I deserve.  But in Christ, clothed in his bright righteousness and blazing glory, God sees the picture of his Son and is pleased.  

He is pleased even before he starts the renovation of this tattered portrait. But He knows a better me.  A me that He intended and so he has begun another masterpiece.  I'm so excited for the day that I get to stand before God, finished and complete with the Son at my side.  Until then I get to enjoy seeing the new colours and contours God creates in my soul through his Holy Spirit.   

For a while I struggled with understanding how I could still be me and yet be everything a woman is called to be in Christ.  Several words ascribed to women, 'meek', 'gentle' and so on just didn't sit right with me.  I am often boisterous, clumsy and abrupt.  And I kept wondering, does my personality have to change?  Do I have to lose that part of who I am?  

Now I realise 'Why WOULDN'T I want to lose that?'  Are those parts of me worth hanging on to? Certainly not.  I believe God creates us all individually and He loves me for who I am with all my quirks.  But I also know that there are some parts of me that are totally okay to be painted over.  Because God is a greater artist of souls than I could ever imagine.  Thank you Lord for the work you do in us.  

Genesis 1:3-5

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And 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, the first day

Its important to note that the first time I read this I made a huge mistake into thinking that the creation of light meant the creation of the sun, moon and stars.  I read 'let there be lights', not 'light', and so my initial notes for this verse actually apply more to verses 14-20.  It was a rookie mistake, I've never read over creation enough times to remember what was created on each day.   The notes that follow are the notes made after realising my error. 

The light that God creates on the first day of creation reflects the initial enlightenment of our souls when we come to know Christ.  I know that the first day I gave my heart and life to Christ, when I heard God speak so clearly to me,  I felt truly enlightened.  It was as if God had been waiting above the dark of my empty soul and suddenly whispered 'let there be light'.  He created light inside of me the same way he created light in the empty world.  

It is no surprise that God created light first.  We are told continuously throughout the Bible that God is light(1 John 1:5), that he brings us into the light (Ephesians 5:8) and that he continues to guide our path with his light (Psalm 119:105).  We also know that there is no darkness within God, for he is holy and pure, and so maybe this is why he separates the dark and light.   Perhaps he gave day and night in order to show the relation between the Spirit and flesh.  When one is advancing the other is receding, and they're never still or stagnant (Galatians 5:17).

Without Christ, the light that we now get to encounter would be withdrawn and distant.  God is light and we were darkness, and those two do not co-exist.  It is only through Christ, and what he endured on the cross, that the promise of Isaiah 60:20 is fulfilled 

Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

For I know that it is now the Lord who is my light. My life nor days are ruled by sin or worldly forces of darkness.  I am now living in the light, and it is my constant prayer to walk in the light of God.  But I also know that when I am called home, or upon Jesus' return to Earth, we will fully see that light.

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Revelation 21:23

I'm not sure if the light that was created in the beginning was the light of the glory of God, and what we experience in this world now is limited by the fall.  Or whether the light he created on that first day was just an echo, a reflection, a small piece of the jigsaw puzzle to help us better understand the bigger picture. But I do know that God is light, and full of light, and He extends that light to me and you, having forgiven our sins through Christ's crucifixion.   

Ramblings from a Young Christian - Genesis 1:2

As you can see, this study is taking some time.  In two days I've done 2 verses.  Although I will be impressed at this depth when it comes to genealogies - I'm going to need a lot of grace from God to read through those thoroughly, let alone study them in depth.  

These are the notes I took down after reading Genesis 1:2.  Forgive me if they're confusing.  My brain is sometimes like a huge bowl of spaghetti, each thought linked to several others and untangling them is quite a task. 

Day 2 - Genesis 1:2

2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Before creation Earth was formless and empty,  much in the same way that we are before being reborn in Christ.  The Bible continuously teaches us that outside of Christ, or before we meet God, we are "dead" (Ephesians 2:4-5 for example).  We are, just like Earth, without any form and void, and darkness too covers us.  

I cannot help but wonder if the spirit of God hovers over our waters in the same way as Gen 1:2.  Did the Holy Spirit linger over this empty case and see a creation within?  I have heard, or read, of the Spirit softening our hearts, wooing us before we come to know Christ.  Perhaps that is much like this moment.   The Holy Spirit waited above the vast emptiness of Earth, poised to begin creating.  In us, He creates a new heart.  In this way, I feel that this first day of creation reflects, to some extent, the initial re-creation of us.

This void that Earth filled is described in different ways depending on which version of the Bible you read.  The two I have were translated to say '...the face of the deep' and ...'waters'.  Was there really water there?  Or was it just deep deep nothingness?  I guess the texture of nothing is a little like water.  Fluid that only the hands of God could hold and temper.  

Comparing this moment to the moment of Christ's crucifixion shows so many differences.  Earth did not start in the same way that new life for many of us starts - through the cross.  

To begin with, Earth was empty and formless.  There was, it feels, almost an element of peace, calmness and serenity in creation (of course!  it was God alone, and He is satisfied in himself).  However, when Christ was on the cross the world had become filled with rock and stone and water.  The world was violent, being aggressively upheaved by the fallen nature of man and dominated by sin.    In the former case, creation, God is in control, above all and dominating all, creating life and a place for fellowship between Him and his people.  There exists only good.  In the latter case man has augmented himself as God.  God has reduced himself to man.  He is still God but now a part of creation, part of all and enduring death so that we don't have to.  Ultimately restoring us to our Father and creator so that we may have the fellowship we were designed for and so deeply long for.  

How different the world became after the fall.  How grateful I am that our God is not one who remains aloof in the heavens, hovering and watching.  Instead he entered into the mess we made.  We are not left empty and void.  Thank you Father for Christ and what He endured in my place!

Ramblings from a Young Christian - Genesis 1:1

A good friend told me about a revelation she had while praying.  She realised that sometimes, we have to take a step first.  Sometimes, we have to build habits before they become enjoyable.  We have to spend time with somebody, before we truly enjoy spending time with them.  I felt convicted of my relationship with God.  How many times have I let my prayer time and study time be laid aside for the benefit of something else, something far less important?  I couldn't just continue to pray for motivation.  My motivation is knowing God - something I should and could definitely make time for. 

So I decided to focus my study of His word and created attainable goals with a system to work through. I'm going to be reading through the Old Testament and laying the cross over it.  I've heard countless times that the Old Testament is continually pointing to Christ and the Cross.  Well, I want to check that out.  Too many times I get waylaid by the idea that the Old Testament is, well, old.  Its time I got a better understanding of it, and God-willing, I'm hoping that this guided study will help me out with that.  
The first day I started was a few weeks ago.  I headed into this expecting to have to spend time chewing over verses and praying for enlightenment.  And boy did I!  But God has been gracious so far and I am being overwhelmed daily by the love, grace and might of our God.  These are my notes and ramblings...

Day 1:  Genesis 1:1

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

What immediately strikes me about this verse is that God creates.  He is creator, not created.  God is many things, but created is not one of them.  

The next big question that came to mind was "If God is all-knowing, then surely he would have known what was going to happen with his creation.  If so, why did he continue to create us?"

This is a pretty big question and it is not for me to know the whole answer.  But something that came to my mind is that, in many ways, creation isn't finished yet.  

This is true in the sense that we, as fallen human beings, are not yet perfect.  I am still being made into the person God has always intended me to be.  2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come'.   While I am new, and saved in Christ, already done and finished; the working out of some of that is still occurring.  Its like some weird thing with time that I cannot understand because I am a part of it.  The pot is finished yet still being moulded.  

God finished the initial creation after the 6 days in the beginning of time and then took a rest.  But after being rejected by his own creation, which he knew would happen - God chose to offer the same fellowship he had destined them for.  How?  After falling, we were not good enough to fellowship with him.  There's no need to be convinced, just looking into my own thoughts shows it, and if that doesn't do it for you check out the history of humanity.  Humanity is messed up - we're broken.  There's no way we could associate with God, who is perfect and holy.  

The only way around it would be to justify sin.  A price needs to be paid so that we can say that sin has been accounted for and no longer comes between us and God.  But if the price is to match the crime we are to be given an infinite sentence.  Eternity in hell.  How then should that solve the problem?  God's creation, by our own doing, is still unable to be with the Creator.  Separated now by the judgement required by God's holy attributes.  

But God doesn't leave us.  He doesn't give up.  Instead he says "I want you so much, I will die for you.  I will take your sin, because I am the only one big enough to carry it.   You will sing my praises and at last, we will be together, forever."  

I don't know about you, but nothing else I have ever felt, seen, read or listened to quite expresses love in the same way.   His love for us is overwhelming and clear even from the first moment in our history.  Thank You God!