Endure Temptation, Receive the Crown of Life

God Created the World

God Creates, Humans Sin

James 1:12-15 The Message

12 Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.
13-15 Don’t let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, “God is trying to trip me up.” God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one’s way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood and becomes a real killer.

For Reflection

After accomplishing one's march across the checkerboard, one would say proudly, "CROWN ME!"  You might even gloat a bit and tease your opponent.


But life is not a challenge between you and God. Life is not a zero-sum game where you lose because God wins or God loses because you have bested God. God does not place barriers in your path toward living a good life. God is not "The Holy Gotcha," lying in wait for you to sin so that God can punish you.

We ride on the sea of life in a boat of our own making. We make our own waves, gentle and caressing, or wild and destructive. God eases our voyage, calms the waters, and gets us safely to shore. So rest in the swells of stormy seas with the confidence that Jesus is in the boat with you and all will work out just fine.

Pray

Pray so that you will find peace in stormy times. Pray so that you will realize God is with you. Pray so that you will not only survive the perils of living but find rest and peace knowing that God will help you find hope in tomorrow.

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Remove the Stumbling Blocks to Temptation

God Created the World

God Creates, Humans Sin

Mark 9:42-48 The Message

42 “On the other hand, if you give one of these simple, childlike believers a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck.
43-48 “If your hand or your foot gets in God’s way, chop it off and throw it away. You’re better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owner of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire. And if your eye distracts you from God, pull it out and throw it away. You’re better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell.

For Reflection

What is it that seduces you to sin? What do you fear? What material desire overwhelms your sense of reason and demands your aggressive pursuit? You don't need to amputate a hand or a foot.  You need to overcome your fear, tame your material desires, and trust in the Holy Spirit to guide you.  Confidence in God will drive out your vulnerable worries and debilitating desires.

Pray

Pray so that you become alert to those things which make you vulnerable to your fears and desires. Pray so that you have confidence that all things will be made right in God's creation.


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Jesus Overcomes Temptation

God Created the World

God Creates, Humans Sin

Matthew4:1-11 The Message

The Test

4 1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.”
4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”
5-6 For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, “Since you are God’s Son, jump.” The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: “He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone.”
7 Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: “Don’t you dare test the Lord your God.”
8-9 For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth’s kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, “They’re yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they’re yours.”
10 Jesus’ refusal was curt: “Beat it, Satan!” He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.”
11 The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus’ needs.

For Reflection

In these passages, Evil is trying to seduce Christ by appealing to the fundamental sin, idolatry. Why do I say that the basis of sin is idolatry? In response to Satan's taunts, Jesus responds, “Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.” The power we are given is not to be used for selfish ends.  Otherwise, we are worshiping ourselves, not God.

Our creative power is to be used to the glory of God, in service to each other. Our capacity to choose is not to be used to elevate our stature with others or to fill our souls only with the desires of the flesh. God's intention for humankind is to live in harmony with God's creation, in communion with our creator and each other.

Pray

Pray so that you can find a beautiful, melodious, life in harmony with the Creation. Pray and be at rest, celebrating your life in Christ and the lives of others. 


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Death by Adam, Life by Christ

God Created the World

God Creates, Humans Sin 

Romans5:12-19 The Message

The Death-Dealing Sin, the Life-Giving Gift

12-14 You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we’re in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn’t sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.
15-17 Yet the rescuing gift is not exactly parallel to the death-dealing sin. If one man’s sin put crowds of people at the dead-end abyss of separation from God, just think what God’s gift poured through one man, Jesus Christ, will do! There’s no comparison between that death-dealing sin and this generous, life-giving gift. The verdict on that one sin was the death sentence; the verdict on the many sins that followed was this wonderful life sentence. If death got the upper hand through one man’s wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides?
18-19 Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.

For Reflection

To live in Christ is to experience living as God has intended. To be God-centred is to rest in troubling times. To be confident in God is to be fearless.

Pray

Pray so that you may experience the life God has intended for humankind.
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King David Gives into Temptation

God Created the World

God Creates, Humans Sin

2 Samuel 11:1-5 Amplified Bible

Bathsheba, David’s Great Sin

11 Then it happened in the spring, [a]at the time when the kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all [the fighting men of] Israel, and they destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his couch and was walking on the [flat] [b]roof of the king’s palace, and from there he saw a woman bathing, and she was very beautiful in appearance. 3 David sent word and inquired about the woman. Someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 David sent messengers and took her. When she came to him, he lay with her. And [c]when she was purified from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. 5 The woman conceived; and she sent word and told David, “I am pregnant.”

For Reflection

If there is one thing to be learned from studying the Kings of Israel, it is they are vulnerable.  They make mistakes. As good as they were, the kings of Israel were subject to the seductions of their humanity.  No one is perfect. All people are capable of good and evil. All people are living under the grace of God.

Pray

Pray for those who have chosen paths that lead them away from a spiritual relationship with God.  Pray that you will not be seduced to embrace sin.  Pray so that the grace and forgiveness of God will flow through you and cleanse you.

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Cain Ducks Responsibility

God Created the World

God Created the Family

Genesis 4:3-12 The Message 

3-5 Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn’t get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.
6-7 God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”
8 Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.
9 God said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”
He said, “How should I know? Am I his babysitter?”
10-12 God said, “What have you done! The voice of your brother’s blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you’ll get nothing but curses from this ground; you’ll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You’ll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You’ll be a homeless wanderer on Earth.”

For Reflection

Cain fulfilled the minimal expectations of God.  He acted in form but not in substance.  His commitment to anything but himself was minimum. Cain has shown us the face of idolatry. He placed his concern for himself above all else. Self-aggrandizement was his God. Cain worshiped only himself. As a result, Cain will find himself alone and suffer the natural outcome of his action. Cain's soul was empty and he will attract only other empty souls who will give him no security and no comfort. 

Pray

Pray for the Cains of this world.  Pray that they will fill their emptiness with the grace of God.  Pray for the suffering world of Cains.

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For the Sake of Your Prayers

God Created the World

God Created the Family

1 Peter 4:7-11 The Message

7-11 Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

For Reflection

Are you timid about your altruistic impulses?  Do you have second thoughts about bestowal? Don't fret. Giving is what God is all about. It is the way God's presence in the world is known. Give of yourself with out hesitation.

Pray

Pray so that you understand the need of each of us to be singled out for a loving act of kindness.

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Cultivate Deep Mutual Love

God Created the World

God Created the Family

1 Peter 1:13-16, 22-23 The Message

A Future in God

13-16 So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”
22-25 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life,
    its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers droop,
    God’s Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.

For Reflection

You can only control yourself.  So if you want others to experience the joy of the Holy Spirit, it is up to you to show them by your action the power of the living God working for good. As love grows, God's family grows.

Pray

Pray so that one can not escape being transformed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in your soul.

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Honor the Sanctity of Marriage

God Created the World

God Created the Family

Hebrews 13:1-6 The Message

Jesus Doesn’t Change

13 1-4 Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you. Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex.
5-6 Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote,
God is there, ready to help;
I’m fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me?

For Reflection

You belong to the household of God.  You are entitled to all the rights and responsibilities of the family of God. God's household is held together by love and is expressed in hospitality. 

Marriage in the household of God is a dedication of two people to a special relationship to each other. It is a relationship that transcends the normal commitments to the family. The bond between married people complicates the relationships among the household because one has a responsibility both inside and outside the marriage.

From time to time difficulties arise which marriage partners may have difficulty resolving. But know that God's love and grace abound, and God will guide your resolutions.

Pray

Invite the Holy Spirit to enter and counsel all of your relationships in the Household of God.

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Becoming One Flesh

God Created the World

God Created the Family

Matthew19:3-6 The Message (MSG)

3 One day the Pharisees were badgering him: “Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
4-6 He answered, “Haven’t you read in your Bible that the Creator originally made man and woman for each other, male and female? And because of this, a man leaves father and mother and is firmly bonded to his wife, becoming one flesh—no longer two bodies but one. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.”

For Reflection

We find today that procreation produces a combination of both male and female into a unique person yet having the composition of each parent and their ancestry, indeed one flesh eternally. God created the organic union of two sexes so that we might have a physical path to eternal human existence.  God also created the human spiritual capacity to accept communal responsibility.

Christ faced entrapment by the Pharisees by setting up a legal conundrum. But Christ refused to be ensnared by the question. Jesus's response addressed an issue at the core of civil structure as well as a spiritual one. A cavalier attitude toward marriage and divorce did not serve the relational commandment to act in love in the service of the common good. Are we also entrapped by our limited perception of God's universe? Do we also create conundrums by not looking beyond an event and into God's intention for loving relationships?    

Pray

Pray so that you will be more able to see beyond the conventional societal assumptions into God's intentions for human relationships.

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God's Glory Animates the Universe

God Created the World

God Created People

Psalm 104:1-14 The Message

104 1-14 O my soul, bless God!
God, my God, how great you are!
    beautifully, gloriously robed,
Dressed up in sunshine,
    and all heaven stretched out for your tent.
You built your palace on the ocean deeps,
    made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings.
You commandeered winds as messengers,
    appointed fire and flame as ambassadors.
You set earth on a firm foundation
    so that nothing can shake it, ever.
You blanketed earth with ocean,
    covered the mountains with deep waters;
Then you roared and the water ran away—
    your thunder crash put it to flight.
Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out
    in the places you assigned them.
You set boundaries between earth and sea;
    never again will earth be flooded.
You started the springs and rivers,
    sent them flowing among the hills.
All the wild animals now drink their fill,
    wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Along the riverbanks the birds build nests,
    ravens make their voices heard.
You water the mountains from your heavenly cisterns;
    earth is supplied with plenty of water.
You make grass grow for the livestock,
    hay for the animals that plow the ground.

For Reflection

Without God there is nothing.  God is the essence of existence. We are because God is. God has given us all of this universe and through the prophets of old and Jesus Christ has illustrated how to access the wealth of God's creation. All we have to do is accept the mystery that unfolds before us and embrace the grace of God.

Pray

Embrace the Grace of God in your works and prayers.

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Observe and Keep the Sabbath Holy

Living in the Light of God

God Created the World

God Created People

1 John 1:5-10 The Message

Walk in the Light

5 This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him.
6-7 If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.
8-10 If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.

For Reflection

We tend to define spiritual light as good and spiritual darkness as evil. But, I am no longer convinced that that is the best way to interpret life's dichotomy. I now tend to describe spiritual light as the ability to see or perceive our existence in the manner God wishes us to understand it. God wants us to look beyond the immediate suffering or pleasure into God's intention for humankind.  On the other hand, I interpret darkness to mean that one perceives only through corporal eyes which veil the reality of spiritual existence. So, for me, walking in spiritual light encourages me to experience the pleasure of my place in God's household.

Pray

Pray so that you will be more in tune with God's universe.  Pray so that you through connections with others of like mind you build the kind of experience God has intended for us and advance the expansion of the Kingdom of God.

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Light of the Gospel

God Created the World

God Created People

2 Corinthians 4:1-6 The Message

Trial and Torture

4 1-2 Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.
3-4 If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.
5-6 Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

For Reflection

God pulls all people, believers and non-believers alike, along God's path. Most souls are moved toward perfection by history and, therefore, the march toward a more perfect human society is a slow evolutionary process. But many who yearn to achieve a purpose-filled life more quickly respond in their suffering to the light of the gospel that sparks their spirituality. As one becomes more and more God-centered all of humanity accelerates toward what some would call reconciliation, an atonement, a human oneness with God's universe.

Pray

Pray so that you be attuned to the call of God to become a more perfect human being in the manner of Jesus Christ.

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People Created in God's Likeness

God Created the World

God Created People

Ephesians 4:17-24 The Message (MSG)

The Old Way Has to Go

17-19 And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.
20-24 But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

For Reflection

Becoming a Christian is a matter of a change of heart which leads to a new way of perceiving the world in which we live and our reason for being. It is a profound revelation and transformation. It is a recognition that one accepts fully the challenge of becoming all that God intends a human being to become. It is not about becoming a god but instead growing closer to the archetypical form into which we were born.  
God wants us to experience life as God experiences it.  God has sent Jesus to provide us with an example of the quality of living that is possible. God wants humanity to evolve into a human form that is equivalent in form, not substance, to God as Christ was equivalent to God in form. Such transformation is what is meant by "a God-fashioned life."

Pray

Pray so that you go forth in this world with the knowledge that you were created in the likeness of God with all the capacities for maturing into a God-like persona and living a productive, fulfilling life in collaboration with God to become one with God and at rest in God's creation.

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People Created in God's Likeness

God Created the World

God Created People

Ephesians 4:17-24 The Message 

The Old Way Has to Go

17-19 And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.
20-24 But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

For Reflection

We have learned from Christ. We have read and listened to the word of the gospels. We have been offered a new life in the manner of Jesus Christ. We are made in the image of God, complete in the capacity to become be transformed, to become equivalent in form to Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells within our souls to guide us on a path to fulfill God's will for humans to grow; perfected in love, forgiveness, and grace.

Pray

Pray so that you will become more like Christ.

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God Made All Creatures Clean

Gifts from the Father of Light

God Created the World

God Created Plants and Animals

James 1:17-18 Amplified Bible 

17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow [a]cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes]. 18 It was of His own will that He gave us birth [as His children] by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits of His creatures [a prime example of what He created to be set apart to Himself—sanctified, made holy for His divine purposes].

For Reflection

God is the source of all that is good. God is the light that separates us from our darkest characteristics. God does not change, but we do.

Pray

Pray so that your love of God encourages you to meet changes in your life with wisdom courage and grace.

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Gifts from the Father of Light

The Creation Witnesses to God's Work

God Created the World

God Created Plants and Animals

Job 12:7-13 Amplified Bible

7
“Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character];
And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;
8
Or speak to the earth [with its many forms of life], and it will teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare [this truth] to you.
9
“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10
In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?
11
“Does the ear not put words to the test,
Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]?
12
“With the aged [you say] is wisdom,
And with [a]long life is understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

13
“But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might;
He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.

For Reflection

God's creation is dynamic.  It has been designed to be eternal. It evolves to meet the demands of its existence. What we perceive as good going unrewarded and evil rewarded is a matter of perception. In the long run, the goodness of the universe survives. Our suffering corrects us and as a result, humans survive.  We in our selfish endeavors place humanity at risk, but history has revealed that we endure in goodness.

Pray

Pray so that you will find and celebrate the goodness of God's creation.

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Jesus, Agent of God's Creation

God Created the World

God Created Plants and Animals

Hebrews 1:1-6 The Message

1 1-3 Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God’s nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!

The Son Is Higher than Angels

3-6 After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God, far higher than any angel in rank and rule. Did God ever say to an angel, “You’re my Son; today I celebrate you” or “I’m his Father, he’s my Son”? When he presents his honored Son to the world, he says, “All angels must worship him.”

For Reflection

Up until the Christ event, God guided God's people as an identifiable group. For the most part, God corrected and blessed Israel. In turn, in difficult times the chosen people turned to God. When times were good, they forgot their history.  

No longer treated corporately, now God writes on the hearts of each human being. Christ is the sign of God's abiding love and the archetypical form of the human God wills us to become.

Pray

Pray so that you will worship God and follow Christ.

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Creation, Testament of Gods's Steadfast Love

God Created the World

God Created Plants and Animals

Psalm 136:1-9 Amplified Bible

Thanks for the Lord’s Goodness to Israel.

136 [a]Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.
2
Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness endures forever.
3
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness endures forever.
4
To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
5
To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
6
To Him who stretched out the earth upon the waters,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
7
To Him who made the great lights,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
8
The sun to rule over the day,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;
9
The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 136:1 The ancient rabbis said that the twenty-six verses of this Psalm correspond to the twenty-six generations from Adam to Moses. They maintained that since these generations were not given the Torah (Law), they could not earn merit and were sustained only by God’s “lovingkindness.”

For Reflection

In the hubbub over doctrines, styles, practices, and interpretations we sometimes lose sight of the genesis. We have been shown the essential attributes of God. The psalmist reminds us that God is mighty and what God has created is good.  Therefore, since God also created human beings, we are also good.  God also gave us the power of judgment so that we could yearn for goodness. 

Evil then is a product of our weak judgment. It is we who choose to separate ourselves from God. In placing ourselves above God, we create sin.

Pray

Pray so that you will become God-centered. Pray "For his lovingkindness endures forever." Pray, "God's mercy endures forever." Pray and know the Grace of God. Pray and find peace and rest in God's goodness.

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