Different Views

I went to church today.  I was very excited about it because I had read all of my devotions for the week.  I was eager to hear what Pastor Larry got out of it as well as our Sunday School class.  I was also curious to see how deep each would go.

As Pastor Larry went through his sermon, which he admittedly had to give an overview since it was over the fist 11 chapters of Genesis and it is so full of lessons that it could take, I'm sure, 11-15 sermons easily.  You have creation, the fall of man, the great flood, and the Tower of Babel.

It's always interesting to see God revealed to others in the same scriptures.  Both Pastor Larry and Marc pointed out things that I didn't see because God was pushing me in a different direction.  I guess that is what I love about the Bible.  You can read scripture over and over and God reveals something different or more in depth every time.

The points that Pastor Larry pointed out to me that really stood out was that creation was started just by God SPEAKING.  That's all it took, a spoken word for Him to create a world, a universe, so vast and complex.  No one else has ever done it and never will.  That alone sets Him apart.

He also pointed out how Satan is the father of lies.  In John 8:44, it says....

"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."


When we think of Satan, we usually think of this devil, red with horns, seedy eyes, long tail with a pitchfork.  Something despicable to look at.  I asked the kids today if someone offered them a cupcake and they looked like that, would they take it.  They responded quickly and said "no"....except Colby.  He said he would shoot him with an arrow and kill him and then take the cupcake. :)  But Satan doesn't come to tempt us looking like that, because it is not attractive to us.  He comes in forms that are pleasing to our eyes, just like that fruit was to Eve.  It may be in the form of a social network site, TV, culture.  


When he comes in these forms, he takes God's word and twists it to confuse us and make us question God's word.  That's what he did with Eve.  "Did God really say that you couldn't eat this fruit?"  Yes, God did.  But Adam was the only one that received that command and so rather than asking Adam that question (who relayed it to Eve), Satan went for the weakness of Eve, who could technically say that she didn't hear God say it verbatim.  He attacks us when we are weak (which is ironic because God says He is perfected in our weakness) and deceives us with his mastery of lies.  I emphasized to the kids today (and to myself) that if we ever doubt what God has said about something, go to the Bible.  Don't go anywhere else, period.


The best part of the sermon today.  The Bible starts off with God and a good beginning with man in an close relationship, who is sinless.  It ends the same way.  Our God is victorious.  When we think He has abandoned us, He has never left us.  He always wins.  We already know the outcome, thanks to the Bible.  Thank you God for loving us despite our faults.  Thank you for creating us when you knew what the outcome would be, but went ahead with your plan.


In Sunday School, a question of mine was answered that I had wondered about but a new twist was added to it that I had thought about a little but not a lot.


Genesis 1:26...


Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”


There is a plural there.  It's not singular like we would think it would be.  When I read this verse the first time, I had to reread it.  Why didn't I recognize this before when I have read over the book of Genesis?  I don't ever remember it being emphasized when I was a kid.  In my head, when I reread it, I knew that it was speaking of God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  But when didn't dawn on me was that this was during CREATION.  Yes, I guess I knew that Jesus was also around, but I guess I never stopped to think that God already had His plan in place.  Wow!  His love for us is that great.


And to think that He was willing to redeem us speaks volumes.  His covenants attest to his willingness to forgive.


We serve an awesome God.  I pray that God helps me stay the course and reveal new and exciting revelations to me.  And I pray that my kids will get as much out of this series and have a grow desire to learn more about God daily.