Let there be LIGHT!

Light is the absence of darkness. Darkness is the original absolute state and light must be introduced to remove darkness. In the natural sense, you can’t bring in darkness, but rather you remove light. Okay, I know this seems to be “straining at a gnat”, but I am going somewhere with this (I think). In Genesis 1:2 we find darkness on the face of the deep, and in verse 2 God introduced light.

God does not indicate what the “source” of the light was (note our sun doesn’t make an appearance until Day 4). Throughout the rest of the Bible we see that the Lord is the everlasting light (Is.60:19); Jesus said “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12) and 1 John 1:5 says “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all”. We generally do not think of these references as a physical manifestation of light—we spiritualize it (well maybe you don’t, but I usually do).

However, let us look at Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration: Matt 17: 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Jesus is the Light of the world, and in this instance we see the physical manifestation of the His indwelling Light. Do you think that the Light that God called forth on Day One could actually be His Manifest Light, His presence on the Earth? Again in 1 Tim. 6:16 we are told that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Jesus) lives in unapproachable light. The eternal city needs no sun or moon because the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp thereof. (Re. 21:23). God is a being of light, maybe that is why the sci-fi writers like to depict the higher “evolved” creatures as beings of light.

God’s first creative move was to bring Light. No other processes needed to build a working world could happen until light was available. Light gives heat to sustain life , is essential in photosynthesis for growth, and enables all creatures to function. The earth and all that is in the earth absorbs the light. Are we absorbing God's light when we are in His presence?

If you will allow me a “preach” a little here—I want to show you a parallel between the story of the creation of the world and the process God takes us through to become a new creature in Him. When we are in chaos and darkness (the same condition on the earth before God started the process of Creation) the first element God brings is Light. We cannot come to God except we are drawn to Him through Jesus (Jn 14:6), the source of Light. We can’t see our condition in the dark; He must bring Light into our lives to show us our lost condition. His light creates an atmosphere in which we can LIVE, GROW and FUNCTION for Him. He fills us with His Light

Our light is veiled by our flesh, just as the light in Jesus (except on the Mt. Transfiguration) was veiled while He was on the earth. Did you, like me, sing “this little light of mine” in Sunday School? We begin with such a little light, but it should grow and become more evident as the process of transformation occurs in our life. Jesus was transfigured before men, He expects us to become transformed before men. A little girl once described another believer as “Jesus with skin on”. We are to be the vessel of His Light to the world, so they might see their way to Him.

Mt 5:14-16: You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven”.



God Said... and I can Say too

Again,  I promised myself that I would not get "stuck" in one verse or idea... so I am forging ahead.  We will leave the prehistory of man in God's capable hands and move on into the story of man's creation.  The account of creation of course involves the earth, atmosphere, animals etc. but this world was created specifically as a dwelling place for God's favorite creation - mankind and more specifically the future Bride of Christ.  Now,  I know that some folks might want to argue about mankind being God's "favorite" (mankind is not always MY favorite creation!). 

But, I submit to you that at the end of the creation of humans God declared it was VERY good, whereas, all other creations were only declared good.  And,  mankind is the only one that was created after His Image!  I know your mother never had a favorite -- but God does, YOU are God's favorite!

Uh ohh...I am enticed by several "rabbit trails" I could take here, but I really want to think about two elements of the first Creative Day. ... The Word and The Light

Gen 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.  First,  let's talk about the power of God Said.  Nothing occurred until God spoke... He was present and moving or brooding (as the Amplified Bible tells us in vs. 2) over the face of the deep; but nothing was created until He spoke.  What strikes me as important about this is that we are created in His Image and invested with His Authority (Gen 1:26). 

Follow me now...  Jesus is the Word and was the Creator

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (NIV)

Jesus tells us that all that He did we can do, and more also (Jn 14:12..anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these.);

He also tells us to be like Him  (Rom 8:29...  become conformed to the image of His Son...)

So,  We have access to CREATIVE POWER through our words... IF we are conformed to the image of His Son, IF we are functioning through the Spirit in faith. Jesus tells us that He did only that which he saw His father do... we can do what we see the Father and our older brother (Jesus) do.  We are ambassadors for Christ (2Cor.5:20)... He has invested his Authority in us (Col 2:10-11 you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.)

He does not tell us to beg in prayer, but rather to ask with true expectation and declare the will of God into our atmosphere, our sphere of influence and our own life. We may not see instantaneous results... does the Bible tell us how long from God's declaration and the evidence of light?  No, we might assume that it was immediate, but the Word does not tell us so.  Jesus spoke to the fig tree and walked away (see this story in Mark 11), expecting that his curse would be obeyed.  He did not stand for an hour praying against that tree.  He just went on about his business in Jerusalem. Now Matthew's version of this story says the fig tree immediately withered, but Mark indicates that they did not see the evidence of it until the next day. The disciples were amazed the next morning when they saw the proof of his authority-- the fig tree had withered from the roots.  When God said it, it was a done deal... but the rest of the party saw the evidence a little later down the road.  Sound familiar in your life?
 
Jesus is a living representation on God's Spoken Word...don't we need to become a living representation of God's Word and His plans and intention for us as His Child, His Ambassador to the lost world?  I guess I am suggesting that we need to know the will of God in our lives (we gain this through communion with Him in Prayer and Word); then we can ask, declare and go on about our daily lives with the expectation that we will also see the evidence of God's invested authority show up in our lives.

As Paul Harvey might say...stay tuned for page 2... The Light.  (I guess I just don't know how to make it short, do I?)  As always, I encourage all readers to comment and add your thoughts...



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I can’t believe how energized I am about this God Blog, couldn’t sleep for thinking about casting the Word of God into the ATMOSPHERE! The scripture in Eccl 11:1 kept coming to my mind… Cast your bread upon the waters; for after many days you will find it again. This principle in God’s Word really works; I expect to find a great exchange in this blogging process. Oh, I better not get started on this topic… as a friend of mine used to say “That will preach!”
Anyway, as in any walk, it is easy to get sidetracked and enjoy a stroll down a divergent path. But, I promised myself (and God) that I would try to stay on track and make some progress through the Old Testament. It is my hope to bring the valuable truths from the Old Testament into our New Testament lives and possibly impart some of my love for the Old Testament to the readers of these humble posts. So, back to the past…

I mentioned in my last post the possible event between verse 1 & 2 in Genesis chapter 1. Let’s examine the things we know.

1. Scientist have well documented a prehistoric world, replete with living creatures and an orderly system of existence that does not match to the world we see today. But, they have yet to build the road that will actually connect the two.

2. God’s Word is basically silent about that prehistoric world. He begins the Bible with a world that is without form and void (Gen.1:2)-remember this is a history of mankind, not a history of the world. God’s knowledge and thoughts are far above ours, and above our capacity to comprehend (see Is.55:8-11)—He is not telling us everything; He is telling us what we need to know. Just as a good parent will not try to explain all he knows to a child, but rather impart the information that is pertinent to the child’s current situation.

3. Our timing is not God’s timing. Remember the scripture in 2nd Peter—a day with the Lord is as a thousand with man? God is not limited to our time frames. He did not even create our system of time until the 4th creative day.
So, what happened to destroy the prehistoric world and leave a mass without form and void for God to use in the creation of our current world? Jesus, God the Son, tells us in Lu. 10:18 “I saw Satan fall like lightening from Heaven”. (read also: Is 14, Ezk 28:13-17, Rev. 12:7-10) I think this was the cataclysmic event that turned the world upside down, freezing dinosaurs and the world that existed into chaos. Our Redeeming God chose this same world to create the place that would “prove” His future Bride. Selah… (this is a Hebrew word often used in the Psalms that means pause and think upon that!)

Such a long post… sorry, I will try to keep it brief, but it is so hard to stop when I get started talking about the awesome Word of God! Your thoughts?

Stroll through the Old Testament... In the Beginning

I love the Old Testament, so it is my intention to walk through it Genesis to Malachi. This won't be a thourough study, just my thoughts and comments as I am reading through the Old Testament. Some verses are so rich that we must spend time contemplating them one by one, Others (the "begats" come to mind) seem to be less important to me. I welcome your thoughts and additions to my ramblings...

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning ... The Bible is the story of man and our relationship with God. In the beginning refers to man's beginning, the start of our history. Man is a creature of time and space, God is beyond time and space. God was, is and always will be-- He is not limited to time. He can move through time, back and forth. Can you stretch your mind around that? I can't, but I can understand that God is not restricted by time like we mere chunks of clay are. I think it is vital, when studying the Word of God, to remember that God is not limited to our methods, our ways of reasoning or our abilities or our time frames.

God created the heavens and the earth. This is a broad statement that Moses (writer of Genesis) later fills in with details about the step by step process. Note that it is a plural heavens and singular earth. Earth is the designated dwelling place for man, the heaven are divided in several sections, The dwelling place of God's Spirit, the celestial heavens and the general atmosphere of Earth.

What do you think, is God still pleased with all that He made? Verse 2 starts with a mass that is without form and void... I was taught that an event between verse 1 and 2 put the earth into the disarray that we see in verse 2. This could be the answer between the age of the dinosaurs and the age of human history. Seems to be that the "missing link" that some scientists would like to claim connect prehistoric history and the current history of man really is MISSING. God began a new creative process in verse 2.