Today is the beginning of our journey together through the Bible. It just seemed fitting since it is the day after we celebrate the Word coming into the world. :)
Anyway, we're just going to post some things that we thought about as we were reading through the first 3 chapters... and remember that we run on the pretense that any "idiot" can post something on the web, so we do not claim to be experts on any level... just cracked pots looking to allow the Light to fill us, and hopefully, shine through. Also, we're sure there will be days when these postings are shorter or longer, so sorry in advance for the inconsistencies.
We hope that you will have a chance to post your thoughts, too.... there is not a required format or length or anything, so please just feel free to post away on anything you feel led to share. Please also feel free to comment on any thing we post... feel free to add to, disagree with, provide insights on, or just post other thoughts entirely...
and just a side note: we can really benefit when we all keep it real and honest, but please remember to always keep it clean and glorifying to God.
Oh, and one other "intro" note... if you ever miss a day (or start up later on), please just join on in where we are... you are always a welcome blessing... and it's never a bad day to start (or continue to) read God's Word!
So, here goes for today...
The main thing that we were reminded of was that we are ALL made in God's image (Gen 1:26). We decided that we need to be reminded of this, because that means that even on days when we feel really insignificant or unimportant... we are still made special in God's very image (see Psalm 139, too).
The other part of this, is that even the people we do not know... AND those we may not like, or struggle to get along with (our enemies, the guy who took the parking spot, the lady who always has advice on how we should raise our kids, etc) are ALSO made in God's image... and God loves them JUST AS MUCH as He loves us... He died for them and their sins, too. Now, that is an ouch. :) But we are thankful that it is true, because when the shoe is reversed, we are happy to be given His grace and love, too.
But we do have to remember that we were made in God's image, not God made in our image... and sometimes we get this backward, and think God should fit in our box.... hmmm.
Another thing we noticed was that the first two blessings that God gave involved procreation (Gen 1:22, 28)... we're not saying that animals and people are equal, as it is clear from reading these 3 chapters that they are not; however, we found it interesting that both blessings had the same intention... this reminds us that children are a blessing from God. And it is also interesting to note that all 3 of the first blessings (see Gen 2:3 for third one), had intentions behind them... we guess we selfishly thought blessings were about us (at least on some level), but really, they are not just about making us happy... they have extended purposes. :)
In Chapter 2, we had never noticed before that man was given a job right off the bat (Gen 2:5)... so that means that work is not a curse, just the pain of toil (Gen 3:17-19), but work itself is part of who we are and who we were made to be... made in God's image: God did/does create, and cultivate, etc; so we suppose we should not have been surprised by this. :)
In Chapter 3, the Bible we have brought up some interesting questions (NIV Seredipity Bible for Study Groups)... The first one was: "How does Eve hedge, fixate upon and amplify God's commandments? How does that play into Satan's schemes?" The answer we came up with really made us think about how we should stop complaining about what we do not have, because if we, like Eve, focus on what we can't or don't have, we will want it more, and we are likely to look for a reason to justify our desire, even when we know we really shouldn't have or do it... Satan, or even our own weak human nature, can easily provide a reason (see Gen 3:6)... we have set ourselves up to be pushed easily over into the realm of sin. Wow! We never thought that mild complaining (or even harboring "if only"s, or dwelling on God's "No"s) could be the foothold needed to give sin a stronghold in our lives!
It is also interesting to be reminded that no matter who placed blame on who, everyone was punished, because we are all responsible for our OWN choices (Gen 3:11-13).... and sometimes we can limit or stifle the fullness of God's blessings because of our sin... for example: having children and expanding families was a blessing, but pain in childbearing was added as a result of Eve's sin (Gen 3:16)... her blessing was impeded because of her poor choice and disobedience... the same with Adam. This made us wonder how many times we stand in our own way of receiving all that God really wants to bless us with. On a side note, the "reflection" section of our notes suggested comparing Eve's temptation with that of Jesus (in Luke 4:1-13)... it was worth comparing, because it reminded us that we can stand up to any temptation that the devil offers us, when we trust God and rely on His Word for truth and instruction (see also James 4:7-8).
Finally, we thought is was a pretty cool reminder in Gen 3:21, that even in our sin, God still cares and provides for us... this reminds us of Romans 5:8, where it says that even while we were still sinners, Christ died for us... the Message version says that He did this while we were of no use whatsoever to Him... now that is love! Do we always show that same kind of love to those in our life?
Just Some Questions of Curiosity... your insight is much appreciated! :)
1.) We thought it was interesting that in verse 1, where it says, "... the earth was formless and empty..." that the bottom note says that "was" could also be translated "became". Now, we certainly do not ascribe to some "alternate universe" theory, or some other such Sci-Fi thing, but we did wonder if anybody had some theological insight into this and knew if there was some Biblical reference for what was around before creation (Genesis 1-2)... also, when did the fall of Satan and the angels come into play... was it before creation (as described in Gen 1), during, or sometime after? Just wondered.
2.) When God separates the water (Gen 1:6-10), what happens to the water above the sky? Is that the clouds or atmosphere of the sky? Or something else? Sorry... this is probably obvious, but we weren't really sure.
3.) We guess we had always thought that the snake was Satan (Gen 3), but it does not say that... does anyone know what the references are for that line of thinking?
Ok, well, we have a ton of other notes written, but this is already getting really long, so we will let you go for today. We will read Genesis 4-8 tomorrow... we know it is long, but it kind of all goes together, so let's just do it! :) Have an awesome day!
God Bless,
sandj
This is my first post ever! I am attempting to walk the walk and talk the talk. Don't be intimidated, (like I am) come and join the journey in growing closer to God.
ReplyDeleteI woke up early this morning with all the 11 children that stayed over Christmas night and fed them reheated fried rice for breakfast. mmm...mmm... :)
After feeding the little ones, I started off with listening to the NIV http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/ on the book of John Chapters 1-4 following the audio with the bible.
Later spoke with sandJ and was informed that we are starting at Genesis Chapters 1-3. I listened to the audio with the bible on Genesis 1-3.
We are holding each other accountable. Please continue with either your reading or audio listening.
I have completed day one and now 364 days to go.
Merry Christmas!
Sandj
Thanks, guys for your insight! It was great, and really got me thinking. I'll try my best on a few questions - 1) not sure about the note on NIV translations, the others I checked just say "was"; again, not sure about the fall, but believe it must have been before or during creation, not after, then again, God is not defined by time and this was a heavenly battle and occurrence (Rev 12), so maybe we shouldn't try to place our timeline on it 2)I've heard a possible explanation of this water expanse (not a definite, just a hypothesis), that the water was an expanse in the sky, which made a great difference in our atmosphere, which would have allowed for dinosaurs to exist, then with the flooding that happened in Noah's time to have happened in as little as 40 days, this may have been this great expanse of water in the sky flooding the earth, check Gen 7:11. Then the atmosphere would have changed, accounting for the extinction of the dinos. I'm abbreviating to make this quicker, so I hope it still makes sense. on to #3, you're right, it doesn't directly say that it's Satan, but traditional thinking is that it was - a snake that talks, in Eden, tempting Eve and changing all of humanity? I'm thinking just a plain old snake couldn't have done that. Also, other Bible references to Satan being called a serpent like in Gen 3 are Revelation 12:9 and 20:2, and also paired with 2 Cor 11:3.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited about doing this with you in this format - I've tried many times to read through the Bible and have, by the grace of God, succeeded fully once, but have failed more times than I care to mention. I think with the help of others doing it along side me, it will be so encouraging! I already feel like I learned so much from your post, and was encouraged to search my Bible for the references to the questions, so keep it up with the questions- that was motivating! Also, I am no expert, so anything that you don't agree with, feel free to mention - I only want to glorify God, not mislead anyone. My answers are so inadequate, but wanted to be part of the discussion!