Skip to main content

29th Day of Lent: Seeing God's Heart for Order: Genesis Moments

Genesis 1:1-3: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.

As we look at God's heart for order this week of Lent, we all know to some depth and breadth the truth that in the very genesis moments of our own births and days in this world, we all seek how to bring order and meaning out of each new experience in the world.

Because we are all created in God's image and likeness, we are on this quest to bring God's order into the world- to see that it is "good."

That the world exists at all reveals something about God.
God does not need the universe in order to be God.
When we come to the awesome awareness that our world, and we in it, exist only because God desires our existence, we can begin to reflect on the One who does this.
In creating the universe, God reveals God's self, since there is nothing else that could be a model. But we have to allow ourselves to be intrigued by the mystery that there is anything at all.

In His order, He has ordained His character of beauty and mystery; rules set in place for not only the natural world but for the "good" of our souls.

Billy Graham said it so beautifully:

"The trouble with our modern thinking is that we have a conception that God is a haphazard God with no set rules of life and salvation.

Ask the astronomer if God is a haphazard God.

He will tell you that every star moves with precision in its celestial path.

Ask the scientist if God is a haphazard God.

He will tell you that His formulas and equations are fixed, and that to ignore the laws of science would be a fool's folly.

If the laws in the material realm are so fixed and exact, is it reasonable that God could afford to be haphazard in the spiritual realm, where eternal destinies of souls are at stake?

Just as God has equations and rules in the material realm, God has equations and rules in the spiritual."


Prayer: Creator God, help us fathom that the universe exists in part to reflect You who created it. How majestic is your name in all the earth. You have set your glory in the heavens....when we consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, we am reminded that you are mindful of each of us, that you care for each of us and have crowned each of us with glory and honor, and have put everything under our feet. How majestic is your name in all the earth." Psalm 8

Written by Lyn Woodruff, River Prayer Reflections Texting Group

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Day 7 of Lent: Seeing God's Heart of Abundance Over Scarcity

“Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all.  And all ate and were filled.”   -Mk. 6:41-42 Jesus radically disrupts how the world was thought to be.  The wilderness, the “deserted place” in the story, was where there was no viable life-support system.  He thought he was going there to rest, but he was met by a big crowd of those who were drawn to him.  They believed he would indeed disrupt their failed world, though they knew not how. Jesus did not disappoint them.  He was moved with great compassion when he saw the hungry crowd.  He had his stomach turned by their need.  He engaged their hunger, because they lived in a false world without resources.   His disciples accepted the barren wilderness without resources as a given;...

36th Day of Lent - Holy Tuesday - Authority: Jesus is Questioned by the Religious Leaders

Matthew 21:23-23:39. Holy Tuesday is often referred to as the Day of questions. As Jesus continued to teach in the temple, He was approached by the chief priests and scribes about His authority to teach. Rather than give a direct answer, Jesus questioned them about the baptism of John. They are trapped, and no doubt more infuriated after listening to the parable of the wicked tenants. So they changed tactics and asked the disciples, "Is it lawful to pay taxes the the emperor or not?" Jesus, of course aware of their malicious intent, answered for the disciples (and for us, too)....Yes, we must all pay our taxes.😢 So on this day of questions, Jesus made it quite clear that His authority comes from God, but at the same time He recognized the authority in this world. We are citizens of two worlds, and in both Authority must be obeyed. But God's authority is divine and able to penetrate the souls of all, unveiling the hypocrisy or unjust laws of the...